Nonfatal Injuries Sustained in Mass Shootings in the US, 2012-2019: Injury Diagnosis Matrix, Incident Context, and Public Health Considerations.

INTRODUCTION: The epidemic of gun violence in the United States (US) is exacerbated by frequent mass shootings. In 2021, there were 698 mass shootings in the US, resulting in 705 deaths and 2,830 injuries. This is a companion paper to a publication in JAMA Network Open, in which the nonfatal outcomes of victims of mass shootings have been only partially described. METHODS: We gathered clinical and logistic information from 31 hospitals in the US about 403 survivors of 13 mass shootings, each event involving greater than 10 injuries, from 2012-19. Local champions in emergency medicine and trauma surgery provided clinical data from electronic health records within 24 hours of a mass shooting. We organized descriptive statistics of individual-level diagnoses recorded in medical records using International Classification of Diseases codes, according to the Barell Injury Diagnosis Matrix (BIDM), a standardized tool that classifies 12 types of injuries within 36 body regions. RESULTS: Of the 403 patients who were evaluated at a hospital, 364 sustained physical injuries-252 by gunshot wound (GSW) and 112 by non-ballistic trauma-and 39 were uninjured. Fifty patients had 75 psychiatric diagnoses. Nearly 10% of victims came to the hospital for symptoms triggered by, but not directly related to, the shooting, or for exacerbations of underlying conditions. There were 362 gunshot wounds recorded in the Barell Matrix (1.44 per patient). The Emergency Severity Index (ESI) distribution was skewed toward higher acuity than typical for an emergency department (ED), with 15.1% ESI 1 and 17.6% ESI 2 patients. Semi-automatic firearms were used in 100% of these civilian public mass shootings, with 50 total weapons for 13 shootings (Route 91 Harvest Festival, Las Vegas. 24). Assailant motivations were reported to be associated with hate crimes in 23.1%. CONCLUSION: Survivors of mass shootings have substantial morbidity and characteristic injury distribution, but 37% of victims had no GSW. Law enforcement, emergency medical systems, and hospital and ED disaster planners can use this information for injury mitigation and public policy planning. The BIDM is useful to organize data regarding gun violence injuries. We call for additional research funding to prevent and mitigate interpersonal firearm injuries, and for the National Violent Death Reporting System to expand tracking of injuries, their sequelae, complications, and societal costs.

Testicular Torsion Appearance and Diagnosis on Computed Tomography of the Abdomen and Pelvis: Case Report.

INTRODUCTION: Testicular torsion, or the twisting of the spermatic cord compromising blood flow to the testis, is a urologic emergency with the potential to cause infertility in male patients. The diagnosis may be clinical or confirmed using imaging, with ultrasound being the modality of choice. CASE REPORT: We present a case of right lower quadrant pain with radiation to the groin and right scrotum in a young male. A computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis was ordered to assess for appendicitis, which showed a "whirl" sign on the inferior periphery of the images near the scrotum. The finding was not appreciated during the emergency department visit and the patient was discharged home. He returned 48 hours later due to continued pain and was ultimately diagnosed with testicular torsion via ultrasound and surgical pathology. CONCLUSION: This is the first reported case to our knowledge identifying "whirl" sign for the diagnosis of testicular torsion. This finding was not appreciated by multiple clinicians during the initial patient presentation, highlighting the uncommon nature of the finding.

Injury Characteristics, Outcomes, and Health Care Services Use Associated With Nonfatal Injuries Sustained in Mass Shootings in the US, 2012-2019.

Importance: Civilian public mass shootings (CPMSs) in the US result in substantial injuries. However, the types and consequences of these injuries have not been systematically described. Objective: To describe the injury characteristics, outcomes, and health care burden associated with nonfatal injuries sustained during CPMSs and to better understand the consequences to patients, hospitals, and society at large. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective case series of nonfatal injuries from 13 consecutive CPMSs (defined as ≥10 injured individuals) from 31 hospitals in the US from July 20, 2012, to August 31, 2019, used data from trauma logs and medical records to capture injuries, procedures, lengths of stay, functional impairment, disposition, and charges. A total of 403 individuals treated in hospitals within 24 hours of the CPMSs were included in the analysis. Data were analyzed from October 27 to December 5, 2021. Exposures: Nonfatal injuries sustained during CPMSs. Main Outcomes and Measures: Injuries and diagnoses, treating services, procedures, hospital care, and monetary charges. Results: Among the 403 individuals included in the study, the median age was 33.0 (IQR, 24.5-48.0 [range, 1 to >89]) years, and 209 (51.9%) were women. Among the 386 patients with race and ethnicity data available, 13 (3.4%) were Asian; 44 (11.4%), Black or African American; 59 (15.3), Hispanic/Latinx; and 270 (69.9%), White. Injuries included 252 gunshot wounds (62.5%) and 112 other injuries (27.8%), and 39 patients (9.7%) had no physical injuries. One hundred seventy-eight individuals (53.1%) arrived by ambulance. Of 494 body regions injured (mean [SD], 1.35 [0.68] per patient), most common included an extremity (282 [57.1%]), abdomen and/or pelvis (66 [13.4%]), head and/or neck (65 [13.2%]), and chest (50 [10.1%]). Overall, 147 individuals (36.5%) were admitted to a hospital, 95 (23.6%) underwent 1 surgical procedure, and 42 (10.4%) underwent multiple procedures (1.82 per patient). Among the 252 patients with gunshot wounds, the most common initial procedures were general and trauma surgery (41 [16.3%]) and orthopedic surgery (36 [14.3%]). In the emergency department, 148 of 364 injured individuals (40.7%) had 199 procedures (1.34 per patient). Median hospital length of stay was 4.0 (IQR, 2.0-7.5) days; for 50 patients in the intensive care unit, 3.0 (IQR, 2.0-8.0) days (13.7% of injuries and 34.0% of admissions). Among 364 injured patients, 160 (44.0%) had functional disability at discharge, with 19 (13.3%) sent to long-term care. The mean (SD) charges per patient were $64 976 ($160 083). Conclusions and Relevance: Civilian public mass shootings cause substantial morbidity. For every death, 5.8 individuals are injured. These results suggest that including nonfatal injuries in the overall burden of CPMSs may help inform public policy to prevent and mitigate the harm caused by such events.

Computed Tomography Appearance of the "Whirlpool Sign" in Ovarian Torsion.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 28-year-old female presented to the emergency department complaining of right lower abdominal pain. A contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) was done, which showed a 15-centimeter right adnexal cyst with adjacent "whirlpool sign" concerning for right ovarian torsion. Transvaginal pelvic ultrasound (US) revealed a hemorrhagic cyst in the right adnexa, with duplex Doppler identifying arterial and venous flow in both ovaries. Laparoscopic surgery confirmed right ovarian torsion with an attached cystic mass, and a right salpingo-oophorectomy was performed given the mass was suspicious for malignancy. DISCUSSION: Ultrasound is the test of choice for diagnosis of torsion due to its ability to evaluate anatomy and perfusion. When ovarian pathology is on the patient's right, appendicitis is high in the differential diagnosis, and CT may be obtained first. Here we describe a case where CT first accurately diagnosed ovarian torsion by demonstrating the whirlpool sign, despite an US that showed arterial flow to the ovary. Future studies should determine whether CT alone is sufficient to diagnose or exclude ovarian torsion.

Chest tube output, duration, and length of stay are similar for pneumothorax and hemothorax seen only on computed tomography vs. chest radiograph.

PURPOSE: Whole-body computed tomography (CT) for blunt trauma patients is common. Chest CT (CCT) identifies "occult" pneumo- (PTX) and hemothorax (HTX) not seen on chest radiograph (CXR), one-third of whom get chest tubes, while CXR identifies "non-occult" PTX/HTX. To assess chest tube value for occult injury vs. expectant management, we compared output, duration, and length of stay (LOS) for chest tubes placed for occult vs. non-occult (CXR-visible) injury. METHODS: We compared chest tube output and duration, and patient length of stay for occult vs. non-occult PTX/HTX. This was a retrospective analysis of 5451 consecutive Level I blunt trauma patients, from 2010 to 2013. RESULTS: Of these blunt trauma patients, 402 patients (7.4%) had PTX, HTX or both, and both CXR and CCT. One third (n = 136, 33.8%) had chest tubes placed in 163 hemithoraces (27 bilateral). Non-occult chest tube output for all patients was 1558 ± 1919 cc (n = 54), similar to occult at 1123 ± 1076 cc (n = 109, p = 0.126). Outputs were similar for HTX-only patients, with non-occult (n = 34) at 1917 ± 2130 cc, vs. occult (n = 54) at 1449 ± 1131 cc (p = 0.24). Chest tube duration for all patients was 6.3 ± 4.9 days for non-occult vs. 5.0 ± 3.3 for occult (p = 0.096). LOS was similar between all occult injury patients (n = 46) and non-occult (n = 90, 17.0 ± 15.8 vs. 13.7 ± 11.9 days, p = 0.23). CONCLUSION: Mature clinical judgment may dictate which patients need chest tubes and explain the similarity between groups.

Thoracic Spine Fracture in the Panscan Era.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: In the current era of frequent chest computed tomography (CT) for adult blunt trauma evaluation, many minor injuries are diagnosed, potentially rendering traditional teachings obsolete. We seek to update teachings in regard to thoracic spine fracture by determining how often such fractures are observed on CT only (ie, not visualized on preceding trauma chest radiograph), the admission rate, mortality, and hospital length of stay of thoracic spine fracture patients, and how often thoracic spine fractures are clinically significant. METHODS: This was a preplanned analysis of prospectively collected data from the NEXUS Chest CT study conducted from 2011 to 2014 at 9 Level I trauma centers. The inclusion criteria were older than 14 years, blunt trauma occurring within 6 hours of emergency department (ED) presentation, and chest imaging (radiography, CT, or both) during ED evaluation. RESULTS: Of 11,477 enrolled subjects, 217 (1.9%) had a thoracic spine fracture; 181 of the 198 thoracic spine fracture patients (91.4%) who had both chest radiograph and CT had their thoracic spine fracture observed on CT only. Half of patients (49.8%) had more than 1 level of thoracic spine fracture, with a mean of 2.1 levels (SD 1.6 levels) of thoracic spine involved. Most patients (62%) had associated thoracic injuries. Compared with patients without thoracic spine fracture, those with it had higher admission rates (88.5% versus 47.2%; difference 41.3%; 95% confidence interval 36.3% to 45%), higher mortality (6.3% versus 4.0%; difference 2.3%; 95% confidence interval 0 to 6.7%), and longer length of stay (median 9 versus 6 days; difference 3 days; P<.001). However, thoracic spine fracture patients without other thoracic injury had mortality similar to that of patients without thoracic spine fracture (4.6% versus 4%; difference 0.6%; 95% confidence interval -2.5% to 8.6%). Less than half of thoracic spine fractures (47.4%) were clinically significant: 40.8% of patients received thoracolumbosacral orthosis bracing, 10.9% had surgery, and 3.8% had an associated neurologic deficit. CONCLUSION: Thoracic spine fracture is uncommon. Most thoracic spine fractures are associated with other thoracic injuries, and mortality is more closely related to these other injuries than to the thoracic spine fracture itself. More than half of thoracic spine fractures are clinically insignificant; surgical intervention is uncommon and neurologic injury is rare.

Blunt Traumatic Aortic Injury in the Pan-scan Era.

BACKGROUND: In the era of frequent head-to-pelvis computed tomography (CT) for adult blunt trauma evaluation, we sought to update teachings regarding aortic injury by determining 1) the incidence of aortic injury; 2) the proportion of patients with isolated aortic injury (without other concomitant thoracic injury); 3) the clinical implications of aortic injury (hospital mortality, length of stay [LOS], and rate of surgical interventions); and 4) the screening value of traditional risk factors/markers (such as high-energy mechanism and widened mediastinum on chest x-ray [CXR]) for aortic injury, compared to newer criteria from the recently developed NEXUS Chest CT decision instrument (DI). METHODS: We conducted a preplanned analysis of patients prospectively enrolled in the NEXUS Chest studies at 10 Level I trauma centers with the following inclusion criteria: age > 14 years, blunt trauma within 6 hours of ED presentation, and receiving chest imaging during ED trauma evaluation. RESULTS: Of 24,010 enrolled subjects, 42 (0.17%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.13% to 0.24%) had aortic injury. Most patients (79%, 95% CI = 64% to 88%) had an associated thoracic injury, with rib fractures, pneumothorax/hemothorax, and pulmonary contusion occurring most frequently. Compared to patients without aortic injury this cohort had similar mortality (9.5%, 95% CI = 3.8% to 22.1% vs. 5.8%, 95% CI = 5.4% to 6.3%), longer median hospital LOS (11 days vs. 3 days, p < 0.01), and higher median Injury Severity Score (29 vs. 5, p < 0.001). High-energy mechanism and widened mediastinum on CXR had low sensitivity for aortic injury (76% [95% CI = 62% to 87%] and 33% [95% CI = 21% to 49%], respectively), compared to the NEXUS Chest CT DI (sensitivity 100% [95% CI = 92% to 100%]). CONCLUSIONS: Aortic injury is rare in adult ED blunt trauma patients who survive to receive imaging. Most ED aortic injury patients have associated thoracic injuries and survive to hospital discharge. Widened mediastinum on CXR and high-energy mechanism have relatively low screening sensitivity for aortic injury, but the NEXUS Chest DI detected all cases.

Letters of Recommendation.

Letters of recommendation (LORs) are a central element of an applicant's portfolio for the National Resident Matching Program (known as the "Match"). This is especially true when applying to competitive specialties like emergency medicine (EM). LORs convey an applicant's potential for success, and also highlight an applicant's qualities that cannot always be recognized from a curriculum vitae, test scores, or grades. Traditional LORs, also called narrative LORs, are written in prose and are therefore highly subjective. This led to the establishment of a task force by the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors in 1995 to develop a standardized LOR. Revisions of this form are now referred to as a standardized letter of evaluation. These evaluations in this format have proven to increase inter-rater reliability, decrease interpretation time, and standardize the process used by EM faculty to prepare evaluations for EM applicants. In this article, we will discuss LORs; address applicants' concerns, including from whom to request LORs (EM faculty vs. non-EM faculty vs. non-clinical faculty), number of LORs an applicant should include in his or her application materials, the preferred manner of requesting and the timing in which to ask for an LOR, as well as the philosophy behind waiving the right to see the letter.

Program Visits and Residency Interviews.

Interviews and program visits play a major role in the National Resident Matching Program application process. They are a great opportunity for programs to assess applicants and vice versa. Irrespective of all other elements in the application profile, these can make it or break it for an applicant. In this article, we assist applicants in planning their residency interviews and program visits. We elaborate on the keys to success, including planning of the interviews in a proper and timely fashion, searching programs individually, conducting mock interviews, following interview and program visit etiquette, and carefully scheduling and making travel arrangements. We also guide applicants through what to expect and is expected of them during their interview and visit.

Ranking Programs: Medical Student Strategies.

BACKGROUND: Selecting a training program is one of the most challenging choices an applicant to the Match has to make. DISCUSSION: To make an informed decision, applicants should do a comprehensive research and carefully plan their upcoming steps. Factors that might influence the applicants' decision include geography, program reputation, specific areas of academic focus, subspecialty interests, university-versus community-based training, length of training and interest in combined programs. Such information can be gathered from published material, websites, and personal advice (from faculty, residents and advisors). This process is time-consuming and stressful. CONCLUSION: Therefore, in this article we elaborate on the above to facilitate this process for applicants.

Anterior Loculated Pericardial Effusion Misinterpreted as Right Heart Dilation Suggesting Pulmonary Embolism.

We report a case of anterior loculated pericardial effusion misinterpreted on point-of-care ultrasound as a dilated right ventricle, and suggesting diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE), in a patient with renal failure. The compressed right ventricle from tamponade physiology appeared to be a thickened intraventricular septum. Heparin was given empirically for presumed PE. Later the same day, computed tomography of the chest showed the effusion, as did formal echocardiogram. The patient had drainage of 630 milliliters of fluid and recovered from tamponade. Loculated effusions comprise 15% of all pericardial effusions, and misdiagnosis of PE with heparin therapy could be fatal.

Feasibility of Telesimulation and Google Glass for Mass Casualty Triage Education and Training.

INTRODUCTION: Our goal was to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of using telesimulation to deliver an emergency medical services (EMS) course on mass casualty incident (MCI) training to healthcare providers overseas. METHODS: We conducted a feasibility study to establish the process for successful delivery of educational content to learners overseas via telesimulation over a five-month period. Participants were registrants in an EMS course on MCI triage broadcast from University of California, Irvine Medical Simulation Center. The intervention was a Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment (START) course. The primary outcome was successful implementation of the course via telesimulation. The secondary outcome was an assessment of participant thoughts, feelings, and attitudes via a qualitative survey. We also sought to obtain quantitative data that would allow for the assessment of triage accuracy. Descriptive statistics were used to express the percentage of participants with favorable responses to survey questions. RESULTS: All 32 participants enrolled in the course provided a favorable response to all questions on the survey regarding their thoughts, feelings, and attitudes toward learning via telesimulation with wearable/mobile technology. Key barriers and challenges identified included dependability of Internet connection, choosing appropriate software platforms to deliver content, and intercontinental time difference considerations. The protocol detailed in this study demonstrated the successful implementation and feasibility of providing education and training to learners at an off-site location. CONCLUSION: In this feasibility study, we were able to demonstrate the successful implementation of an intercontinental MCI triage course using telesimulation and wearable/mobile technology. Healthcare providers expressed a positive favorability toward learning MCI triage via telesimulation. We were also able to establish a process to obtain quantitative data that would allow for the calculation of triage accuracy for further experimental study designs.

Randomized Controlled Trial of Simulation vs. Standard Training for Teaching Medical Students High-quality Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.

INTRODUCTION: Most medical schools teach cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during the final year in course curriculum to prepare students to manage the first minutes of clinical emergencies. Little is known regarding the optimal method of instruction for this critical skill. Simulation has been shown in similar settings to enhance performance and knowledge. We evaluated the comparative effectiveness of high-fidelity simulation training vs. standard manikin training for teaching medical students the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines for high-quality CPR. METHODS: This was a prospective, randomized, parallel-arm study of 70 fourth-year medical students to either simulation (SIM) or standard training (STD) over an eight-month period. SIM group learned the AHA guidelines for high-quality CPR via an hour session that included a PowerPoint lecture with training on a high-fidelity simulator. STD group learned identical content using a low-fidelity Resusci Anne® CPR manikin. All students managed a simulated cardiac arrest scenario with primary outcome based on the AHA guidelines definition of high-quality CPR (specifies metrics for compression rate, depth, recoil, and compression fraction). Secondary outcome was time to emergency medical services (EMS) activation. We analyzed data via Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test. Outcomes were performed on a simulated cardiac arrest case adapted from the AHA Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) SimMan® Scenario manual. RESULTS: Students in the SIM group performed CPR that more closely adhered to the AHA guidelines of compression depth and compression fraction. Mean compression depth was 4.57 centimeters (cm) (95% confidence interval [CI] [4.30-4.82]) for SIM and 3.89 cm (95% CI [3.50-4.27]) for STD, p=0.02. Mean compression fraction was 0.724 (95% CI [0.699-0.751]) for SIM group and 0.679 (95% CI [0.655-0.702]) for STD, p=0.01. There was no difference for compression rate or recoil between groups. Time to EMS activation was 24.7 seconds (s) (95% CI [15.7-40.8]) for SIM group and 79.5 s (95% CI [44.8-119.6]) for STD group, p=0.007. CONCLUSION: High-fidelity simulation training is superior to low-fidelity CPR manikin training for teaching fourth-year medical students implementation of high-quality CPR for chest compression depth and compression fraction.

Pneumothorax and Hemothorax in the Era of Frequent Chest Computed Tomography for the Evaluation of Adult Patients With Blunt Trauma.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Although traditional teachings in regard to pneumothorax and hemothorax generally recommend chest tube placement and hospital admission, the increasing use of chest computed tomography (CT) in blunt trauma evaluation may detect more minor pneumothorax and hemothorax that might indicate a need to modify these traditional practices. We determine the incidence of pneumothorax and hemothorax observed on CT only and the incidence of isolated pneumothorax and hemothorax (pneumothorax and hemothorax occurring without other thoracic injuries), and describe the clinical implications of these injuries. METHODS: This was a planned secondary analysis of 2 prospective, observational studies of adult patients with blunt trauma, NEXUS Chest (January 2009 to December 2012) and NEXUS Chest CT (August 2011 to May 2014), set in 10 Level I US trauma centers. Participants' inclusion criteria were older than 14 years, presentation to the emergency department (ED) within 6 hours of blunt trauma, and receipt of chest imaging (chest radiograph, chest CT, or both) during their ED evaluation. Exposure(s) (for observational studies) were that patients had trauma and chest imaging. Primary measures and outcomes included the incidence of pneumothorax and hemothorax observed on CT only versus on both chest radiograph and chest CT, the incidence of isolated pneumothorax and hemothorax (pneumothorax and hemothorax occurring without other thoracic injuries), and admission rates, hospital length of stay, mortality, and frequency of chest tube placement for these injuries. RESULTS: Of 21,382 enrolled subjects, 1,064 (5%) had a pneumothorax and 384 (1.8%) had a hemothorax. Of the 8,661 patients who received both a chest radiograph and a chest CT, 910 (10.5%) had a pneumothorax, with 609 (67%) observed on CT only; 319 (3.7%) had a hemothorax, with 254 (80%) observed on CT only. Of 1,117 patients with pneumothorax, hemothorax, or both, 108 (10%) had isolated pneumothorax or hemothorax. Patients with pneumothorax observed on CT only had a lower chest tube placement rate (30% versus 65%; difference in proportions [Δ] -35%; 95% confidence interval [CI] -28% to 42%), admission rate (94% versus 99%; Δ 5%; 95% CI 3% to 8%), and median length of stay (5 versus 6 days; difference 1 day; 95% CI 0 to 2 days) but similar mortality compared with patients with pneumothorax observed on chest radiograph and CT. Patients with hemothorax observed on CT had only a lower chest tube placement rate (49% versus 68%; Δ -19%; 95% CI -31% to -5%) but similar admission rate, mortality, and median length of stay compared with patients with hemothorax observed on chest radiograph and CT. Compared with patients with other thoracic injury, those with isolated pneumothorax or hemothorax had a lower chest tube placement rate (20% versus 43%; Δ -22%; 95% CI -30% to -13%), median length of stay (4 versus 5 days; difference -1 day; 95% CI -3 to 1 days), and admission rate (44% versus 97%; Δ -53%; 95% CI -62% to -43%), with an admission rate comparable to that of patients without pneumothorax or hemothorax (49%). CONCLUSION: Under current imaging protocols for adult blunt trauma evaluation, most pneumothoraces and hemothoraces are observed on CT only and few occur as isolated thoracic injury. The clinical implications (admission rates and frequency of chest tube placement) of pneumothorax and hemothorax observed on CT only and isolated pneumothorax or hemothorax are lower than those of patients with pneumothorax and hemothorax observed on chest radiograph and CT and of those who have other thoracic injury, respectively.

American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Deletes Sections from 2018 Stroke Guidelines.

The updated American Heart Association (AHA)/American Stroke Association (ASA) Guidelines for the Early Management of Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke were published in January 2018.1 The purpose of the guidelines is to provide an up-to-date, comprehensive set of recommendations for clinicians caring for adult patients with acute arterial ischemic stroke in a single document. The guidelines detail new and updated recommendations that reflect and incorporate the most recent literature in the evaluation and management of acute ischemic stroke. Some sections of the latest guidelines have sparked debate in the medical community. Debate with regard to deciding the optimal diagnostic and treatment strategy for patients is healthy and anticipated with the release of new medical literature or recommendations. However, what is somewhat puzzling and unanticipated with the release of these new guidelines is that within two months of their release the AHA/ASA rescinded its recently released guidelines, publishing a "correction" in which several parts of the document have been deleted.2 An action such as this at the guideline level is unprecedented in recent history and has left stakeholders in the medical community somewhat confused as to the rationale for its occurrence. This article will inform the emergency medicine (EM) healthcare professional of the recent correction of the updated stroke guidelines, identify which sections have been removed (deleted), and will provide a brief summary of the pertinent updates (that have not been deleted) to the 2018 stroke guidelines that have particular relevance to the EM community.

Scholarship in Emergency Medicine: A Primer for Junior Academics Part I: Writing and Publishing.

The landscape of scholarly writing, publishing, and university promotion can be complex and challenging. Mentorship may be limited. To be successful it is important to understand the key components of writing and publishing. In this article, we provide expert consensus recommendations on four key challenges faced by junior faculty: writing the paper; selecting contributors and the importance of authorship order; journal selection and indexing; and responding to critiques. After reviewing this paper, the reader should have an enhanced understanding of these challenges and strategies to successfully address them.

Measuring Scholarly Productivity: A Primer for Junior Faculty. Part III: Understanding Publication Metrics.

There are approximately 78 indexed journals in the specialty of emergency medicine (EM), making it challenging to determine which is the best option for junior faculty. This paper is the final component of a three-part series focused on guiding junior faculty to enhance their scholarly productivity. As an EM junior faculty's research career advances, the bibliometric tools and resources detailed in this paper should be considered when developing a publication submission strategy. The tenure and promotion decision process in many universities relies at least in part on these types of bibliometrics. This paper provides an understanding of new, alternative metrics that can be used to promote scientific progress in a transparent and timely manner.