Introduction: Burnout, depression, and suicidality among residents of all specialties have become a critical focus for the medical education community, especially among learners in graduate medical education. In 2017 the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) updated the Common Program Requirements to focus more on resident wellbeing. To address this issue, one working group from the 2017 Resident Wellness Consensus Summit (RWCS) focused on wellness program innovations and initiatives in emergency medicine (EM) residency programs. 

Methods: Over a seven-month period leading up to the RWCS event, the Programmatic Initiatives workgroup convened virtually in the Wellness Think Tank, an online, resident community consisting of 142 residents from 100 EM residencies in North America. A 15-person subgroup (13 residents, two faculty facilitators) met at the RWCS to develop a public, central repository of initiatives for programs, as well as tools to assist programs in identifying gaps in their overarching wellness programs. 

Results: An online submission form and central database of wellness initiatives were created and accessible to the public. Wellness Think Tank members collected an initial 36 submissions for the database by the time of the RWCS event. Based on general workplace, needs-assessment tools on employee wellbeing and Kern’s model for curriculum development, a resident-based needs-assessment survey and an implementation worksheet were created to assist residency programs in wellness program development. 

Conclusion: The Programmatic Initiatives workgroup from the resident-driven RWCS event created tools to assist EM residency programs in identifying existing initiatives and gaps in their wellness programs to meet the ACGME’s expanded focus on resident wellbeing.

Introduction: The WestJEM Blog and Podcast Watch presents high-quality open-access educationalblogs and podcasts in emergency medicine based on the ongoing Academic Life in Emergency Medicine(ALiEM) Approved Instructional Resources (AIR) and AIR-Professional (Pro) series. Both series criticallyappraise open-access educational blogs and podcasts in EM using an objective scoring instrument. Thisinstallment of the blog and podcast watch series curated and scored relevant posts in the specific topic oftoxicology emergencies from the AIR-Pro Series.

Methods: The AIR-Pro Series is a continuously building curriculum covering a new subject area everytwo months. For each area, eight EM chief residents identify 3-5 advanced clinical questions. UsingFOAMsearch.net and FOAMSearcher to search blogs and podcasts, relevant posts are scored byeight reviewers from the AIR-Pro editorial board, which is comprised of EM faculty and chief residentsat various institutions across North America. The scoring instrument contains five measurementoutcomes based on seven-point Likert scales: recency, accuracy, educational utility, evidence based,and references. The AIR-Pro label is awarded to posts with a score of ≥28 (out of 35) points. An“honorable mention” label is awarded if board members collectively felt that the blogs were valuableand the scores were > 25.

Results: A total of 31 blog posts and podcasts were included. Key educational pearls from the six highqualityAIR-Pro posts and four honorable mentions are summarized.

Conclusion: The WestJEM ALiEM Blog and Podcast Watch series is based on the AIR and AIR-ProSeries, which attempts to identify high-quality educational content on open-access blogs and podcasts.This series provides an expert-based, crowdsourced approach towards critically appraising educationalsocial media content for EM clinicians. This installment focuses on toxicology emergencies.

Introduction: Asynchronous online training has become an increasingly popular educational format in the new era of technology-based professional development. We sought to evaluate the impact of an online asynchronous training module on the ability of medical students and emergency medicine (EM) residents to detect electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities of an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). 

Methods: We developed an online ECG training and testing module on AMI, with emphasis on recognizing ST elevation myocardial infarction (MI) and early activation of cardiac catheterization resources. Study participants included senior medical students and EM residents at all post-graduate levels rotating in our emergency department (ED). Participants were given a baseline set of ECGs for interpretation. This was followed by a brief interactive online training module on normal ECGs as well as abnormal ECGs representing an acute MI. Participants then underwent a post-test with a set of ECGs in which they had to interpret and decide appropriate intervention including catheterization lab activation. 

Results: 148 students and 35 EM residents participated in this training in the 2012-2013 academic year. Students and EM residents showed significant improvements in recognizing ECG abnormalities after taking the asynchronous online training module. The mean score on the testing module for students improved from 5.9 (95% CI [5.7-6.1]) to 7.3 (95% CI [7.1-7.5]), with a mean difference of 1.4 (95% CI [1.12-1.68]) (p<0.0001). The mean score for residents improved significantly from 6.5 (95% CI [6.2-6.9]) to 7.8 (95% CI [7.4-8.2]) (p<0.0001).

Conclusion: An online interactive module of training improved the ability of medical students and EM residents to correctly recognize the ECG evidence of an acute MI. [West J Emerg Med. 2015;16(1):–0.]

Introduction: As scholarship moves into the digital sphere, applicant and promotion and tenure (P&T) committee members lack formal guidance on evaluating the impact of digital scholarly work. The P&T process requires the appraisal of individual scholarly impact in comparison to scholars across institutions and disciplines. As dissemination methods evolve in the digital era, we must adapt traditional P&T processes to include emerging forms of digital scholarship.

Methods: We conducted a blended, expert consensus procedure using a nominal group process to create a consensus document at the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors Academic Assembly on April 1, 2019.

Results: We discussed consensus guidelines for evaluation and promotion of digital scholarship with the intent to develop specific, evidence-supported recommendations to P&T committees and applicants. These recommendations included the following: demonstrate scholarship criteria; provide external evidence of impact; and include digital peer-review roles. As traditional scholarship continues to evolve within the digital realm, academic medicine should adapt how that scholarship is evaluated. P&T committees in academic medicine are at the epicenter for supporting this changing paradigm in scholarship.

Conclusion: P&T committees can critically appraise the quality and impact of digital scholarship using specific, validated tools. Applicants for appointment and promotion should highlight and prepare their digital scholarship to specifically address quality, impact, breadth, and relevance. It is our goal to provide specific, timely guidance for both stakeholders to recognize the value of digital scholarship in advancing our field.

Background

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusions