Not to beat a dead hoarse, but....

[MS05']

From the EM Resident Graduates perspectuve:

What do we have to physically do to obtain board certification in CCM? I mean, what do we physically have to. Everything I read says it's in dicussion (and has been in discussion for years) and I get the uneasy feeling that nothing is truley happening.

So what do we do, get together an sue the ABIM for blocking us?
What about (and this is totally out there...) why don't we start boarding ICU patients in the ED, make a little corner somewhere and set up a vent farm. Great training for the residents! If you have an overflow part of the department you could put them there too!

By keeping patients in the ED, the ICU patient census will thin down rapidly and they'll get $$$ pinched and hospital administration will loose (actually hemorrhage) mass quantities of money. The average ICU stay is what, $4,000 - $5,000?

You would think with the proven dramastic demand for ccm docs countrywide that there would be a little more to movement forward to train em docs.

There is a journal article I have somewhere buried under the mess I call my office which surveyed em residents and asked them how many of them were considering doing a cc fellowship after em, and i believe, if anyone else knows please correct me, but it was something like 11%-15%!

Then they asked the same question, but this time said that you could sit for the boards at the end of your two years and 44%-47% said they would apply to sccm.

very frustrating

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[southerndoc]

You have an office as a medical student, or are you referring to your home "office?"

The idea of EM physicians being subspecialty certified or sub-boarded in critical care has only been tossed around for the last 5-8 years. Although it seems like an eternity, things are actually progressing. This is not a decision that will be made in one year.

My personal opinion -- and I do emphasize opinion -- is that critical care subspecialty certification will be open to EM physicians within the next 5-10 years.

 

[KGUNNER1]

From the EM Resident Graduates perspectuve:

What do we have to physically do to obtain board certification in CCM? I mean, what do we physically have to. Everything I read says it's in dicussion (and has been in discussion for years) and I get the uneasy feeling that nothing is truley happening.

So what do we do, get together an sue the ABIM for blocking us?
What about (and this is totally out there...) why don't we start boarding ICU patients in the ED, make a little corner somewhere and set up a vent farm. Great training for the residents! If you have an overflow part of the department you could put them there too!

By keeping patients in the ED, the ICU patient census will thin down rapidly and they'll get $$$ pinched and hospital administration will loose (actually hemorrhage) mass quantities of money. The average ICU stay is what, $4,000 - $5,000?

You would think with the proven dramastic demand for ccm docs countrywide that there would be a little more to movement forward to train em docs.

There is a journal article I have somewhere buried under the mess I call my office which surveyed em residents and asked them how many of them were considering doing a cc fellowship after em, and i believe, if anyone else knows please correct me, but it was something like 11%-15%!

Then they asked the same question, but this time said that you could sit for the boards at the end of your two years and 44%-47% said they would apply to sccm.

very frustrating

Patience young padwan! I am pleased to read about your enthusiasm. We are working on this. The bottom line, if you want to practice CC/EM then do a CC fellowship. Go to Europe and sit for boards (my rec) and then find a place to practice.

More and more EM/CCM docs are being turned out each year. Pitt has 5 EM docs entering their CCM fellowship this year and Shock Trauma always has 2-4 each year. Not to mention Hopkins, Cooper, North Shore etc... Fellowships are cropping up all over the place.

I highly suggest that if you haven't joined the EM section of SCCM or the Critical Care Section of ACEP then do so. We are growing in numbers and recently won an award from ACEP for the most growth in a section.

Our time will come. I agree with Southerndoc.

Keep up the enthusiasm!

kg

 

[southerndoc]

KG, I think there are more EM/CCM guys out there than there are toxicologists. If they can justify a toxicology exam, they can justify a CCM exam for EM-boarded physicians.

Eventually EM physicians will have the ability to get certified.

 

[MS05']

by office, i'm referring to the corner of our living room that my wife allows for me to stack journal articles, em stuff from the mail, the majority of crap i come home with from each shift (i'm still amazed how much stuff i put in my pockets by the end of a shift that i forgot i had or never used or had a chance to use) and have a nice 3-4 foot pile of the aforementioned...yes...my office.

i really enjoy critical care, however am somewhat hesitant to jump into a fellowship at this point not knowing for sure that i would be "hire-able" i know i know, i should do it anyway for the education, however need to look at this more practically.

thoughts/feelings.......