Department Blog

Three EM faculty members presented lectures at EMS Care 2014, the annual continuing education conference sponsored by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems. The title of the lecture by Jennifer Guyther, MD, was “Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones: Pediatric Injuries.” Roger Stone, MD, MS, the medical director for the Montgomery County Fire/Rescue Service, presented a breakout session on “Crew Resource Management: It’s Not Just a ‘Fire Thing’!” Ben Lawner, DO, EMT-P, deputy EMS medical director for the Baltimore City Fire Department, presented “Controversies and Conundrums in Trauma Care” and delivered the closing keynote address, “EMS Darwin Awards: Perfectly Good Calls Gone Bad.”

Five EM faculty members participated in the 15th International Conference on Emergency Medicine, held in Hong Kong in early June. Haney Mallemat, MD, presented a lecture titled "From Zero to Hero: The Crashing Ventilated Patient." Amal Mattu, MD, was the course director and presenter of an 8-hour Advanced Electrocardiography workshop. Terry Mulligan, DO, MPH, was the course director of a 2-day workshop on Advanced EM Administration and Management. Steve Schenkel, MD, served as a faculty member for that workshop. Dr. Mulligan also presented two lectures: “Global EM Development” and “Polypharmacy and the Geriatric Patient.” Veronica Pei, MD, MEd, MPH, presented a poster titled “Pre-hospital Care in Suburban China: Effect of International Collaborative Training on the Frequency of Critical Actions Performed,” chaired a poster session, and presented a lecture titled “Teaching the Millennials: What Happened to Respect and Dedication?”

Ben Lawner, DO, MS, EMT-P, presented a lecture titled "The Emergency Department Management of Acutely Decompensated Heart Failure" at the Coastal Emergency Medicine Conference, held on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, last week. One hundred fifty emergency physicians attended this joint conference of the Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina chapters of ACEP.

Darlene Robinson, MD, has received a master's degree in public health, with a concentration in community health, from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Her capstone project focused on insurance reimbursement denials received by hospitalized patients.

Andy Windsor, MD, recently passed the examination requirements of the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography, certifying him as a registered diagnostic medical sonographer. He is our fifth faculty member to achieve the distinction of RDMS designation, joining Drs. Brian Euerle, Sam Hsu, Sarah Sommerkamp, and Laura Diegelmann.

Dr. Doug Sward's article on wilderness medicine, published ealier this year in the World Journal of Emergency Medicine, has been translated into Chinese and published in the Chinese Journal of Emergency Medicine.

Jon Mark Hirshon, MD, MPH, PhD, was interviewed by Bruce Alan of WTOP News in Washington regarding the effect of the Affordable Care Act on emergency departments. Topics included the shortage of primary care physicians, access to care for the mentally ill, and the need for federal policymakers to improve resource allocation through their funding decisions. Dr. Hirshon chairs the ACEP Task Force that compiled America's Emergency Care Environment: A State-by-State Report Card, an assessment of the "health" of emergency medical services across the country.

Joe Martinez, MD, and Amal Mattu, MD, contributed the chapter on abdominal pain to Geriatric Emergency Medicine: Principles and Practice, which was published by Cambridge University Press in April.

Ashley Strobel, MD, recently published the EMRA Pediatric ECG Pocket Card, which describes congenital cardiac anomalies and causes of sudden cardiac death in children. This handy reference tool presents ECG interpretations based on age and ED-relevant Davignon intervals. It is available at the ACEP bookstore.

Congratulations to Roger M. Stone, MD, MS, who was recently certified in EMS medicine by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. In additon to his clinical and academic roles on our faculty, Dr. Stone serves as Medical Director for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.