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It has been an incredible year for a number of reasons. We had some fantastic papers to review, excellent guest skeptics and super SGEM Xtras. I am very energized to keep the momentum rolling for this knowledge translation project in 2018.
From my perspective, 2017 was the year of Females in Emergency Medicine (FeminEM). This SGEM Xtra episode is a way to recognized some of the amazing women whose voices are changing the world of emergency medicine. The theme music is by Helen Reddy called I am Woman (1975).
Anyone who listens to the SGEM knows my favorite number is five. I tried so hard to only have five super star women to highlight. This proved to be an impossible task. The list just got longer and longer and longer. Quickly there were ten and then twelve and finally I stopped at fifteen. At least it is a multiple of the number five.
There are other women who are also super heroes of science, supporters of the SGEM but not Emergency Medicine physicians. I am just going to mention a few before I get to the FeminEM list.
Of course, there is Dr. Jen Gunter (@DrJenGunter) the gynecologist who took on Gwyneth Paltrow and GOOP. She is constantly wielding the lasso of truth. We did our first Facebook Live episode with Jen as an SGEM Xtra from the Bat Cave this fall.
That event reminds me of Cristina Roach (@TRC_Podcast) who is the co-host of The Reality Check (TRC) podcast. She and her team at TRC put out a weekly Canadian podcast that explores a wide range of controversies and curiosities using science and critical thinking. Cristina is always classy and never smart assy.
One other super hero of science is Meghan Groth (@EMpharmGirl). She has been such a great supporter and contributor to the SGEM (#81, #93, #117, #144, #169 and #174). As an Emergency Medicine Pharmacist, she always reminds me that it takes a team working together to make sure patients get the best care based on the best evidence.
1) Dara Kass (@DaraKass): She is the driving force and creator of FeminEM. I had the pleasure of getting to know her this year and doing a SGEM Xtra episode called Stronger Together. We discussed FeminEM and the Female Information eXchange 2017 (FIX17) conference she was planning to hold in New York City. The FIX17 event sold out and was so successful they are moving to a larger venue for FIX18 on October 16th to 18th, 2018 in New York City. This is to meet the overwhelming interest in this type of educational experience. If you are interested in attending, register now before it is sold out again. Or if you are interested in speaking, get your application in by January 5th to be a FIX18 Speaker.
2) Diane Birnbaumer (@D_Birnbaumer): I have admired Diane for a number of years as an educator. She is definitely a Legend of Emergency Medicine. Over the last few years it has been a privilege to be able to teach with her on the Emergency Medicine and Acute Care (EMAC) course, National Emergency Medicine Board Review (NEMBR) course and Boot Camp courses as part of the Center for Medical Education (CCME). She has a strong interest in physician wellness and did an episode on mindfulness to prevent burnout (SGEM#178). We also launched a research project on mindfulness to improve physician wellness. I am looking forward to completing and presenting the research in 2018 with Diane.
3) Megan Ranney (@MeganRanney): This is someone I met for the first time this year and was just blown away. It was one of those wow moments when you get introduced to someone think, how could I have not possibly known about this person? She was in Washington, DC testifying to congress on guns. As a Canadian outsider it has been always difficulty to understand the complicated relationship our neighbor to the south has with guns and the second amendment. Megan opened my eyes, made me appreciate the nuances and reassured me that there are things that can be done to make the US safer without violating people’s rights. She also is on the SAEM Online Board and an Editor for Annals of Emergency Medicine.
4) Heather Murray (@HeatherM211): She is from Queens’ University and an evidence based medicine nerd like me. I got to meet Heather a few years ago at Grand Rounds in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. She really knows here stuff and asked me some pretty tough questions. Heather is part of the Best Evidence in Emergency Medicine (BEEM) faculty and presented at SkiBEEM. If you ever get a chance to see her speak take the opportunity. She could run a master class on slide design and oral delivery.
5) Gillian Schimtz (@GillianMD1): This is another one of those…how did I not know about this amazing person? I first met her teaching the Advanced Boot Camp for Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants this year. She walked into the lecture hall with hundreds of people and owned the audience. She projected calm confidence and delivered the information with such an accessible style. The next time I ran into Gillian was at ACEP 2017. She was on the way to meet up with some other doctors and invites me to tag along. It turns out to be the ACEP Presidential Suite to have drinks with the ACEP President Elect. Turns out not only is Gillian amazing teacher but she is also an ACEP Board of Directors member.
6) Esther Choo (@Choo_EK): Everyone should know Esther after this year. This is because she sent shockwaves through the twitterverse with a series of ten tweets after the incident in Charlottesville. It started with a tweet that said: “We’ve got a lot of white nationalists in Oregon. So a few times a year a patient in the ER refuses treatment from me because of my race”. We discussed this series of tweets about racism with Esther on an SGEM Xtra called Stronger. She is also a Senior Editor for AEM, and a contributor to Self Magazine and the Huffington Post.
7) Jess Mason (@JessMasonMD): She is also someone who is widely known that I did not know well until this year. We had met before as part of the Teaching Course in New York City but did not really work together until doing EMRAP Live in September. We even made a BatDoc video at the same time. Besides being Emergency Medicine faculty at University of California SF Fresno, Jess is the producer of EMRAP-HD, co-host of Continuous Core Content (C3) and This Won’t Hurt a Bit.
8) K Kay Moody (@KKayMoodyDOMPH): She is probably best known for starting the Facebook group called EMDocs. It is a private space for emergency physicians to share the challenges and joys of Emergency Medicine. Kay is also the founder of Physician Wellness, an organization that aims to prevent physician burn out by encouraging sustainable professional satisfaction. We met her for the first time in person at ACEP17 in Washington, DC. I got to thank her for being so committed to physician wellness. This was done in the form of a BatDoc video.
9) Natalie May (@_NMay): She is one of the amazing people from St. Emlyn’s and has a subspecialty in paediatric Emergency Medicine. Natalie appeared on the SGEM this year reviewing the QuickWee Method. She started her career in the UK (Manchester and Oxford) before moving to Australia in 2015 to work for Sydney HEMS. We appeared on stage at SMACC Chicago doing a parody of Jimmy Fallon’s Tight Pants skit and have a BatDoc Video from SMACCDub.
10) Teresa Chan (@TChanMD): She is a research power house on medical education from McMaster University. We have worked on a number of projects over the last few years including publishing articles on social media for medical education, recording a fun holiday issue on Early Goal Directed Dating (SGEM#100) and producing the SGEM Season#2 as a PDF book. Teresa contributes to the FOAMed sites ALiEM and CanadiEM. This year she has 19 abstracts to present at the Canadian Association of Emergency Physician meeting in Calgary for CAEP18.
11) Kirsty Challen (@KirstyChallen): She is a consultant in Emergency Medicine with a History of Medicine BSc and has a PhD in Health Services Research. Kirsty started posting infographics of SGEM episodes called #PaperinaPic. I was blown away with her initiative and ability to present the information in a visual format. We met in person at SMACCDub and made a BatDoc video and she has been a guest skeptic on SGEM#184. Our relationship has been formalized and Kirsty has her own Paper in a Picture section on the SGEM website. Her knowledge translation project has caught the eye of the team at Academic Emergency Medicine. As such, Kirsty is now the “chief infographics creator” for papers published in AEM.
12) Jan Shoenberger (@Shoenberger): She is another gifted educator that I have had the honor to have worked with as part of the Emergency Medical Abstracts team. She also teaches with me at the EMAC, NEMBR and Boot Camp courses organized by CCME. I am a huge Jan fan and can understand why the residents love her so much. She has been the Residency Program Director at the USC Keck School of Medicine since 2011. She is also board certified and does research in Palliative Care. Jan has yet to be a guest skeptic on the SGEM and is something I must correct in 2018.
13) Lauren Westafer (@LWestafer): She is a rising star in Emergency Medicine. I could tell five years ago when she first appeared on the SGEM as a medical student that she was amazing. Lauren has been involved in a number of #FOAMed projects including co-hosting FOAMCast so you never have to FOAM it alone. If you want to see how great a presenter she is check out her presentation from CAEP15 about Un-Learning. There is also a BatDoc video of Lauren at SMACCDub.
14) Judith Tintinalli: She is another Legend of Emergency Medicine that was featured this past summer on the SGEM. Judy needs no introduction because everyone in Emergency Medicine knows her because she literally wrote the book on our specialty (Tintinalli’s Emergency Mediicne). We met a few years ago at an ACEP meeting. Since then we have run into each other at various conferences. The most recent was at a #PuraVida conference in Costa Rica. Judy was good sport and made a BatDoc video.
15) Eve Purdy (@Purdy_Eve): I cannot think of a better way to end this special SGEM Xtra focusing on FeminEM then highlighting Eve. She is one of the most wonderful students I have ever had the privilege to know. Eve is an Emergency Medicine Resident at Queens University and doing a Masters of Anthropology at the same time. She can do more than just learn and teach (CAEP15, SGEM #63, #101 and #101). Eve can sing really, really well as proven by her Cup Song video. She is also a great role model and inspiration for my two teenage daughters demonstrating that they can do anything.
There you go SGEMers, fifteen amazing women that made me think 2017 was the year of Females in Emergency Medicine. You can get a more comprehensive list of amazing women by clicking on the FeminEM Speaker Bureau.
Happy New Year. The SGE will be back early in 2018 with a structured critical review of the Ottawa Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Rule published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) November, 2017. Cutting that kowledge translation window down from over ten years to less than one year with the power of social media. It will feature lead author Jeff Perry and the guest skeptic will be Chris Carpenter. Our on-going mission is for patients to get the best care based on the best evidence.
Don’t forget to down load Season#3 of the SGEM as a free PDF book. All the episodes have been reformatted to be downloaded and shared. There is even a chapter listing all the theme music and the talented artists that create the music. Season#1 and Season#2 are also available to be downloaded as part of the Free Open Access to Medical Education (FOAMed) movement.
Request: If you have time please leave a five star review on iTunes, like the SGEM on Facebook and follow the SGEM on Twitter.
Remember to be skeptical of anything you learn, even if you heard it on the Skeptics’ Guide to Emergency Medicine.
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