Emergency Medicine Residency Prepares Doctors for Car Accident Victims

Written By: Casey Smith

While emergency doctors treat patients with a wide variety of medical issues, one of the most common causes for a visit to the emergency room is a car accident. Car accidents may result in injuries that range anywhere from mild to severe, but either way, doctors trained through an emergency medicine residency are ready to treat car accident victims.

Car Accident Statistics

• There are an average of 6 million car accidents in the U.S. each year.
• On average, more than 90 people die in car accidents each day in the U.S.
• Approximately 1.3 million deaths worldwide are caused by car accidents each year.
• Roughly 1 out of 7 drivers do not wear a seat belt.
• Roughly 1 out of 3 drivers text while operating a vehicle.
• Traffic accidents are considered to be the 9th leading cause of death worldwide.

Common Causes of Car Accidents

• Distracted driving
  
• Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• Speeding
• Running red lights or stop signs
• Inexperienced drivers
• Changing lanes carelessly
• Wrong-way driving
• Tired or sleep-deprived drivers
• Tailgating
• Inclement weather
• Animal crossings

Common Car Accident Injuries

There are many different injuries that can occur in the midst of a car accident. Patients who are lucky experience minimal, if any, injury. Others, on the other hand, may experience life-threatening injuries, or even death. Many common injuries due to car accidents include:

• Soft tissue injuries typically affect ligaments, tendons and muscles, which can become stretched during a car accident. This is often referred to as "whiplash."
• Cuts and scrapes are usually the result of being hit by loose, projected objects in the car. They may also occur from hitting or rubbing up against parts of the car itself, such as the airbag or doors.
• Head injuries can range anywhere from minor to severe, but can be very dangerous, depending on the severity. Car accidents can cause muscle strain in the neck or back, or may result in a driver or passenger hitting his or her head against something in the car. When more serious head injury occurs, fluid, tissue and/or the skull may be damaged. Less serious head injury may include general soreness or concussion.
• Chest injuries may be mild, resulting in minor bruises or contusions. However, more serious chest injuries may result in broken ribs or internal damage.
• Arm and leg injuries can occur when a driver or passenger's arms or legs are thrown against or weighted down by parts of the car or other present objects. This can cause minor bruising or scrapes, or even sprained or broken bones.

If you are ever in a car accident in which any signs of injury are present, you will likely take a trip to the emergency room. The doctors waiting to treat you have gained plenty of experience through an EM residency and practice as official doctors. Therefore, you should feel assured that you are under the care of trained and compassionate professionals.

Your Cardiology Fellowship: Skills to Develop

Written By: Sharon Cretsinger

So you are in the application process for a cardiology fellowship.  This process can be quite involved and time consuming.  It is really worth your time to investigate each prospective cardiovascular disease fellowship carefully to make sure that it will provide you with the full range of skills you will need upon completion.

Cardiovascular Fellowship: Major Areas of Focus

• Preventing Additional Cardiovascular Damage:  Many diseases of the heart are chronic and long term.  They often cannot be cured, but can be managed.  The cardiologist must be skilled in helping patients practice preventative medicine and perhaps make lifestyle adjustments to mitigate the continued deterioration of their cardiac conditions.
• Diagnosis:  The cardiologist must be skilled at performing an echocardiogram (ECG) and interpreting the results.
• Heart Rhythm Disorders:  Electrophysiology is actually a sub-specialty within the field of cardiology.  Theses specialists focus on the treatment of heart rhythm disorders and know how to insert pacemakers and utilize electronic defibrillation, among other specialized skills.  If you are interested in this sub-specialty, you will, of course, want to make sure to apply to a Georgetown cardiology fellowship and other fellowships that offer this training.
• Administration:  Like many doctors, cardiologists may spend some time each week updating patient records and submitting insurance forms.  Your fellowship should provide you with some skills in this area as well.

Cardiology Fellowship: Role of the Cardiologist

Once you have completed your fellowship and have become a fully licensed cardiologist, how will you spend your time?

1. Examining patients will take a lot of your time.  You will often receive referrals from primary care or other kinds of doctors to take care of patients who have had heart attacks or other cardiac events.
2. You will order and interpret tests in order to decide on the best course of treatment for your patients.  Some of these include echocardiograms, stress tests and blood tests.
3. Some of your time will be spent treating patients.  This can include prescribing medication or counseling with regard to lifestyle changes.  If you have chosen a specialty in electrophysiology, you will also spend some of your time implanting pacemakers and performing other related treatments.

Family Medicine Residency and Primary Care

Written By: Sharon Cretsinger

There has been a great deal of discussion in the United States over health care in the past few years, or maybe even decades.  What is the best way to deliver it?  What is the best way to make sure people can pay for it? Why on Earth does it have to cost so much?  Regardless of what you think the answers are to any of these questions, one piece that you have likely heard about is "primary care".

The Family Medicine Residency and Primary Care

What kind of doctors go into primary care as a practice specialty?  The answer to this question is much easier.  Largely, it will be those who have completed a family medicine residency program.  When we consider the good work that is done by primary care physicians as a whole, it is not surprising that many young doctors who are very interested in helping others will choose a family medicine residency that will support a subsequent career in primary care.  The Franklin family medicine residency program that is based in the Baltimore and DC area is one such opportunity.

Family Medicine Residency:  Supporting Better Outcomes

More primary care doctors coming out of residencies in family medicine means more access to primary care for more people everywhere.  This is a factor that is known to increase the lifespan and overall quality of life for many people.  The primary care provider is responsible not only for addressing a large majority of an individual patient's health care needs, but also for developing an ongoing relationship with that patient, their family, and the community.  Folks who can easily access primary care on an ongoing basis live longer and feel better than those who don't or can't; and, they also have lower health care costs overall.  They enjoy some of these other advantages as well:

• Less need for major and invasive surgeries
• Fewer emergency medical visits
• A reduced need for inpatient admissions
• Less outpatient visits for chronic and other conditions

Gain More Experience Through a Cardiology Fellowship

Written By: Casey Smith

What Is a Cardiologist?

A cardiologist is a doctor who specializes in heart care. Heart care may include aspects such as preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases pertaining to the heart or blood vessels. When caring for patients, a cardiologist will review their medical history and complete a physical exam. If these preliminary actions do not lead to conclusive results, a cardiologist may request that additional tests be performed. Some of these tests may include a blood test, an x-ray, or an ECG, just to name a few.

Cardiologists may work in a variety of settings, whether independently or as part of a company, in a small office or a major hospital setting. Cardiologists often work hand-in-hand with other doctors; general physicians are likely to refer patients to a cardiologist for a more in-depth exam if they suspect that something may be amiss. Cardiologists, while all dealing with heart or blood vessel related issues, may specialize in specific areas of cardiology. These areas may include those such as child or adult heart care. Some cardiologists may also choose to specialize in interventional procedures.

How Do You Become a Cardiologist?

As with any career in the medical field, becoming a cardiologist requires years of education and training. Prospective cardiologists must first earn a bachelor's degree, followed by completing a medical school program. After completing medical school, graduates are required to earn a medical license by passing exams that test their knowledge of the field which they are pursuing. Graduates must then complete an internal medicine residency, in which they will learn through observation and hands-on experience within a variety of medical specialties. Once graduates have completed a residency, they are required to complete a cardiology fellowship, in which they will have the opportunity to perform their own research and gain even more hands-on experience. While obtaining a medical license is required, graduates also have the opportunity to earn board certification as well, providing them with even more credibility.

Becoming a cardiologist may seem like a long and stressful process, but with all the experience gained through internal medicine residencies and a cardiovascular fellowship, the process tends to become easier to handle, as long as you are dedicated and continue to strive for success.