Weekly Update

May 24, 2020

General Announcements

From Dr. Osman Sayan: Scholarly Productivity

We are currently in the process of compiling a list of the EM residents’ scholarly productivity to date.

Please email ors1@cumc.columbia.edu back with the following information:

Your Name:

Graduating Class Year:

Publications to date including citation (if any):

Lectures or Teaching Experience(s) and date(s) (if any):

Scholarly Project:

                Topic or topic ideas:

                Mentor (if any):

                Meeting(s) with Research Committee (Sunday Clark or Bernard Chang) and date(s):

Please try to get this information to leadership as soon as possible – thanks!

From EM Leadership: Elective Submissions

Please remember that an elective application form must be submitted and approved prior to the start of any elective block.  Instructions for this process can be found on the teamsite:

https://nypem.net/electives

Mark Curato will be overseeing the process going forward, so please feel free to direct questions to him.

In our current COVID reality, away electives are not presently permitted, but please stay in touch with leadership as this is an evolving area.

From Dr. Manish Garg: Wellness Committee

Dear Residents,

We’ve been asked by the Columbia physician wellness committee for a resident representative.  I think it’s a wonderful way to help advocate for your colleagues and champion wellness in our program.  We meet the 3rd Wednesdays 3-4pm.

Please let me know if you are interested and I will forward a name to Jenny.

Thanks,

Manish

Campus Announcements

From Dr. Angela Mills: After Action Report

Dear Colleagues,

In the past several months we have experienced an ongoing surge related to the COVID-19 pandemic that none of us has experienced before.

The Department of Emergency Medicine and the NYP Strategy team will be creating After Action Reports that will chronicle what occurred, what went well, and opportunities to do something different next time.  With that goal, we will be holding multidisciplinary Virtual Debriefing Sessions with frontline staff which will take place over the next few weeks. 

The purpose of the groups is to gain additional insight and obtain a multidisciplinary perspective directly from the front line. Please consider joining one of these sessions.  Your input is critical and we would like to hear from all who worked in the ED during the COVID-19 surge.  Sessions will last 30-60 minutes with a group of 8-10 participants by site. Questions for discussion may include:

  • What happened during the surge of patients, from your perspective?
  • What went well? What new initiatives would you like to see stick?
  • What could have been done better?
  • What was concerning to staff or patient safety?
  • What resources were helpful for your well-being and how could your needs have been better addressed? 

The NYP Strategy team will be facilitating these multidisciplinary sessions and departmental leadership will not be part of the sessions. 

If interested in participating, please sign up here and you will be contacted with a variety of possible times and additional details. 

Thank you in advance for your participation and for all that you do for our patients. 

Follow this link to the Survey: 
Take the Survey

Or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser:
https://cumc.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9MFJ2MiM3X93pf7

 

From Rosa Borenzstein:  COVID documentation

If a COVID 19 test was ordered, please document if you informed patient of their COVID 19 test result. 

If you did not inform patient of result because the test was not yet back, document this information on ED record and place a follow up order. 

We receive many COVID test results daily.

It would be very helpful if we did not have to call every patient with results, if this information was already provided to patient during their ED stay.

Thank you,

Rosa

From Dr. Kaushal Shah: Visual Dx

For those that have the VisualDx app, the company just informed me that they have turned on the DermDx feature for everyone at Cornell.  This means you can use their artificial intelligence software to get a differential diagnosis after you take a picture of the skin lesion.  Try it!
 
 

From Dr. Kaushal Shah: Wellness Resources

The Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation and First Descents are teaming up to launch HERO RECHARGE – a nationwide series of outdoor adventure programs for healthcare professionals. Thanks to a leadership gift from the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation, all programs will be provided free of charge to healthcare workers. 

We can’t fathom what it’s like to be on the front-lines of the greatest healthcare crisis of our generation. But we do know this: you and your colleagues have our enduring gratitude. Simply put, we want you to have the opportunity to adventure and recharge in beautiful wild places with your professional peers. 

HERO RECHARGE will offer programs focusing on rock climbing, kayaking, rafting, paddle boarding, mountain biking, yoga, and surfing. At night, there will be time to relax and connect around the campfire over delicious meals prepared by First Descents Chefs. All lodging, gear, outfitter instruction, and food will be provided. Right now, we’re creating these epic adventures with the hope to roll them out in late summer or early Fall as public health directives permit. 

For more information, check out the links below!

1. Email and Survey for Healthcare Workers– please share broadly with your network. 
 
2. First Descents Healthcare Worker Programs page–  for those are interested in the Healthcare Worker Programs and want to receive more info. 
 

MCB Message of the Month

Conference This Week

Shout out to CHONY’s Dr. Shiu Lin Tsai and her colleagues who donated the award money from a recent research project to the NYPEM residency in honor of all the sacrifices made by our team during the COVID epidemic.  The money will be used to support resident wellness and significantly improve the resident room.  Thank you for this incredible generosity!

Upcoming Residency Events

 
  • May 27th – PGY4 Research Day
  • June 3rd – Virtual Graduation!

To Dos

ALL

PGY4s

  • Home stretch! Make sure all your procedure logs are up to date as we approach graduation!
  • Remember to complete your EMS ride-alongs! You need 10 4-hour sessions to graduate!
  • Get disability insurance before graduating residency.  Here’s one resource to start.
  • If a job requires your residency malpractice insurance history, email nog9010@nyp.org & mam9160@nyp.org to obtain the relevant documents.  

PGY3s

PGY2s

  • Time to start leading notifications!  Rely on your fellow residents, constantly communicate with your team, and learn as much as you can! 
  • If you have money to save after NYC costs and student loan repayment, consider putting it into NYP’s 403(b) or an IRA.  The “Roth” option is likely better when you’re a resident.  

PGY1s

  • Scroll down to 3. Publications and Educational Initiatives for some good EM resources!  Or check out this centralization of other EM resources including podcasts, books, apps and Qbanks.
  • We’re at that point in the year when it’s time to start becoming the PGY2 you always knew you could be. Stretch yourself on shift both in terms of volume and patient complexity.   

Chief on Call

Ahmed Shaikh, M.D. 
EM Chiefs’ Cell:  917-410-1056
  • Please call and do not text/ email so we can address issues promptly.
  • If you do not hear back within 10 minutes, then call any of the other chiefs.