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May 3, 2020
General Announcements
From Dr. Manish Garg: Weekly Primary Survey
Dear residents,
We are having our primary survey meeting again at 5pm on Sunday.
Zoom Meeting #: 902-383-0868
Conference Update: May 6th
T-Shirt Challenge!
Cameras on this Wednesday! Everyone needs to wear or show their favorite T-Shirt and will get to explain why; Dr Garg will name the winner.
The winner will receive a prize!
From the Chiefs: Residents in the Spotlights
NYP would like to highlight your hard work in the ED and as part of that effort are asking us to submit photos of us in the ED for the NYP twitter feed. If you’re interested in participating, please text any photos to D. Anne Stewart, the CFO of the Columbia Emergency Department at 347 387 2397.
Check out this profile of cat lover Neil Patel!
From D. Anne Stewart: FIGS Donations
Good Afternoon All,
We are happy to report that that FIGS is donating scrubs to our Department!
Please indicate your preference of size on the attached link and return by no later than Friday, April 30th.
As this is a donation, we were unable to select sizes and styles in advance, availability of sizes will be limited.
Once the donation has been received and sorted, further details regarding distribution will be forwarded.
From Dr. Steven McDonald: Help Supply
One of our volunteers (as well as a friend of mine)–Eric Alper–has started a service to help medical professionals meet the needs of daily life during this hectic time.
In his words: “Help Supply is an online platform that quickly connects healthcare workers to the services and support they need to keep up the fight against COVID-19. Healthcare workers have daily needs that are squeezed by the COVID-19 fight; services like grocery shopping, childcare and mental health support have become a challenge to meet. We’ve built relationships with trusted partners with armies of volunteers ready to help and equipped with risk-reduction training & supplies. Launched in NYC, Help Supply is expanding to other markets hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
You can access the service here:
Please feel free to share with any individuals in your network, not just our CUIMC family.
Coronavirus Updates
Given the rapidly evolving response to COVID19, it can be challenging to stay current. Below are the most critical updates from NYP and GME.
Please see the COVID19 Updates page for additional information and resources.
NYP Medication Guidelines (4/15/2020)
UPDATED NYP ED COVID MANAGEMENT ALGORITHM (4/1/2020)
Updated WHS Sick/Exposed/ Quarantined Guidance (4/3/2020)
Interim Testing Guidelines for Admitted Patients (4/4/20)
Updated Guidelines for Airway Management (3/23/2020)
PPE Guide Visual Aide (4/4/2020)
NYP COVID19 TRAVEL GUIDANCE AND FAQs
Campus Announcements
Dr. Penny Lema: Antibody Testing
Dr. Mills has been advocating for our Dept of Emergency Medicine to be first priority to obtain COVID serum antibody testing. We have collaborated with Columbia Infectious Diseases and ColumbiaDoctors to (hopefully) expedite your access to receive testing for those of you who are interested. This expedited process is for our ED faculty, PA’s and residents. I have already placed 30 of you on this expedited list. We have heard some of your hurdles of setting up an OnDemand appointment and clarification of an antibody test appointment. I have asked ID to have our ED frontline bypass these appointments and phone calls with the results of this confidential survey.
Those of you who would like to participate in any of the Columbia COVID studies as a subject can also complete this survey (Q11-15) to be enrolled. The ID research team will contact you.
Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
Link to survey:
Dr. Jenny Castillo: COVID Wellbeing Paper
If any residents are interested in co-authoring a paper on Wellness in the time of COVID, please reach out to Dr. Castillo. She is looking to involve residents in the process!
Inquiries can be sent to:
jlc2298@cumc.columbia.edu
Dr. Chris Tedeschi: ED Incident Commander
Dear Colleagues:
Please utilize the Emergency Medicine Incident Commander for real-time issues at Columbia. The incident commander (IC) will be on-site 24hrs/day, 7d/week throughout the month of April.
The IC will be based at Allen Hospital from midnight to noon, and Milstein/CUIMC from noon to midnight each day. That said, we will work to address issues at both campuses in real time throughout each shift. Responsibilities will include ensuring patient and provider safety, expediting ED logistics and operations, and serving as a primary contact for each command center.
The Emergency Medicine Incident Commander can be reached 24/7 at 347-271-0699.
We will continue to partner with our charge nurses and nurse managers to establish a unified command in the ED. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the IC as a primary point of contact, or for escalation of any issue related to emergency care.
From Dr. Ken Wong: Orienting off-service rotators
Senior residents: please ask the rotator if it’s his or her first or second shift, and (if so) give a brief orientation at perhaps 7:45. This is a shared responsibility with the attending.
Rotators have gotten a welcome email and a handbook; chiefs also gave June in-person orientations. However, a rotator’s first shift can be any one of about 12 times during a month, and nothing’s as good as on-shift instruction. Focus your brief pointers on where to find things, the dispo note template, how to bed request after the dispo, and how to PFD and discharge a patient. Please also go over PPE, early isolation guidance, and guidelines about high risk COVID19 situations.
THIS CONTINUES TO BE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT DURING THIS PANDEMIC, AS WE WANT TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE WHILE IN THE ED.
From Dr. Lynn Jiang: Wellness
I hope this finds you doing well and staying safe!
I had an idea for a wellness related project and wanted to see if you’d be interested in helping me do this or participate.
Many healthcare providers are using the arts (drawing, photography, writing) to help process and meditate during this time. A lot of our colleagues are also sharing these works with others, which creates a stronger community with our colleagues and allows those outside the healthcare field a unique “insider’s perspective.”
My idea is to essentially compile together everyone’s individual work. It can be any type of media as long as it is original work — think the photos we’re already posting or the work Cleavon’s shared. People can continue to share them on their own accounts, but the ultimate goal is to share it to a larger group too — at least via a joint email group, but also (if people are ok with it) by social media so that anyone can participate. Will definitely share a full compiled product at the end of all of this but if we have enough submissions, possibly a weekly update. Hopefully both the creation of pieces (and their viewing) will be helpful for those involved.
If you’re interested, please contact Lynn at lgj7001@med.cornell.edu.
MCB Message of the Month
Conference This Week
Please keep Dr. Breen in your thoughts as we continue to fight COVID day to day.
You are not alone in this. Help is always available.
If you need to talk, please reach out to anyone in leadership, the chiefs, or with whomever you feel safe.
These resources also are there for you.
Upcoming Residency Events
- May 27th – 8 hr Theme and PGY4 Research Day
- May 28th – Residency Retreat
- June 3rd – Graduation at the Central Park Boathouse
To Dos
ALL
- WEAR YOUR PPE ON SHIFT! Keep yourself safe always!
- MedHub hours must be logged!
- Please fill-in your resident profile on nypem.net. It’s a great way to highlight your interests and things you’ve done during residency. https://nypem.net/meet-our-residents/
- Remember– Away Electives require an application submitted 112 days in advance, while NYP electives are a minimum of 56 days. Instructions located here.
- Check out this career guide from the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine https://issuu.com/saemonline/docs/saem_awaem_toolkit
- Please be wise on social media use and don’t risk patients’ trust in the medical profession.
PGY4s
- 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
- Take a look at Dr. Mulcare’s timeline for the job hunt.
- Checkout SAEM’s 2019 academic career guide and their fellowship/ career roadmaps.
- Here’s an article on EMS fellowship opportunities.
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.