My Rant on what we need to know in Emergency Medicine.

This is the reason the RESUSCITATION CONFERENCE, RESUS 2010 was established in Australia(July 10th and 11th). This is my rant during a Fellowship Course.

It really is about what we need to know in emergency medicine. It’s about knowing what our role is in Emergency Medicine. It’s about knowing that we cannot know everything about every other specialty, but there are some things such as RESUSCITATION that we have to be experts on.

We as Emergency Physicians have to work with other specialties, in the best interests of the patient. We cannot know, or should not expect ourselves, or be expected by others, to know as much as other subspecialties. We are not cardiologists, or upper GI specialists, we are Emergency Specialists. We need an amount of knowledge that allows us to intially stabilize and diagnose and treat patients, then admit or discharge appropriately.

WE ARE RESUSCITATION experts, or should be. Remember, if you are a registrar, don’t have, as I have seen in other registrars and even emergency physicians, some kind of inferiority complex, because you do not know things in depth. Don’t be bullied into feeling that way by other sub specialties. Compassionate and understanding specialists in other specialties understand and respect what we do. The ones that don’t, don’t waste your time with, or re-educate. Do what is in the best interests of your patient.

We should be proud of our specialty, because we make a difference. We are the only place that some of these patients can go. Be knowledgeable so you make a difference, because as I always say “the knowledge you take into a shift does matter!”