Episodes

“Less Lethal” Crowd Control You may have heard of “non-lethal” or “less lethal” weapons used for crowd control. These include things such as pepper spray, tear gas, bean bags, and rubber bullets. But, while these may be less lethal than standard weapons and bullets, they still cause serious harm and even death. As protests raged across the U.S. this summer, we have seen many injuries associated with these methods. Dr. James Chenoweth, an emergency physician and toxicologist, joins us to explain ...

Has MIS-C changed the way you approach a febrile child? I know I struggle to understand this new disease. Fortunately Dr. Natasha Nakra, a Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist, joins us this month to clarify what we know about MIS-C, when we should think about it, and what we should do. Have you seen a child with MIS-C? What tipped you off? Send us your answer via on social media, @empulsepodcast, or through our website, ucdavisem.com. ***Please rate us and leave us a review on iTunes! It h...

Welcome back to EM Pulse. It’s no secret that black, indigenous, and people of color are underrepresented in medicine and academics. This is largely due to structural or institutionalized racism, which is a massive topic for another time. While it may be difficult to swallow, white people have benefited from this system, and many of us are still learning just how our my privilege afforded us. This can be unnerving and even embarrassing at times, as we start to really appreciate the struggle our ...

In the first half of our episode on surge, we heard first hand accounts of how COVID-19 impacted EDs and ICUs in hard hit areas. In the second half, we explore emergency preparedness at a more macro level. Experts, Dr. John Rose and Dr. Dan Colby, join us to discuss how county emergency medical services, hospital administration, and emergency departments are planning for a potential surge of COVID-19 cases. As new infections and hospitalizations are rising across most of the country, they offer ...

As we watched the novel coronavirus spread through China and Italy, we knew it was just a matter of time before a wave of illness hit the US. The surge struck early in New York and New Orleans, threatening to overwhelm health care resources, including PPE, ventilators, ICU beds, and hospital staff. We hear from Dr. Leslie Palmerlee, an emergency physician in New Orleans, about her experience there. Then we go in depth with Dr. Alfredo Astua, a critical care physician at one of New York’s hardest...

What are you seeing in your hospital? How did your system prepare for a surge? Send us your answer via on social media, @empulsepodcast, or through our website, ucdavisem.com. And stay tuned for the June 17 episode on SURGE. We will hear from the critical care doctor who managed the surge from the provider standpoint with other experts on how we can prepare for a SURGE. ***Please rate us and leave us a review on iTunes! It helps us reach more people.*** Host: Dr. Julia Magaña, Assistant Profe...

COVID was supposed to be the great equalizer, but in reality not all of us are affected the same. Vulnerable populations experience higher rates of infection and death, and worse social outcomes. Access to healthcare is not equitable. In this episode we dive into why this is a thing and what we can do about this as providers. What are you seeing in your hospital? What are you or your systems doing to reduce implicit bias? Send us your answer via on social media, @empulsepodcast, or through our ...

How do you treat the pain of pediatric long bone fractures? Is it equitable? In this episode the authors of Racial and Ethnic Differences in Emergency Department Pain Management of Children With Fractures of Pediatrics May 2020 discuss if our care is equitable and why it may not be. It is an important discussion that pushes us to think about our perception of pain and how race and ethnicity impact our approach. ***Please rate us and leave us a review on iTunes! It helps us reach more people.***...

This is a challenging time for physicians and the entire healthcare workforce. That’s putting it mildly. The coronavirus pandemic is affecting all of us, physically and emotionally. In emergency medicine, we are used to dealing with stressful situations, but this pandemic brings new personal and professional challenges. We are managing severe illness for which we have no proven treatment, watching patients suffer and die alone, and living with constant worry of infecting our loved ones or even d...

In this episode of our miniseries, EM physician and wellness expert, Dr. Wendy Lau, returns with a guided meditation, using the GRACE framework. This practice helps us breathe, relax, and cope with the stress we are all feeling during the coronavirus pandemic. Get comfortable, close your eyes, and meditate with us. How are you coping with the stress of the coronavirus pandemic? Did you find this miniseries helpful? Connect with us and share your thoughts and experiences, on social media @empulse...

In these uncertain times, poets, artists, musicians, psychiatrists, philosophers, and others, have stepped forward to offer inspiration, compassion, advice, and hope. In this episode of our miniseries, we share some of the words and art we found helpful. Thank you to the authors and artists featured, and to all those who are contributing positive energy during this time. What art, words, or music have you found helpful or inspiring during the coronavirus pandemic? Please share them with us – on ...

We’re in the midst of a global pandemic and, of course, everyone’s attention is focused on COVID-19. Other podcasts have excellent coverage of this situation. In this episode, we’ll be discussing other important infections that continue to affect our communities: HIV, hepatitis C, and syphilis. Over the past year, the UC Davis ED implemented a massive screening effort to identify patients who have become infected. Dr. Larissa May explains how the screening works and some of the surprising trends...

This month’s Heartbeat is about something most of never get enough of: SLEEP. Dr. Katren Tyler, emergency physician and Vice Chair of Wellness for the UC Davis Department of Emergency Medicine, shares some important information about sleep and shift work. Katren recently spoke on this topic at the UC Davis EM Winter Conference in Lake Tahoe. She explains how our sleep patterns change throughout our lives, and how shift work affects our health and our ability to do our job as physicians. She also...

If you’ve ever watched a patient, friend, or family member have a seizure, you know how scary and stressful it can be for everyone involved. It’s even more stressful when you can’t get the seizure to stop – this is called status epilepticus. Usually, benzodiazepines are our first line medication. If benzos don’t work, we all have our favorite second, and even third line agents to try to break seizures. But how well do they really work? Is one better than another? Or safer? This episode starts w...

Happy National Women Physicians Day and National Wear Red Day, promoting awareness of heart disease in women! In this month’s Heartbeat, we have the privilege of speaking with the brilliant and visionary Dr. Alyson McGregor. Dr. McGregor is an emergency physician who specializes in sex and gender emergency medicine. She spoke with us about heart disease – the number one killer of women in the US – and how our current algorithms, diagnostic tests, and treatments are flawed. We’ll hear more from A...

Happy 2020! Well, that’s a wrap on another year of EM Pulse. Our podcast continues to grow, as does our audience. We published another 25 new episodes this year and now have listeners in 114 countries around the world! We also did our first live podcast from the Western Regional SAEM Conference. There are more exciting things to come this year! In 2020, we are kicking off our Advisory Panel, a group of diverse physicians, and some non-physicians, to keep EM Pulse fresh and focused, and also add ...

Welcome back and happy new year! If you are an EM or peds provider you likely know the name PECARN (Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network). This powerhouse was the first federally funded pediatric emergency medicine research network in the US and generates quality studies like nobody’s business. We have reviewed three landmark PECARN studies: Hot off the Press infant fever rule, DKA it’s not about the fluids, A Cool Tool. And in the next few months we will discuss seizure management...

Global health can be an amazing adventure or an unsettling disappointment. We can make a big difference in the lives of people around the world or drain local resources and have a feel good vacation. In this episode we hear meaningful international impact stories and from global health experts on how we can make a meaningful impact as well. Have you worked internationally? Send us your story – it might even be featured in our global health mini series! Connect with us on social media at @empuls...

Last month we explored leveraging tech for life long learning. In this heartbeat we discuss tech as a teaching tool with Dr. Emily Andrada, an amazing teacher who has mastered using technology for teaching. Hear about the ups and downs of using technology for education, Emily’s favorite tools, and a new resource available on www.ucdavisem.com – Unschooling Time. What is your favorite tech teaching tool? How do you leverage tech as a teacher? Let’s continue the conversation on social media @emp...

The amount of information we are expected to learn in medical school, residency, and beyond can be overwhelming – like drinking from a firehose! In this episode, we explore some ways in which physicians can leverage technology to help manage all of this information and facilitate life long learning. Several residents and attendings discuss what works for them, including using apps and online resources, and listening to podcasts. We then talk with Dr. Ryan Ribeira and Dr. Adam Dougherty of SimX a...

In this heartbeat we do something a little different. We discuss the story behind EM Pulse and three lessons we learned in our creative pursuit. These three lessons can be applied to other creative pursuits as well. We would love to hear how you express your passion and what you have learned as well! Let’s continue the conversation on social media @empulsepodcast or at ucdavisem.com. Please subscribe and rate us on iTunes – it helps us reach more people! Hosts: Dr. Julia Magaña, Assistant Pro...

We are in the midst of a mental health crisis that impacts our patients, our hospitals, the health care system, and our daily work in the emergency department. It is easy to be caught up in own experience, or the problems of our own department. But when we look beyond our hospital, we see that this is a huge crisis at county, state, and national levels. To help us understand why we are in this situation, and how we can work to improve things, we spoke with UC Davis’ Director of Emergency Psychia...

High sensitivity troponins are taking over the nation are you ready? Dr. Bryn Mumma is ready and in this heartbeat she shares what we need to know to be ready! Are you using high sensitivity troponins? How is it going? Let’s continue the conversation on social media @empulsepodcast or at ucdavisem.com. Please subscribe and rate us on iTunes – it helps us reach more people! Host: Dr. Julia Magaña, Assistant Professor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at UC Davis Guest: Dr. Bryn Mumma (bemumma@u...

There is an epidemic of poverty in America, and we see it firsthand in the ED. Dr. Donna Beegle has dedicated her life to studying this epidemic, and training others to help break the cycle of poverty. She shares her own personal story of growing up in generational poverty, then helps us understand the scope of poverty in the U.S., and how it affects health. UC Davis Emergency Medicine NP, Danise Seaters, joins us to discuss some strategies for medical providers to help recognize patients who ma...