Emergency Physician Supply and Demand: Migration Trends

Historically, when asked which states most providers consider outside of training, or in general, the standard answer was that they either were born/have family in a particular state, trained in a particular state, or were considering one of the “big five”. The “big five” consists of California, Florida, New York, Texas, and Washington. It is no coincidence that these are among the five most populous states with some of the biggest economies in the country.

Today however, the ever changing landscape within healthcare is reshaping the marketplace like never before.  Emergency medicine is reacting to two main contributors to physician migration trends, including the national climate over the last several years and the introduction of  freestanding emergency departments that are rapidly expanding in a few key states.

He Did It Again... @medicalaxioms Strikes Gold with #ThatOhNoFeeling

It's been a couple of fun weeks on Twitter. Last week #SpecialtiesIn6Words blew up on Twitter and this week Dr. Mark Reed struck gold again with #ThatOhNoFeeling. As someone who engages on social media on a regular basis, I'm rather impressed with @medicalaxoims ability to come up with these so regularly...can he continue the trend? 

The clever hashtag challenges healthcare providers to share the experiences that make their hearts sink. Whether it's an unfortunate situation, a less than ideal encounter, or a momentary lapse in memory, these tweets capture all the moments you may think "oh no!"

You can find the complete feed here, but we've picked out a few of our favorites to help break up the day. So once again, without further adieu...

Physician Burnout: How To Identify It As An Emergency Physician

According to an article from the Archives of Internal Medicine, physicians on the front line of patient care experience a higher rate of burnout than other medical specialties. This includes family medicine, general internal medicine, and emergency medicine.

In fact, emergency physicians experience burnout at a rate of 52%, according to the 2015 Medscape survey. As an emergency physician, does this surprise you? Do you feel the effects of burnout in your own career?

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) has been recognized for more than a decade as the leading measure of burnout. The MBI Surveys address three general scales:

1. Emotional exhaustion measure feelings of being emotionally overextended and exhausted by one's work.
2. Depersonalization measures an unfeeling and impersonal response toward recipients of one's service, care treatment, or instruction.
3. Personal accomplishment measures feelings of competence and successful achievement in one's work.

Let's look at each of these scales individually.

Inaugural EM Wellness Week Focuses on the Well-being of the Care-Giver

Created and spearheaded by the American College of Emergency Physicians, the 2016 Emergency Medicine Wellness Week™ is an opportunity all emergency physicians and their colleagues to take the time to self-renew while staying dedicated to the highest quality patient care. 

The inaugural event is slated for January 24-30, 2016. To participate, visit the website, www.acep.org/EMWellnessWeek, and sign up for daily wellness tips, print a personal pledge card, find resources and videos about better wellness, and share your stories of personal improvement.

“As emergency physicians, we care a lot about our patients. That’s why we chose this specialty. But all too often we are so busy caring for others, we forget to care about ourselves,” said ACEP President Jay A. Kaplan, MD, FACEP.  “We want this week to be about action rather than just ideas.  Everyone makes resolutions around the New Year; we hope that this week will help us and our colleagues make commitments to become more healthy, less burned out, and more resilient.” 

Premier Networking Opportunity During the EMRAM In-Service Review

The Michigan College of Emergency Physicians (MCEP) will be holding it's annual EMRAM In-Service Review Course this weekend, January 9-10, 2016, in Howell, Michigan.

This annual preparatory course is designed to review core topics in Emergency Medicine before the in-service examination. Featured speakers represent several residency programs and residents from all Michigan Emergency Residency Programs are encouraged to attend.

Emergency Medical Associates (EMA) is proud to have Brent Felton, DO, FACEP, representing the group during the EMRAM In-Service Review. The EMA leadership team invites all EMRAM attendees to join them for a sit-down dinner the evening of January 9th at Blue Fin Restaurant.