Broomedocs in 2016

G’day,

Welcome to Broome Docs in 2016.

Yes – it is that time of year where we look back at what has happened and try to decide on how we might do it better on this lap of the Solar circuit.  I am not one for big “New Years resolutions” so I will not be making any here.  I am going to let you all know a little about what is happening ‘behind the scenes’ in the Broome Docs studio.  There are a few new things, more of the old and some stuff that I am hoping will make your job just that little bit easier.

First, an apology.  It has been a slow semester on the blog and the podcast.  This is the result of a lot of factors – family, fun and future projects.  I have made a decision to focus my efforts on a few “high quality / longer term” projects this last 6 months.  This has inevitably meant that there are less hours in the day to produce the sort of content that you have become familiar with here on the site.  I plan to keep putting up cases, podcasts and editorial stuff as often as I can.  So what is happening in the backstage area?

Primary Care RAP

A year or so ago I joined forces with a gang of Primary Care doctors from all over the USA & Canada.  We have been creating the Primary Care RAP podcast out of the HippoEd studios which famously produces EM:RAP, Peds RAP and a few other quality Med Ed podcasts.  This is not FOAMed – you have to subscribe and pay for the content.  I reckon the price is well worth it.  You get 3 hours a month of Edutainment – high quality, up-to-date, well presented education.  It is narrated by my mate Dr Rob Orman of ERCast.  There are usually about a dozen 10 – 20 minute chapters each month which cover the whole gamut of primary care.  There is a heap of article reviews and we do our best to take all that evidence, boil it down and feed it to you in a fun and digestible format.

A lot of the stuff I write about or rant about on the podcast gets “reborn” over on the PC RAP podcast.  So if you are missing the podcast a bit and need to fill your commute to work – then do yourself a favour and try it out.

SMACC Dublin

Yay! Its on again – the finest medical conference on the planet.  The 4th SMACC is going to be held in DUBLIN, Ireland in June 2016.  I am really looking forward to heading back to the emerald Isle.  I was last there as an elective exchange student in 1998 – and had a blast.  This year I will be trying to top my previous efforts with a lecture, 2 workshops a bit of Tweeting and hopefully another epic musical parody.

SMACC is a huge event and the bar is set very high.  My topic this year is “Diagnosis” which is somewhat broad!  I am hoping to bring a bit of GP commonsense to the modern medicine as it goes in the high-tech, fast-paced critical care world.  Tim Leeuwenberg has been banging on for a while now about how we should be doing better with our GP conferences.  I have learned a lot about presentation skills over the last 4 SMACCs – and I will be dedicating dozens of hours to this one.

Introduction to Bedside Ultrasound

A few years ago Matt & Mike from the Ultrasound Podcast called in a bunch of US nuts from all over the planet to create a ground-breaking textbook.  The Introduction to Bedside Ultrasound  was a huge success which flew off the electronic “shelves”.  The lads were in a position to make it free – awesome.  This is why I love the FOAMed crew – they do it right.  It is n’t about the money – it is about making sure that the best education is made available to anybody who needs it.

So now – the boys are “putting the band back together”.  We are going over the evidence again, adding what is new and throwing out the dogma.  This will be a labour of love for me.  As you know I am an US tragic and this is a great chance to spread the word.  So over the next few weeks I shall be scouring the literature to find all the newest and funkiest trauma tricks in Advanced Bedside Trauma Ultrasound.  How far can we extend the E-FAST?

A Special Project…  [secret squirrel]

Not being busy enough I have taken on a new job in 2016.  It is hopefully going to be huge!  When I started Broome Docs I wanted to be able to create a resource where doctors like me could go to find all the information they needed.  I wanted a place where we could learn new skills, find a quick answer and share ideas.  The blog and podcast have served the purpose and I have learned a heap in the process.  So now I want to take what I have learned and create something that will hopefully fulfil my original vision and become a future-proof.  I’ve joined a team of super-smart Docs and great educators with the goal of making Emergency Medicine Education in WA what it ought to be.

Ultrasound Leadership Academy

Two years ago I joined the ULA as a founding “Professor”.  We have been teaching all over the globe and the students have started teaching their students.  This is an immensely rewarding gig.  I have had the opportunity to met some amazing clinicians from all over the place – many working in places where resources are scarce.

World ULA

In 2016 I will continue to do my bit for this great project.  We Hangout with our students for an hour every few weeks and go over cases, share tips and learn from one another.

If you are a teacher and want to try out this technology – I highly recommend it.  We have been using it for a few years and it has become easier as the software has evolved.  I really think the Aussie rural GP folk should be embracing this sort of medium – geography is no longer a barrier to quality tacit learning.

My Day {often night} Job

Well – this is the one that pays the rent!  Working in beautiful Broome continues to throw up all sorts of clinical challenges and conundrums.  Broome has become a real hot bed of Med Education over the last 5 years with lots of super keen colleagues, students and trainees.

Next week we will welcome our latest batch of JMOs and students – and I am looking forward to it.  I have had the great fortune to work alongside some really excellent young Docs in the last few years [you know who you are!] and it is very satisfying to see them go on to do great things.  So I cannot wait to meet the next bunch and start learning together with them into the future.

 

So that is a bit of a peek behind the scenes.  Lots stuff happening.  A few big, long term projects which will mean maybe a little less of the stuff you see and hear here on the blog.  As always I really love to hear from you out there.  If you have a case or a clinical question that you would like to share – please do.  Just email broomedocs@gmail.com and I will do my best to find an answer, share your thoughts or pass it onto the really smart folk I have met over the last 5 years.

Have a great 2016.  May all your tubes go into the right places!

Casey

 

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