Welcome to the Department of Emergency Medicine.
You will be here for a total of nine clinical days which will involve a shift pattern, and there will be one day of formal teaching to include group work, practical procedures, and didactic sessions covering topics specific to care of the Emergency Department patient.
You are expected to participate in a work rota with your fellow students. The timetables are specific to each ED (i.e. Cork/MWRH/KGH/Clonmel) and students in the group should decide within the first hour of arrival which work cycle they will adopt for the coming two weeks. The second Thursday of the cycle will involve ALL students in this module attending at Brookfield Health Sciences building for a formal teaching day.
At the beginning of each shift you should introduce yourself to the senior doctor and nurse in charge in the department. It is your responsibility to ask staff members to ‘sign off’ on your Clinical Assignment Records. The staff member (e.g. Doctor/Nurse) with whom you interact for a case discussion/presentation or procedure observation/performance is the person who should ‘sign off’ on your case log. There are 9 records in all plus a Log Sheet for practical procedures (examples below).
The emergency department is a busy place and not for the shy and retiring or faint hearted. Once you have familiarised yourself with your surroundings, and have some ‘handle’ on how things work in your department, you should get to work on being an active participant. During your time with us you should observe closely, help actively, and get cracking so that you can complete the clinical goals you must undertake. There will certainly not be any shortage of patients, and the enthusiastic and driven are certainly welcome to stay for as long as they wish and work weekends as well! However, make sure that your enthusiasm does not prevent a student colleague from completing on their goals also.
At the end of your attachment you should have completed Clinical Assignment Records in the following:
- Wound care
- Fracture care
- Head Injury assessment and initial management
- Chest pain assessment and initial management
- Perform and approach to interpretation of the ECG
- Assessment and initial management of the poisoned patient
- Data interpretation in relation to a patient whose care you have been involved with
- ‘Major’ case presentation to one of your supervising doctors
- Presentation of a resuscitation case you have witnessed to your supervising clinician
In addition to the above CARs, you have received a Practical Procedure sheet. These are a list of some of the commonest procedures undertaken in the ED.
Practical procedures sheets:
- Measurement of Respiratory Rate, Temperature, Blood Pressure and pulse and GCS (vital signs)
- Measuring Oxygen Saturation
- Obtaining a venous blood sample
- IV cannulation
- Intramuscular injection
- Placing a urinary catheter
- Wound suturing
You must at the very minimum perform the non-invasive tasks and at a minimum get ‘signed off’ on observation of all of these tasks.
Below there are examples of the CARS that you will complete. These are available on UCC’s BB.
We hope you enjoy and profit from your experience. Good luck!
VHI Swiftcare Clinic Cork
Students will rotated to the VHI Swiftcare clinic in Mahon Point for one day out of their Emergency Medicine attachment. Procedure sheets can be completed for any work completed and signed off as satisfactory by VHI Swiftcare staff.
Please note:
- The clinic is located in City Gate campus just past Mahon point shopping centre
- If driving, please park in (free of charge) underground car park level -2
- There is a a bus stop just outside City Gate Campus
- Please call evening before to check that a permanent Doctor is rostered on the following day. (01) 6477758 direct dial Cork clinic
- Scrubs are provided. Please do not leave the clinic in these
- Bring comfortable shoes/trainers
- ID will be provided, please wear this at all times in the clinic
- Fracture clinics run twice a week and we have one minor procedure clinic a fortnight. Please phone and check the schedule if you would like to attend on a day when these are on
- A kitchen with fridge/microwave is available if you want to bring your own food, NOSH coffee shop is on site