Crozer Welcomes New Interns!

Crozer emergency medicine faculty and the new interns had a blast during a creative welcome event at Hudson Table Philadelphia. Attendees cooked Italian food from scratch while team building in a tight space and high-pressure environment. What an awesome way to get to know each other!
View photos.

Visual Case Discussion Published in Visual Journal of Emergency Medicine

2020 Inductees of Medical Honor Societies Announced

The College of Medicine proudly congratulates our faculty, residents, alumni and students who have recently been inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha and the Gold Humanism Honor Societies. Read more.

"The Hahnemann University Hospital Closure and What Matters: A Department Chair's Perspective"

Richard J. Hamilton, MD
Academic Medicine, doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000003104, December 3, 2019 - Volume Publish Ahead of Print

2019 Golden Apple Awards

Emergency medicine resident Kevin Kammel and faculty member Michael Pasirstein received 2019 Golden Apple Awards from the class of 2019. Faculty member Steven Rosenzweig was nominated for an award in the Year One Longitudinal Community Care Practicum category.

2018 Faculty Awards

Congratulations to Theodore Corbin, MD, recipient of the Vincent Zarro Community Outreach Award. See all 2018 faculty awardees.

2018 Golden Apple Awards

On April 10, faculty and staff were recognized for excellence in teaching and outstanding service at the 2018 Golden Apple Award Ceremony.

Ted Corbin: Philly’s Next Health Hero?

Ted Corbin, MD, has been nominated as a semifinalist in the Be Well Philly Health Hero Challenge, presented by Philadelphia magazine and Independence Blue Cross. (August 18, 2017)

Ted Corbin, MD, Named Vice Chair for Research in Emergency Medicine

Richard Hamilton, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, recently announced the appointment of Ted Corbin, MD, as the department's vice chair for research. (July 27, 2017)

2019 Intern Bootcamp

June 21, 2019, was the first day of the Emergency Medicine Residency Intern Bootcamp. They are learning all the nuts and bolts that are essential for their functioning in ED. Let's welcome our new interns!
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2019 Graduation Dinner

On June 13th Drexel hosted its annual graduation dinner. While it's always bittersweet to say goodbye to the senior class, we are proud of their accomplishments and know that they will make great additions to the field of emergency medicine. Thank you class of 2019 for three years of hard work, best of luck in your future endeavors!
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May 22, 2019 - Drexel EMS Day

Emergency medicine residents from Drexel and other local Emergency Medicine programs participated in Drexel EMS Day at the Delaware County Emergency Services Training Center. This was the 9th annual event hosted by Drexel in recognition of national EMS week.

May 15, 2019 - National Trauma Survivor's Day

Drexel Emergency Medicine faculty and residents shared words of encouragement in honor of National Trauma Survivor's Day. Read more at "'I love life and the world even more': Hit-and-run, gunshot victims tell of survival, recovery, hope" (philly.com).

Resident Alin Gragossian Featured on BBC News

Drexel emergency medicine resident Alin Gragossian was featured in a story on May 14, 2019, about being the recipient of a heart transplant this past year. View the story here. For more about Alin, check out her blog at A Change of Heart.

Dr. Swisher Discusses Shame on 'EM Over Easy'

Emergency medicine residency faculty Dr. Loice Swisher recently spoke with "EM Over Easy" podcast host Andy and guest host John Casey about shame. Learn more and listen to the podcast at https://emovereasy.com/2019/05/06/episode-74-shame/.

Ahmed Mostafa, MD, Wins ASM Open Mic Competition

Drexel emergency medicine resident Ahmed Mostafa, MD, won the 2019 Open Mic Competition at the 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco. The ACMT Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) is an opportunity for specialists in the field of medical toxicology to gather together, network and learn from the cutting-edge research of their peers. More than 300 attendees enjoyed four days filled with world-class speakers, cutting-edge research presentations and social activities.

Resident Alin Gragossian Featured on ABC6 News Story

Drexel emergency medicine resident Alin Gragossian was featured in a story on April 26, 2019, about being the recipient of an organ transplant this past year. View the story here. For more about Alin, check out her blog at A Change of Heart.

Emergency Medicine Residency Retreat

On April 24, 2019, the Emergency Medicine Residency program held a retreat, "What docs can learn from jocks." The residents were joined by faculty from Drexel's psychology and nutrition science programs who spoke about the similarities between emergency medicine physicians and high level athletes.

The faculty shared tips and tricks to stay healthy and focused while on shift, including meal preparation and mindfulness. Residents learned how to optimize their "pregame" before shift, their "insport" experience during shift, and "recovery" after to enhance their performance. These skills will also increase their longevity as healthcare providers. Following, attendees went outside in the beautiful spring weather to work on team skills and communication with a Drexel athletics coach.

The residents thank all of the fantastic faculty and fellow attendees for fully immersing themselves in the activities and coming together as a group and are looking forward to next year's retreat!

2019 Annual Scientific Meeting

The American College of Medical Toxicology hosted their 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco, Calif. this weekend from April 12th-14th. At this event, a Fellow-In-Training Open Mic Session was held were medical toxicology fellows-in-training have the opportunity to give a 5-minute lecture on a national forum on the topic of their choice. This year, Ahmed Mostafa presented "TOX-5: An Xennial's Approach for Teaching Millennials," where he discussed his journey as an educator in a changing field with a new generation of learners. He won first place among six other medical toxicology fellow presenters!

Additionally, the DUCOM medical toxicology fellows presented the following posters showcasing our cases and research:

• "Serious Adverse Events Following The Use of African Black Ant - A Dietary Supplement"
• "A Case Series of Heroin Adulterated with the Novel Synthetic Cannabinoid, 5F-MDMB-PINACA, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA"
• "QTc Interval Prolongation Associated with Inpatient Azithromycin Therapy for Pneumonia"
• "Kits Say the Darndest Things"
• "Occupational Dermal Exposure to Alpha-amanitin: Alarm, and Disparity, in Safety Data Sheets"

 

"Renal and Splenic Infarcts"

Emergency Residency faculty Loice Swisher, MD was recently published for her case study "Renal and Splenic Infarcts" in the Journal of Education and Teaching: Emergency Medicine. The Journal of Education and Teaching: Emergency Medicine is an online, open access, peer-reviewed journal-repository for Emergency Medicine educators. Learn more.

Donor Dash 2019

On April 14, 2019, several Drexel emergency medicine residents and attendings participated in the annual Donor Dash, running either a 5K or 10K in support of Gift of Life. You can learn more about the program and register as an organ donor at donatelife.net/.

We were proud to represent our program on behalf of one of our fellow residents, Alin Gragossian, who herself was a recipient of an organ transplant this past year. Read about her experience on her blog, A Change of Heart.

Healthcare's Racial Divide

March 15, 2019 - Radio Times: WHYY

"Philadelphia pediatrician Dr. Tiffani Johnson, Ob-Gyn Dr. Shanaye Jeffers, and Dr. Theodore Corbin [Drexel Emergency Medicine] join us in the studio to discuss their experiences both as black medical professionals and as doctors who are working to specifically close this heath gap for their patients of color."

Listen to the episode

National Emergency Medical Services Week: Day of EMS
Summary of Presentations

May 18, 2016 - Philadelphia Fire Academy

The day started with a training video and discussed many facets of what a career in fire fighting is like. Captain Richard Prather discussed the health issues that fire fighters face including a decreased life span and environmental hazards. He shared that firefighters are an extremely tight knit group who take a lot of pride in what they do. Captain Prather described, in great detail, what it is like to have all of your senses deadened by fire, smoke and noise, while crawling around in a burning building. He added that unless you personally experience those conditions, it is very difficult to really understand.

Richard Prather, Philadelphia Fire Department Captain

Key Points

• Firefighting is dangerous with many hazards.
• Firefighters may minimize their injuries to try to get back to work as quickly as possible so keep that in mind.
• They are an extremely proud group and should be commended for their work.

"Emergency Department Management of Burns"
William B. Hughes, MD, Medical Director, Temple Burn Center

Dr. Hughes from Temple discussed burn management and presented many provacative photos that reminded the participants to think of other trauma and not just the burn. He noted that if a burn is bleeding, EMS personnel should consider other injuries such as stab wounds. He reminded attendees that the only thing to heal a 3rd degree burn is a patients own skin (grafting); everything else is just a dressing. Dr. Hughes said that Temple is still using the Parkland fluid resuscitation formula but EMS personnel should employ either the Parkland or Brooke Army formula. Escharotomy were discussed for circumferential burns and burns that may restrict ventilation; think of cyanide in a patient that has been well resuscitated but remains acidotic. Additionally, Dr. Hughes said to intubate early but get as much history as possible. Abdominal compartment syndrome can occur with very aggressive fluid resuscitation. He explained that electrical injuries have an entry and exit and that injury to nerves, bone and muscles often require fasciotomies. With electrical burns, cataracts are common and ventricular arrhythmias are possible. He explained high (>1000V) vs low (<1000) voltage. Low voltage can still kill you. EMS personnel should protect spine as muscle contractions can break bone. Rhabdo is common and should be treated agressively with fluids. Dr. Hughes' presentation touched on many different types of burns including: acids vs alkali, lye injury, liquid ammonia, tar, phenol, sulfuric acid, HFA and radiation burns from flouro during catheterization. He also discussed burns related to child abuse, such as scalds.

Key Points

• Do not forget about other trauma (GSW/Stabbing) in the burn patient. If a burn is bleeding there may be something else going on.
• Aggressive fluid resuscitation using the Parkland formula (4cc/kg/%BSA burned with 1/2 given in first 8 hours)
• Always consider non-accidental trauma in a burned child.

Michael Greenberg, MD, MPH, FACEP

"Fire Toxicology and Smoke Inhalation"
Michael Greenberg, MD, MPH, FACEP, Professor of Emergency Medicine; Chief, Division of Medical Toxicology, Drexel University College of Medicine

Dr. Greenberg discussed the toxic aspects of smoke inhalation. Smoke inhalation causes 4K deaths and 20K injuries yearly. He described a case of a smoke inhalation that was actually a trauma, when the patient had jumped from a window to get away from the smoke and fire. He recommended that EMS personnel always take a good history, speak with the medics and consider traumatic injuries in burn victims. Dr. Greenberg discussed well known fires with inhalational exposures including: the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire where 145 died, the Cleveland Clinic fire, the Coconut Grove Fire in 1942, and the Station Night Club fire in 2003 during a Great White performance.

Key Points

• Smoke is a chemical soup and includes CO and cyanide(CN). Particulates in smoke are foreign bodies that are being inhaled. Look for soot staining and carbonaceous sputum.
• Tox 101 - Exposure. Dose. Threshold. Substrate.
• Have a high suspicion for trauma in the burned patient.
• Smoke is a chemical and particulate soup with CO and CN being deadly.
• CO is THE leading cause of Tox death. Hydroxocobalamin may be used safely in anyone considered to have a CN exposure.

"Occupational Hazards for the Firefighter"
Michael J. Pasirstein, MD, Clerkship Director; Assistant Professor, Drexel University College of Medicine

Dr. Pasirstein discussed occupational hazards for the firefighter including: environmental exposures due to weather and their gear, under-reported musculoskeletal injuries, uncompensible heat stress and high risk of exertional issues due to the ~70 lbs of gear/equipment that is carried, among others. He noted that although occupational injuries to firefighters are improving they're still high. EMS personnel will be the first evaluators of hazards and must be familiar with what we might see. The rehab services at the venue may be within the domain of an EMS medical director and that it should be the ranking medical officer who determines if a firefighter should return to scene, not the fire officer.

Key Points

• Know the different gear for different types of fires: airport vs wildfire vs structure (standard).
• Firefighters are at high risk of musculoskeletal and environmental injury.
• Be aware of uncompensible heat stress where the body becomes overwhelmed. The rehab of the firefighter at the scene will include rehydration and cooling.
• EMS personnel may have to stop the impaired firefighter from going back in to fire.

The information on these pages is provided for general information only and should not be used for diagnosis or treatment, or as a substitute for consultation with a physician or health care professional. If you have specific questions or concerns about your health, you should consult your health care professional.

The images being used are for illustrative purposes only; any person depicted is a model.

 
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