Understanding Vivas

Understanding Vivas

“The spoken word was the first technology by which man was able to let go of his environment in order to grasp it in a new way.” Marshall McLuhan The dreaded viva voce The viva voce, or oral exam, has declined in popularity over recent years but is still a part of...
Understanding Medical Acronyms and Abbreviations

Understanding Medical Acronyms and Abbreviations

“brb, ttyl ok? Wow, I saved a ‘ton’ of time with those acronyms.” – Stephen Colbert Acronyms are abbreviations formed from the initial components in a phrase or a word. These are usually presented are individual letters. These acronyms are very commonplace in...
Le Fort Fractures

Le Fort Fractures

Le Fort fractures are complex fractures of the midface, involving the maxillary bone and surrounding structures in either a horizontal, pyramidal or transverse direction. The hallmark of these fractures is traumatic pterygomaxillary separation. They account for...
Recognising Myocardial Infarction Patterns on the ECG

Recognising Myocardial Infarction Patterns on the ECG

Being able to rapidly identify an acute myocardial infarction (MI) pattern on the ECG is a vitally important skill for clinicians, particularly those that work front line in the Emergency Department. MI causes permanent damage to heart muscle and any delay in...
Major Incident Management Part 2 – At the Hospital

Major Incident Management Part 2 – At the Hospital

In Part 1 of our review of major incident management, we focused on management at the disaster scene. In Part 2, we will focus on how hospitals respond to the declaration of a major incident and manage the potentially large number of casualties that can arrive in the...
Major Incident Management Part 1 – At the Scene

Major Incident Management Part 1 – At the Scene

A major incident is an incident (or series of incidents) causing casualties on a scale beyond the normal resources of the emergency and healthcare services’ ability to manage. The Major Incident Medical Management and Support (MIMMS) manual states that a major...