St. Emlyn´s - December 19, 2014 - By Simon Carley
"(Ed – there are two parts to this post. The slightly tongue in cheek beginning and a more serious endpiece that addresses the very real and very dangerous issues of ED overcrowding. If you’re interested in the useful stuff then skip to the end)
Emergency physicians are renowned for embracing new ideas, new concepts and new techniques to benefit our patients and departments. In recent years we have seen the development of resuscitationists, paediatric emergency medicine, ambulatory emergency medicine, geriatric emergency medicine and prehospital care. Many of these subspecialities have generated sub speciality accreditation and fellowships to recognise the additional skills, knowledge and training gained by thos studying in those areas.
In a similar vein The University of Virchester has teamed up with the College of Virtual Emergency Medicine to develop an approved training program in Corridor Emergency Medicine.
This new course and exam is based on the need to care for patients in non-traditional ED settings when all cubicles are full, the resus room is at 150% capacity and where in the past it was considered that there was ‘nowhere to see the patients’. This lack of ED capacity led to a number of clinical incidents and deaths where patients waiting for admission to the ED, or awaiting transfer out of the hospital were left unattended in Corridor space.
Like many subspecialities in EM the drive to develop Corridor medicine has been led by innovators and enthusiasts who have chosen (Ed – forced you mean) into taking medical care to the patient in whatever thoroughfare they may reside..."
