Posters IV - The American Academy of Clinical Toxicology

Emerg Med
only
81 (38%) 117 (59%) 94 (80%) 70 (85%)
Conclusions: Over the last 35 years there has been a shift in the primary boards of medical toxicologists
towards EM. Prior to 1994 38% of medical toxicologists had primary boards only in EM, and since the
fellowship requirement began in 2002 this has increased to 85%. Medical Toxicology has become a
specialty predominantly of EM physicians. Pediatricians account for fewer than one in ten recent MT
diplomates, and the number of occupational medicine and internal medicine physicians who have become
board certified in MT since ACGME fellowship training became compulsory is negligible. The
implication of this shift require thoughtful deliberation.
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Community Partners and National Poison Prevention Week: Lessons Learned
Molly Broderick 1 , Teresa Dodd-Butera 2
1 California Poison Control System, San Diego CA 2 CSU San Bernardino, San Bernardino CA USA
Background: Unintentional poisoning is one of the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the
United States. Establishing community partnerships for National Poison Prevention Week offers the
opportunity to educate community agencies and the public on prevention strategies, while increasing
awareness of Poison Control Centers (PCCs); and presenting community resources for poisoning
emergencies. The purpose of this qualitative report is to describe the barriers and opportunities
encountered in establishing community partners for disseminating materials and educating the public on
poison prevention. Methods: Selected community organizations were notified prior to National Poison
Prevention Week (2011) about the opportunity to collaborate and celebrate the week of educational
activities. Participating organizations involved a youth center, public health departments, health clinics,
and community resource centers. Dissemination of educational pamphlets, telephone stickers, and
information sessions were arranged for National Poison Prevention Week. Results: Both obstacles and
opportunities presented themselves in this experience. At the youth center, educational materials were
required to be placed in a designated community section which was in an open area, but not wellrecognized;
and was crowded with other literature. There was no information table or opportunity for a
question and answer session with the CSPI. The public health department actually encouraged
dissemination of materials and patient interaction, but the numbers of encounters were low. The
community resource center was available to many participants who took advantage of obtaining
information pamphlets, but participants were there to receive food stamps, and were somewhat
disinterested in discussing poison prevention. Partnering with the professionals was informative, and
allowed for assessment of the agency awareness of PCC services. It also allowed for outreach to revisit
future partnerships throughout the year. Conclusions: Opportunities were varied for raising awareness and
disseminating poison prevention materials. The PCC is an essential source for community information on
treatment and prevention of poisonings. National Poison Prevention week offers the opportunity for
outreach and education. The lessons learned from the experience include the potential for increasing
awareness of PCCs outreach for prevention and services in the community. Barriers presented include the
need for community and client assessment. Partnering with the professionals began the assessment of
agency potential, and established continuing partnerships for further education and collaboration.
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