IEMTA Newsletter October 2020

Newsletter
Engage
Educate
Inspire
In this issue:
President’s Message & Restructuring of IEMTA
TheCase.Report
PHEM Fellow
Wellbeing Tips
MSc in Trauma Science – This is how it’s done!
ITERN Research Update
Non-Trainee IEMTA Represenation
IEMTA Education Update
I like Trauma… I like PHEM… I like Resuscitation!
IEMTA Awards
ISSUE 1 | Oct 2020
Irish Emergency Medicine Trainees Association

Page #2
IEMTA Committee
President:
Dr Etimbuk Umana
ICEMT Rep:
Dr Jessica Abrahams
Educational Officer:
Dr Callum Swift
Treasurer & Well-being Officer:
Dr Deirdre Breslin
Deputy Well-being officer:
Dr Orla Harney
Non-Trainee Rep:
Dr Mohamed Qotb
CSTEM Rep:
Dr Jamie Condren
Communications & IT Rep:
Dr Andy Patton
Dr Sean Croughan
TheCase.Report (Editor):
Dr Mohammed Hamza
Subcommittee/Newsletter Rep:
Dr Abdul Safras
Subcommittee & Resetting EM Care Rep:
Dr Mai Nguyen

Page #3
President’s Message
& Restructuring of IEMTA
Dear colleagues,
Dr Etimbuk Umana
@timburgD
It has been a challenging period for us all. However, amidst the challenges,
our passion, drive, and enthusiasm has not faded. It has been great to
see EM NCHDs still resolute in their care for all patients coming through the
doors, despite the limited elective healthcare activity.
Yes, there is a “new normal” in town which is COVID-19; this has caused
serious disruption to our lives personally and professionally and our training
progress has been affected. However, with great adversity comes innovation.
Such innovation can be seen in the online digital learning that has swept both
EM and other specialities in delivering teaching and training to NCHDs. Digital
innovation has also extended to the FRCEM exams being undertaken online, of
which many of you have had first-hand experience recently. I applaud the EM
NCHDs who had to study during these hard times in order to ensure continuity
of training. IEMTA has been engaging IAEM on different levels to get EM NCHDs’
voices heard. Part of this has been to get EM NCHDs in sub-committees such as
the Resetting Emergency Care Group and the COVID19 Guideline Group. The inclusion
of EM NCHDs in such committees provides decision making experience,
which may prove invaluable in terms of future capacity to cope with significant
events.
Amidst all of this, we should look after ourselves and one another.
Working in our speciality has its unique set of challenges which I believe we
all acknowledge. With these challenges in mind, the importance of being kind
to ourselves and one another cannot be emphasized enough. During the first
wave, where other specialities joined EM and ICU in providing care for the
country, existing silos were dismantled. I believe that this evolution helped
to bring us through the challenging periods past; it’s in our (and our patients’
best interests) that we keep incivility out of our workplaces, not least for the
challenges ahead.
IEMTA are working hard behind the scenes to be the voice of trainees,
while providing a better platform for engagement. In doing this, we restructured
our committee to include certain key members to drive the association
forward. We are happy to add to our ranks the following committee members:
non-trainee, well-being, podcast editor, newsletter sub-committee and IT/web
officers. I am glad to report that these roles were all filled with a solid round
up of EM NCHDs to represent IEMTA at every level and ensure your voices are
heard.
Please enjoy the very first edition of our newsletter. This newsletter will
be published quarterly on our website and sent to the IEMTA members.
Sign up to the members list so you do not miss out.

Page #4
Revolutions
Dr Mohammed Hamza
@MoHamza89
It’s been a productive year for IEMTA, and I have to say, it’s been a productive
year for me personally. While TheCase.Report has been an
idea in my head for some years, I couldn’t have imagined that it could
make the crucial leap from rumination to reality in just a few months.
That tweet you see captures some important truths I’ve
come to live by. If there’s a recipe for success in this game, looking
after yourself, having fun and fighting burnout are key ingredients.
Origins
It all started with food and coffee, as all the best things do. Timbs called
around for an overdue catchup and I stuck some breakfast on, and as we
ate, we lamented our own self-inflicted paucity of free time (as if we’d have
it any other way!). This is Dublin, and I’m on a trainee salary, so of course
my kitchen/dining area/living area/office were in fact all the same room.
Looking over at my desk, Timbs noted the boom arm and mic.
“What do you use that for?”
And that’s the moment things started to happen.
I told him about an idea I’ve had for a few years, an idea I’d parked until the time
was right.
I registered the domain name for TheCase.Report in June 2016 when the notion
first took me. That’s not too far back in the mists of time, but I still couldn’t tell you
where the idea came from. Most likely a product of the Clinical Education postgrad
I’d just finished and the applications I saw in a medium I consumed daily: podcasts.
I was late to the podcast scene in fairness though. January 2015, I installed a podcast
app so I could listen to “Serial,” a show some friends were raving about.
I. Was. Hooked.
From there I couldn’t stop listening to podcasts. I’d look for excuses to go down to the
shop so I could stick a show on and listen. Surely there was a way this almost addictive
level of engagement could be harnessed for some educational good, right?

Page #6

Page #7
Now we’re far from the first to go there.
There are absolute heaps of great medical
podcasts out there, and within those the best
of the best were all EM shows. None of those
great shows were based here though, and in
a country wherein over 1 in 3 people regularly
listen to podcasts, there was definitely fertile
ground for this notion to take root and flourish.
And so, it has. We have an engaged, interactive
audience which is growing month on
month encompassing all areas of emergency
care in Ireland, giving truth to our stated purpose
and target demographic:
“A new Emergency Medicine podcast, focussing
on clinical challenges, and putting
a spotlight on issues important to the specialty,
and to all of us as EM providers.”
The Agricultural Revolution
We couldn’t have gotten here without the buy
in from the production team and support from
the “grown up” in the organisation, Dr. Cian Mc-
Dermott. It’s meant a lot of work for the team,
but we’re seeing the fruits of our labours now.
And while it has meant I’ve taken on more
work this past year to make this happen, for
the most part, it hasn’t made me busier than
I had been previously. This seems contradictory,
I know, but what I’m trying to say is I’ve
been far more productive than I was before.
Finding focus was a challenge for me for a
long time. The capacity to do “deep work” was so
incredibly elusive to me for so long that I started
seeing it as a super-power that some others
had but was unattainable for us mere mortals.
Cue a week where the burnout overcame me,
and I decided to give up. I stopped doing anything
“productive”. No research, no audit, not
even listening to or reading anything medical.
After only a few days, I noticed my appetite
for EM and my enjoyment of the multitude of
non-clinical work I had increased massively.
Do you remember reading about crop rotation
in junior cert history? Well this was like
my mental agricultural revolution. I started
giving myself “fallow” periods between periods
of high productivity, and my enjoyment
of and capacity for work has increased accordingly.
Where getting into a “flow” felt
like a 3-day hike to the river before, it suddenly
felt like I was living on the banks.
But while this was practically revolutionary
for me, it’ll be old news to some of you!
I came across the actual psychology
behind this while listening to a talk on
productivity from Phil Dobson at SMACC
(now CODA), and he explained it all without
once alluding to farming – insane!
He explains that our down time isn’t just
about recovering physiologically, but also
psychologically. Psychological rest is something
I doubt I was alone in neglecting.
Onto the next one
I know telling you how taking care of yourself
will mean you can work harder is an unusual take,
but for me it puts things in the exact right order.
Wellness comes before productivity.
So, as we move forward with TheCase.Report,
I’d like you to join us on this journey. You
can join us by coming on board and working
on the show, or by being part of the Wellness
Revolution. Consider, and even centre, your
and your colleagues’ wellbeing in all you do.
We’re in this for a good time AND a long
time.

Page #8
PHEM Fellow
Dr Lisa Cunningham Guthrie
“
’Having to learn how to RSI on the road involves creating
a new muscle memory of kneeling on knee pads on the
ground, feeling wind blowing on my face, wearing a full
PPE over flight suit in 35 degree heat and being watched
by bystanders, Police, Ambulance and Fire Crew.
Donning a stab vest and carrying our kit bags, as we accompany
Police into a scene (now deemed safe) where
there has been knife and gun crime committed, is a new
experience for me.
Providing mutual aid to London Air Ambulance for Major
or Serious Incidents (or vice versa) and having to think
first, that incidents may be marauding in nature, rather
than accidental, is requiring a change in mindset for me’’
“Taking you out of your comfort zone” is a
phrase used quite a lot. There are no truer words
about the jump from an emergency department,
into the prehospital environment. It is a job where
every sense is challenged, in a different way, that
you’ve ever experienced before.
I am currently three months into my Fellowship
in Prehospital Emergency Medicine with Essex
and Herts Air Ambulance Trust (EHAAT), in the UK.
The job, two years in the planning and making, is
proving to be an incredible experience. My day job
is part of a helicopter critical care team- a HEMS
paramedic, pilot and co-pilot. Nights are worked
on a rapid response vehicle with a doctor and
paramedic. Having passed my training period and
graduated to flying au solo clinically, as a flight
doctor, I keep reminding myself the medicine is
the same. The change in my familiar comfort surroundings
of an emergency department is most
demanding- in a great way.
Seeing a trauma network functioning is an inspiring
look into our future in Ireland. We take the
view that the right patient, gets the right treatment,
at the right time. We have the autonomy to
bypass local hospitals and bring patients to definitive
centres for treatment.
The two major trauma centres we attend are
Addenbrookes (Cambridge) and the Royal London
Hospital (RLH) . It is definitely a surreal moment
handing over to a 20+ trauma team in the RLH,
when I’m bringing a code red patient in (prehospital
blood transfusion) that I have assisted in
extrication from a car, RSI’ed and performed bilateral
thoracostomies. That was my second week
in the job.
I’ve been very lucky that the start of my fellowship
has crossed over with a previous Irish EM
trainee, finishing her time with EHAAT. Dr Eimhear
Quinn, a Consultant in EM in Salford Royal in Manchester
just finished her one year secondment
with EHAAT and enjoyed it so much. Previous to
this, Dr Mark Ruddy, an Irish GP with prehospital
interest was also in the same job and crossed over
with Dr Eimhear. I’ve been explicitly told that they
would love to have more Irish doctors coming as
a steady stream! I encourage anyone with prehospital
emergency medicine interest, to contact me
for further information about the process.

Page #9
@dr_mammyguthrie
asilcunningham@gmail.com

Page #10
MSc in Trauma Sciences
Dr Joseph Daly
@josephdaly111
The Masters in Trauma Sciences is run by the Blizard Institute at Queen Mary University
of London (QMUL). It is delivered as a part-time programme by online distance learning.
Faculty are compromised of experts in trauma care from across the world.
I have completed the first year of the programme, and will shortly be commencing year
2. Year 1 is comprised of 6 core modules: trauma systems, haemorrhage & physiologic
response to trauma, brain & spinal cord injury, orthopaedic & vascular trauma, torso
trauma, critical care in trauma, and research methods. Each module lasted four weeks
and entailed a great deal of work, including 30-40 lectures per module and a 2,000 word
assignment for most modules.
Unfortunately due to COVID-19, the two week summer school component of the masters
was postponed this year. The summer school takes place at QMUL and comprises face
to face lectures, simulation training, and a decent helping of socialising! Year 2 of the programme
is focused exclusively on producing a 3,500 word dissertation, and is rumored to
be relatively relaxed compared with the break-neck pace of year one.
The fees for the course are €6,200 per year. This amount can be mitigated by claiming
under the Training Support Scheme. A further €900 can be recouped by claiming the tuition
fees tax relief from the Revenue at end of year.
Feel free to DM me on Twitter with any questions about the course itself or navigating
the maze that is claiming Revenue tax relief!

Wellbeing Tips
Dr Deirdre Breslin
@dbreslin
Page #11
It’s been quite a year. A year that has placed enormous strain on all facets of life. EM doctors
are bright, adaptable and resilient but now, more than ever, we must recognise the need for selfcare.
A great place to start is the online RCEM EM-POWER Wellness Compendium. This provides
advice on a huge variety of issues, including; nutrition, mental health, workplace interactions and
sleep.Your next stop after that should be to download ‘87%’, available for free through the RCEM
website. It’s an interactive app that improves mental well-being through individualised tasks. It’s
private, flexible and safe.
IEMTA will be working throughout the year to create events and promote wellness education –
watch this space and feel free to get in touch!
IEMTA Education Updates
Dr Callum Swift
@Callum_Swift
IEMTA will soon be announcing the launch of an exciting new online educational resource for Irish
emergency medicine physicians; an online library of talks and procedural skills videos created and
delivered by Irish consultants and trainees.
This is a collaborative effort, and we welcome any contributions: whether it's a departmental teaching
happening in your hospital over Zoom or a procedure that you are particularly interested in and
would like to record, please get in touch!
In the meantime, some courses and webinars to get stuck into:
21/10/2020 Alfred Health Emergency – “Emergency Registrar Regional Study Day”
https://monash.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ed41fieUQKi3QlPVEe4ISQ
23/10/2020 Quality Improvement Webinar "Driving change in the Emergency Department"
https://bit.ly/3ibhvtp
2020: Don’t Forget The Bubbles (DFTB) Course – “Essentials: Illness + Injury and Beyond Essentials”
https://dftbdigital.com/

Page #12
ITERN –Research update
Dr Etimbuk Umana
@timburgD
The Irish Trainee Emergency Research Network (ITERN) has been busy
over the last year. Our inaugural project National Emergency Resuscitation
Airway Audit (NERAA) took place between February and May 2020.
NERAA was undertaken to establish ITERN’s vision of multisite collaborative research.
ITERN was able to recruit trainees at 11 sites to participate as site leads for
the project . NERAA was recently presented at the IAEM 2020 virtual scientific conference.
This project demonstrated that trainees can undertake multisite projects to answer
important research questions. NERAA has set the bar for future research projects.
The network was further tested with the COVID-19 Emergency Response Assessment
(CERA) study. Through ITERN, we were able to recruit over 300 EM physicians
to the study, collaborating with PERUKI, TERN and our Irish anaesthesiology
colleagues . This project showcased the range and resilience of the network.
The time from the initial engagement to undertaking the study was under a month.
ITERN is for all EM NCHDs and will act as portal for research with and for our peers. Being a
part of this network equips NCHDs with research skills which are useful locally and nationally.
Notably, NCHDs involved in NERAA received certificates of participation for their portfolio as
well as gained publication credits. ITERN hopes to foster the next generation of researchers.
If you are nurturing a burning research question, why not pitch it to ITERN with written
protocols or informal ideas to our website (www.itern.ie). You could be the next principal
investigator for an ITERN led project!

IEMTA Subcommittees
I like Trauma… I like PHEM… I like Resuscitation!
Dr Abdul Safras (Saf)
@drsafras
Page #13
Whenever I speak to any of my EM colleagues, they all have different interests in EM sub-specialities
such as PEM, PHEM , Resuscitation ,POCUS, Geriatrics EM, Wilderness , Academic EM, Humanitarian,
Trauma and so many more! At some stage in your EM career you’d be pulled towards a
sub-speciality that will interest you. Getting into a fellowship program of that sort can be difficult,
as you might not know where to start but with proper research and guidance this is achievable.
The aim of the IEMTA sub-specialty sub-committees is to bring together group of people
with the same interest, identify the opportunities and propel their progress in that
field which interests them the most. Depending on your interest, we look forward to advocate
such fellowship programs locally with the guidance of experts in the field and make
contact engage/liaise with with institutions internationally that will accommodate you.
Within the coming weeks, IEMTA is looking forward to initiate a platform with different
sub-specialties and let you express your interests and welcomes you to express your interest.
IEMTA is pleased to launch our long awaited first ‘’Newsletter’’ and I would like to thank all
those who contributed to this issue: Dr Etimbuk Umana, Dr Mohammed Hamza, Dr Lisa Cunningham,
Dr Joseph Daly, Dr Deirdre Breslin, Dr Callum Swift and Dr Mohamed Qotb for their
writings and a special thanks to Dr Marcus Jee, who worked on the design to put this together.
If you are interested in being part of our sub-committees, or want to feature in the next newsletter
or have an idea for improvement, do drop me an email at drsafras@outlook.com / DM on twitter @
drsafras.Thank you!
Many challenges are faced by EM non-trainee doctors in Ireland, with lack of career development
opportunities at the top of the list, which has resulted in skilled doctors leaving the country
to explore better opportunities.
One of the IEMTA’s highest priorities is developing a new role that enhances
the promotion of non-trainee doctors. I am currently co-leading the IEMTA survey
and looking forward to engagement from EM NCHDs for this excellent IEMTA initiative.
I believe, together we can overcome the challenges facing us in the weeks
and months ahead. I look forward to hearing all your thoughts and ideas.
Stay safe!
Non-trainee IEMTA Rep
Dr Mohamed Qotb
@ mohamedqotb1

Page #14
IEMTA Aw
The Annual General Meeting took place via Zoom on Friday the 9th October. Members
updated on progress made by IEMTA for the year. At the AGM, members voted for the
Consultant Trainer of the Year and the ED Well-being award of the year.
Consultant Trainer
Of The Year
Dr Gerard O'Connor
MB, BCh, BAO, BSc, IMRCS, MMed (Sports & Exercise), FRCEM, FFSEM
MMUH Emergency Department

ards 2020
Page #15
ED Wellbeing Award
Sligo University Hospital
Emergency Department

Page #16
A token of appreciation to our out go
Compiled from submi
IEMTA would also like to congratulate Dr F

ing IAEM president Dr Emily O’Conor,
ssions by EM NCHDs.
ergal Hickey, the president-elect of IAEM.

© Irish Emergency Medicine Trainees Association 2020