Our FAU EM family continues to expand: congratulations to EMRAF president, Dr. Elizabeth Calhoun, who has given birth to a beautiful baby girl! On the endless education front, we would also like to extend a big congratulations to Dr. Alex Busko, who will be representing our program next year as a fellow in critical care medicine at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.

Interview season is in full swing, and while we miss having applicants here in person to experience all that our program has to offer, we have enjoyed getting to know them via the virtual interview trail. We would like to wish all the future emergency medicine residents good luck in the upcoming match.

In the ED itself, volumes have been steadily increasing, with many shifts seeing pre-COVID volumes. Our residents appreciate the influx of unique learning opportunities each day. We have continued augmenting our in-house experience with our monthly in-person simulation lab sessions, albeit with precautionary measures. While we didn’t think it was possible, Dr. Hughes and FAU have made our SIM experience even better with the addition of a new “high fidelity” pediatric manikin. The simulator allows for intubation, IV’s, IO’s, and can provide real time resuscitation feedback via a tetherless portable monitor to enhance our in situ pediatric emergency medicine curriculum.

While it’s been a cold winter in other parts of the country and even the state, we have been forced to spend our off-time surfing, sailing and sunset cruising down the Intracoastal Waterway here in South Florida. While we are still not socializing as a group, we did have a blast at our virtual game night and holiday party.

Our faculty has continued their dedication to research by publishing several peer-reviewed articles. Expanding our knowledge base in emergency medicine are:

• Alter SM, Mazer BA, Solano JJ, Shih RD, Hughes MJ, Clayton LM, Greaves SW, Trinh NQ, Hughes PG. Antiplatelet Therapy is Associated with a High Rate of Intracranial Hemorrhage in Head Injury Patients, Trauma Surgery and Acute Care Open. 2020;5:e000520. doi: 10.1136/tsaco-2020-000520
• Shih RD, Louis PM, Alter SM, Hughes PG, Solano JJ, Clayton LM. Syncope: A Very Atypical Presentation of COVID-19, European Journal of Medical and Health Sciences. 2020 Nov 13; 2(6): 1-3.

Dr. Hughes has authored three additional publications on various topics involving simulation and pediatrics. In addition, Dr. Shih has participated in an ABEM advisory panel tasked with setting standards for medical toxicology, and has published several other studies of his own.

Be sure to stay up to date with our program’ evolution by following us on Twitter: @FAUmedEM. ■