Programming note: Over the years, most of August has become a working vacation for me. Because I travel with family, there are no clinical shifts. In that sense, it’s a true vacation, because clinical medicine is the most physically and emotionally demanding aspect of my professional activities.
Now, given everything on my plate, I can’t just disappear for 3.5 weeks. Nor, honestly, would I want to. So, I tend to work several hours each day while on this trip to California (and Mexico this time), leaving adequate time to swim with the kids and visit our extended family.
Typically, I use this time to catch up on a variety of projects. For example, I can share that I just submitted a manuscript on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s Covid-19 Vaccine Advisory Board. (I was honored to be the only emergency physician asked to serve on the board, and even more honored to have been selected to be the lead author on our paper. I’ll share it once it’s published.) I’m also working hard on a research manuscript that I’ve been meaning to finish for a couple of years now. I can’t say what it’s about, but I can say that it’s a good news story, for once!
This year, I’m also doubling down on my return to the piano, which has been a true joy for me.
All of this means a slower cadence for Inside Medicine this month. But I’m still sending occasional dispatches—including an important piece I hope to finish in the next several days.
In the meantime, I’ll also send out a few shorter pieces like today’s.
Thanks for being here and I hope you’re enjoying your summer!
—Jeremy
Recently, I appeared on The Blind Spot, a podcast for doctors hosted by my Harvard Medical School colleague, internal medicine physician Dr. Aditi Nerurkar. I think you’ll find our conversation interesting—even if you’re not in the medical profession.
The episode is called “Second Trope and Go”: Dr. Jeremy Faust on the Language of the Handoff.” In it, Dr. Nerurkar and I discuss medical handoffs. Handoffs are basically when a doctor or a medical team hands responsibility for a patient over to another. As an emergency physician, handoffs are a constant part of my work, and they go in both directions. I’m equally likely to be on the receiving end of a handoff (i.e., the patient is arriving to the ER) as I am on the giving end (i.e., the patient is leaving the ER).
Here’s the blurb from the podcast’s website:
Host Dr. Aditi Nerurkar sits down with Dr. Jeremy Faust, emergency medicine physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and editor in chief of MedPage Today, to trace what actually moves (and doesn’t) when one clinician hands a patient to the next. They start with the shorthand. A phrase like “second trope and go” compresses an entire risk stratification into four words, and the person receiving that patient has to trust it completely or start the workup over. From there the conversation widens. What does a patient experience on the other side of that same handoff, and what can care providers do make sure patients stay in partnership with their health teams, even across specialties or departments.
Here’s the link to the episode on Apple and Spotify.
All of this reminds me of two previous installments of Inside Medicine—some “classics,” if you will.
The first is entitled “Field notes: Passing the baton in the ER.” This piece is a natural companion to the above podcast. It explains how I think about transitioning care, especially for tougher cases. I also outline how handoffs can actually be opportunities for better patient care, rather than just minefields. You can read it here:
Field notes: Passing the baton in the ER.
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January 21, 2024
You go to the ER. You see a doctor and tell them your entire story. You feel like the doctor really understands your situation, despite having just met you.
The second is entitled “How ER doctors communicate: A look inside a complex and fascinating lingo.” I continue to be amazed (delighted, really) by my profession’s efficient mode of communication. In this piece, I share some examples of our fascinating and highly specific language, including a deeper dive on what the heck I mean when I say the phrase “second trope and go” to a colleague. (Note: This piece was initially paywalled, but it’s now free for everyone in the Inside Medicine community.) You can read it here:
I’m curious to hear your thoughts—both from medical and non-medical professionals of the Inside Medicine community. Chime in below in the Comments section!
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