Podcasts for EM and CC

Last updated: 19 August 2011

This post is all about podcasts, and features those relevant to emergency medicine and critical care. If you want find a free podcast, do a keyword search of LITFL’s podcast database and Joe Lex’s free emergency medicine talks.

What are podcasts?

The word ‘podcast’ is the bastard offspring of broadcasting and iPod. Podcasts are a series of digital media files, either audio or video (aka vodcasts), that are downloaded automatically by subscription to a feed.

Podcasts can be accessed over the web with most types of media playing software. They can be made with free software and hosted by free online services.

You don’t need an iPod to use podcasts!

Upside

• Most podcasts are in audio format, which is great for auditory learners (probably about 30% of us), although there are also a plenty of vodcasts for visual learners too.
• Users can listen to podcasts “on the go” with a portable device – anytime, anywhere – which maximizes time efficiency.
• Many podcasts have free subscriptions.
• Podcasts can be made with free software.
• It is easy to subscribe to podcasts using a feed, or alternatively using iTunes.

Downside

• Podcasts can vary in sound and video quality depending on the “amateurism/professionalism” of the podcast creator.
• Sadly not all podcasts are free.
• Media file downloads may require substantial bandwidth.
• Podcasts lack “two-way” interaction and audience participation.
• Once released and downloaded a podcast ‘episode’ can’t be modified or improved upon.

Emergency Medicine Lectures and Teaching

ERCAST
ERCAST is pure gold. If anyone was ever born to podcast it si Rob Orman, the emergency doc behind this production from Portland, Oregon. One of Rob’s specialties is the ‘curbside consult’ with physicians from other specialties. It’s slick, funny and always educational.

EM:RAP

Mel Herbert‘s superb educational audio series, EM:RAP, is not free (unfortunately).
But don’t despair — EMRAP.TV is free, as is the exceptional EMRAP Educators Edition led by Rob Rogers and some of the episodes from EMRAP Critical Care edition, Emergency Medicine Core Content, and USC Essentials.
Also, the free lecture videos from the ‘All LA Conference‘, while not in podcast format, are well worth checking out and downloading.

• ACEP podcasts
  The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) ‘Focus On‘ series of informative audio podcasts provides high quality concise reviews of core emergency medicine topics.
  ACEP-EMedHome.com has a host of video lectures and podcasts that are accessible with a paid subscription. These include: Amal Mattu’s monthly EMCast, audio podcasts from the ACEP annual Scientific Assembly, as well as online EM lectures from the CME center.
• Joe Lex’s Free Emergency Medicine Talks
  This amazing resource contains over a thousand audio recordings from lectures and conferences around the world. A brilliant collection.
• Emergency Ultrasound Podcast
  This is an excellent video-based podcast highlighting issues and techniques in emergency medicine ultrasound.
• EMPEM.org
  Perth-based emergency physician Colin Parker goes a long way to filling the podcast void that exists for paediatric emergency medicine. EMPEM.org features emergency and pediatric docs discussing important and controversial issues concerning childhood emergency presentations.

Critical Care

EMCrit Podcast
Scott Weingart is a critical care-focused Emergency Physician who presents the EMCrit Podcast, providing an ongoing discussion of the practice of ED critical care with goal of bringing ‘Upstairs Care, Downstairs’. This excellent podcast is supported by a comprehensive website and a blog stacked with useful resources. I don’t know why, but for some reason I really liked EMCrit Podcast 14.5 – A bit more on EGDT .

• Society of Critical Care Medicine
  The Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) has a few different free iCritical care podcasts that may interest emergency physicians, particularly those with a critical care bent.
• ICU Rounds
  Jeffrey Guy presents a very comprehensive podcast series called the ICU Rounds. This excellent podcast covers general critical care topics with a burns and trauma emphasis.
• Oli Flower’s ICU Podcasts
  We may be biased, given that Oli is a LITFL team member, but we think his podcasts on important ICU topics are great!  Check them out here on iTunes.
• Crit-IQ Podcast
  Although the Crit-IQ website requires a paid subscription, the Crit-IQ podcasts are free. There are some great interviews with luminaries from the Australasian ICU scene.

Toxicology

Chicago Toxcast
Mark Mycyk’s monthly ‘Chicago Toxcast’ of ‘anything and everything tox-worthy’ is a jewel of a medical podcast. It is quirky and entertaining as well as informative and interactive. Highly recommended to all ‘tox fiends’ out there.

Prehospital and Retrieval Medicine

• Pharmacology and Trauma
  Jeffrey Guy has two podcasts relevant to pre-hospital medicine: Pharmacology for the Pre-hospital Professional and Pre-hospital Trauma Life Support.

Evidence-based Updates

SMARTEM
David Newman and Ashley Shreeves produce this colossus of a podcast that ‘deep dives’ the literature to find the truth — if there is any — on core emergency medicine topics. It seems there is controversy at heart of even the most uncontroversial subjects in medicine. A must listen. 

• Keeping Up with Emergency Medicine
  Keeping Up with Emergency Medicine rin its new form highlights a key new paper each week. It is hosted by Clay Smith from Vanderbilt Emergency Medicine and is an excellent emergency medicine resource.
• Emergency Medicine Abstracts
  Like EM:RAP the full edition of the classic Emergency Medicine Abstracts series requires a paid subscription. However the EM:RAP team have put together a free concise summary version that is well worth checking out (EMA iTunes link). This is another great resource for learning about emerging research and evidence related to emergency medicine.
  
  
• POEM of the Week
  POEM of the week is a podcast from Essential Evidence Plus. It provides a brief weekly discussion of ‘patient-orientated evidence that matters’ focusing on general medicine topics, some of which cross into emergency medicine territory.

Medical Journals

Emergency medicine journals
The Annals of Emergency Medicine podcast provides an excellent and easily digestible summary of the key articles in each monthly edition of the leading journal in emergency medicine.

• Major medical journals
  The New England Journal of Medicine, British Medical Journal and The Lancet all have their own podcasts featuring article summaries and interviews.
  The Cochrane Library also has audio summaries of selected systematic reviews.

TED

• TED Talks
  OK, TED isn’t really about emergency medicine or intensive care. However, it is probably the best thing on the Web, and you’d have to be a fool not to subscribe to the TED podcast (TED iTunes link). Don’t be a fool, let TED blow your mind wide open.

If you use iTunes, most of these podcasts can be found and freely subscribed to by searching the iTunes store. If you know of any other quality emergency medicine podcasts please let us know by commenting on this post or via twitter (@precordialthump or @sandnsurf).

Other links

• BMJ Career focus 2008;336:29-30 — Medical podcasts the future of continuing professional development?
• Boulos M, Moramba I, Wheeler S. Wikis, blogs and podcasts: a new generation of web-based tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and education. BMC Med Educ 2006; 6: 41.
• Medpod101.com
• Medworm search for ‘emergency medicine’ podcasts
• Mel Herbert — Emergency Medicine Education 2.0 video talk
• Open Medicine Blog — An introduction to podcasts in medicine
• UBC podcasts and videocasts
• Ves Dimov‘s Clinical Cases and Images Blog — Top 5 medical podcasts I listen to
• Wikipedia: podcast