EMERGENCY MEDICINE
Although many Emergency Physicians would argue that our role in medicine is the resuscitation of ill patients, we know that our actual jobs require much more of us. The acute care setting of the emergency department may make us well positioned to make an impact in the root cause of chronic illness. It is not far fetched to believe that patients may be concerned that their chronic disease acutely contributed to why they came to the ED.
Acute 2 Root is building resources specifically for Emergency Physicians/Providers to begin to integrate principles of Lifestyle Medicine into both their self-care and their clinical care. As we continue to grow, you will find resources to improve your self-care by being better educated about nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress reduction, risk modification, and social connection. You will also find practical tools to improve patient care. These tools will help you address truly abnormal values (like a glucose of 250 or a blood pressure of 160/90) and therefore take some time to recognize ROOT causes of illness rather than simply prescribe temporary fixes or give reassurance and instructions to follow up.
You are an expert in answering: Sick vs Not sick? Now, can you start to ask yourself: Not sick vs Healthy?
Join me in making the move from Acute to Root! Have a topic you would like addressed? Send the A2R team an email!
Check out the articles published in EM News:
Courage – The Foundation of Resilience (April 2022)
Food as Medicine: Nutrition Prescription in the ED (September 2021)
Trying to Find Regularity in an Irregular ED World (August 2021)
“Sick or Not Sick” isn’t the only question to ask. (May 2021)
Letter to the Editor: ED Patients and Teachable Moments. (Response to Sick or Not Sick)
Want to learn more:
American College of Lifestyle Medicine
Course in Physician/Provider Wellbeing (ACLM)