Table 1.
Emergency medicine (EM) attendings’ self-reported education and experience regarding mechanical ventilation.
| Survey question | Respondents (%) |
|---|---|
| How long have you been an EM attending? | |
| 0–2 years | 36 (17.1) |
| 3–5 years | 33 (15.6) |
| 5–10 years | 56 (26.5) |
| 10–15 years | 37 (17.5) |
| >15 years | 49 (23.2) |
| Have you completed an EM residency? | |
| Yes | 189 (89.6) |
| No | 22 (10.4) |
| Have you trained in another residency besides EM? | |
| No | 171 (81.4) |
| Internal medicine | 16 (7.6) |
| Surgery | 8 (3.8) |
| Other | 15 (7.1) |
| Did you complete a fellowship after EM residency?* | |
| No | 111 (52.6) |
| Ultrasound | 20 (9.5) |
| Toxicology | 3 (1.4) |
| Pediatrics | 10 (4.7) |
| Emergency medical services | 9 (4.3) |
| Critical care | 10 (4.7) |
| Wilderness medicine | 2 (1.0) |
| Research | 15 (7.1) |
| Other | 32 (15.2) |
| Was mechanical ventilation an emphasized topic during your EM residency training? | |
| Never emphasized | 8 (3.8) |
| Rarely emphasized | 71 (33.6) |
| Sometimes emphasized | 85 (40.3) |
| Often emphasized | 21 (10.0) |
| Frequently emphasized | 8 (3.8) |
| Not applicable - I did not do an EM residency | 18 (8.5) |
| How many hours of instruction have you received on mechanical ventilation from other EM sources (EM articles, discussion in EM journal clubs, EM lectures/conferences, etc) in the last year? | |
| 0–1 | 98 (46.4) |
| 2–3 | 60 (28.4) |
| 4–5 | 13 (6.2) |
| More than 5 | 33 (15.6) |
| Don’t know | 7 (3.3) |
| How often do you care for mechanically ventilated patients in the emergency department? | |
| Never | 0 (0.0) |
| Rarely (1–3 patients/month) | 72 (34.1) |
| Often (4–9 patients/month) | 97 (46.0) |
| Frequently (>10 patients/month) | 39 (18.5) |
| Don’t know | 3 (1.4) |
| How often do mechanically ventilated patients in the emergency department (ED) have adjustments made to the ventilator while still in the ED? | |
| Never | 0 (0) |
| Rarely (1–3 patients/month) | 118 (55.9) |
| Often (4–9 patients/month) | 68 (32.2) |
| Frequently (>10 patients/month) | 14 (6.6) |
| Don’t know | 11 (5.2) |
| How often do you feel comfortable managing mechanical ventilation and troubleshooting issues with ventilated patients in the ED? | |
| Never | 3 (1.4) |
| Rarely | 78 (37.0) |
| Often | 96 (45.5) |
| Frequently | 30 (14.2) |
| Don’t know | 4 (1.9) |
| Who primarily directs changes to the mechanical ventilator for intubated patients in your ED? | |
| Respiratory therapist | 145 (68.7) |
| Nurse | 0 (0) |
| EM resident | 15 (7.1) |
| EM attending | 44 (20.9) |
| Physician not affiliated with the ED (ICU, pulmonologist, etc) | 4 (1.9) |
| Don’t know | 3 (1.4) |
*
Some respondents completed more than 1 fellowship.
ICU, intensive care unit