Jason W.J. Fischer, MSc, MD, FACEP, found his passion for improving the paediatric stream of emergency healthcare during his emergency medicine residency in East Timor. There, he found more children than adults who were in need of his help.
“Pediatric emergency medicine offers a unique challenge… emergencies are more sporadic and more unpredictable, [with] incredibly high stakes,” Dr. Fischer shared in an interview with Alumni Relations at St. George’s University.
He honed his skills in paediatric emergency medicine in a number of diverse settings, from East Timor to California to Europe, and now, by introducing portable ultrasound technology through his leading role in the Emergency Medicine Division at SickKids, he’s changing the field from the inside out.
Armed with his global perspective and training, he’s now in charge of the Emergency Ultrasound Program at SickKids including the Paediatric Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship – the first of its kind in Canada – in which he focuses on the use of ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia in the emergency setting.
“It’s very exciting when you identify a new technology that’s practical and really makes a difference in patient care.”
He will also be hosting a workshop at the 29th Annual Update in Emergency Medicine entitled, “What Keeps Me Up at Night: A Chief’s Look at Challenging Cases and Solutions from the SickKids ED.” He will be speaking about how he is reimagining ketamine, known in popular culture as the date rape drug, by putting it to use as an invaluable tool for controlling pain without needles, and introducing Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS), which allows physicians to use ultrasound to rapidly assess the patient’s condition at the point of care with handheld systems.
You can follow Dr. Fischer on Twitter @eUSMD
Sources:
http://www.sickkids.ca/pem-pocus/aboutus/Jason-Fischer.html
http://www.sgu.edu/alumni/alumni-profiles-jason-fischer.html