Duties
- Be present during daily rounds, lectures, clinic and journal clubs.
- Present at least 1 article during Tuesday Journal Clubs for the month.
- Prepare and present a 10 to 20-minute PowerPoint™ presentation on a detailed toxicology topic of your choice (towards the end of the rotation).
- For month-long/4-week rotations, the rotator is required to be present for 14 days in order to receive a passing grade for the rotation.
- Rotators completing a 4-week clerkship are required to provide evidence (completion certificate) of completion of an 8-hour online Medication Assisted Therapy (MAT) training exercise.
Daily Routine
Every morning (Monday through Friday) check your Emory e-mail for the daily ToxRound e-mail (sent out by 07:30 am at the latest). This e-mail contains the day’s assigned consults and poison center follow-ups.
- Meet at the designated hospital or the Georgia Poison Center (GPC) at or before 09:00 am; allocate adequate time to pre-round on consults and to review your assigned poison center cases.
- Bedside consults will be assigned by the fellows each morning. You are responsible for the following:
- Pre-rounding on your assigned patients.
- Writing the consult note in EPIC.
- Ensuring that the primary team places a “Tox Consult” order in EPIC.
- Documenting the case and recommendations in ToxSentry (the Poison Center tracking system).
You are expected to be available to perform bedside consults at Grady Hospital until 3 pm daily.
- Daily didactics: These sessions cover a variety of clerkship-oriented lectures and toxicology conferences. The month’s specific teaching schedule will be given to you at the start of your rotation and will list the times and topics of each conference.
Core Topics (Lectures)
- Common toxidromes (opioid, sedative-hypnotic, anticholinergic, etc.)
- Salicylates
- Acetaminophen
- Toxic alcohols
- Tricyclic antidepressants and other sodium-channel blockers
- Cardiac toxins (calcium channel blockers, beta-blockers, digoxin)
- Snakebites
- Toxin-induced hyperthermic syndromes (NMS, serotonin syndrome, malignant hyperthermia)
Optional Self-Learn Case Studies*
- Cholinesterase Inhibitors Including Insecticides and Chemical Warfare Nerve Agents case study.
- Nitrate/Nitrite Toxicity (methemoglobinemia)
- Arsenic
- Lead
*Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR)
Reading Materials
Textbooks (including Goldfrank’s Manual of Toxicologic Emergencies) are available for reference at the Georgia Poison Center.