When making acute referrals to hospital, there are times when the communication is not as straightforward as you would want.  There are many reasons for this but interpersonal and inter professional relationships are at the core of effective communication.

Check out the paper mentioned.

Fattahi H, Seproo FG, Fattahi A, Rostami V, Shokri A. General Practitioners' Perspectives on Barriers to Communication With Specialists in the Referral System: A Systematic Review and Meta-Synthesis. Health Sci Rep. 2025 May 22;8(5):e70785. doi: 10.1002/hsr2.70785. PMID: 40415981; PMCID: PMC12098960.

www.rnzcuc.org.nz

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/rnzcuc

https://twitter.com/rnzcuc

Music licensed from www.premiumbeat.com

Full Grip by Score Squad

This podcast is intended to assist in ongoing medical education and peer discussion for qualified health professionals.  Please ensure you work within your scope of practice at all times.  For personal medical advice, always consult your usual doctor 

Dame Jilly Cooper died of an acute subdural haematoma, following a fall.  

Pathways for CT head in adults exist to guide us in determining who needs a CT, but we must not forget the importance of safety netting all elderly people after head injury and to consider measures to prevent patients sustaining head injuries in the first place.  

Check out the papers mentioned.

Evans LR, Jones J, Lee HQ, Gantner D, Jaison A, Matthew J, Fitzgerald MC, Rosenfeld JV, Hunn MK, Tee JW. Prognosis of Acute Subdural Hematoma in the Elderly: A Systematic Review. J Neurotrauma. 2019 Feb 15;36(4):517-522. doi: 10.1089/neu.2018.5829. Epub 2018 Aug 14. PMID: 29943683. Link

Manivannan S, Spencer R, Marei O, Mayo I, Elalfy O, Martin J, Zaben M. Acute subdural haematoma in the elderly: to operate or not to operate? A systematic review and meta-analysis of outcomes following surgery. BMJ Open. 2021 Dec 3;11(12):e050786. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050786. PMID: 34862284; PMCID: PMC8647543. Link 

Kuhn EN, Erwood MS, Oster RA, Davis MC, Zeiger HE, Pittman BC, Fisher WS 3rd. Outcomes of Subdural Hematoma in the Elderly with a History of Minor or No Previous Trauma. World Neurosurg. 2018 Nov;119:e374-e382. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2018.07.168. Epub 2018 Jul 30. PMID: 30071339. Link

MdCalc Canadian CT Head tool

BBC Article about Dame Jilly Cooper

www.rnzcuc.org.nz

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/rnzcuc

https://twitter.com/rnzcuc

Music licensed from www.premiumbeat.com

Full Grip by Score Squad

This podcast is intended to assist in ongoing medical education and peer discussion for qualified health professionals.  Please ensure you work within your scope of practice at all times.  For personal medical advice, always consult your usual doctor 

Sparklers are a common, handheld firework that are popular with all ages, especially children.  As they are held in front of your face, can they cause eye injuries?

Check out the paper mentioned

Shiuey EJ, Kolomeyer AM, Kolomeyer NN. Assessment of Firework-Related Ocular Injury in the US. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2020 Jun 1;138(6):618-623. doi: 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2020.0832. PMID: 32271352; PMCID: PMC7146523.

www.rnzcuc.org.nz

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/rnzcuc

https://twitter.com/rnzcuc

Music licensed from www.premiumbeat.com

Full Grip by Score Squad

This podcast is intended to assist in ongoing medical education and peer discussion for qualified health professionals.  Please ensure you work within your scope of practice at all times.  For personal medical advice, always consult your usual doctor 

We must be thorough in reviewing patients who have had direct trauma to their eyes.  Objects that are small enough that the orbit provides no protection are of increased concern.  In addition to other injuries, we need to be aware of orbital floor fractures and commotio retinae.  

Check out the Stat Pearls page on Orbital Floor injuries

Koenen L, Waseem M. Orbital Floor Fracture. [Updated 2023 Dec 15]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. 

Check out the Radiopaedia page by  Alejandro Planas Callao

Check out the paper mentioned

Raman Bhakhri and Nicole Landry.  Commitio Retinae: A teaching Case Report. Optometric Education: Volume 48 Number 2 (Winter-Spring 2023)  

www.rnzcuc.org.nz

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/rnzcuc

https://twitter.com/rnzcuc

Music licensed from www.premiumbeat.com

Full Grip by Score Squad

This podcast is intended to assist in ongoing medical education and peer discussion for qualified health professionals.  Please ensure you work within your scope of practice at all times.  For personal medical advice, always consult your usual doctor 

Pisa syndrome is rare, but identifiable in urgent care and associated with drugs we will commonly see.  It is a reversible condition.  It highlights the importance of a full drug history and to consider medications as causes of strange symptoms.  

Check out the Prescriber Update, Vol 46, No 3, September 2025

Check out the paper mentioned - Link

Pitton Rissardo J, Murtaza Vora N, Danaf N, Ramesh S, Shariff S, Fornari Caprara AL. Pisa Syndrome Secondary to Drugs: A Scope Review. Geriatrics (Basel). 2024 Jul 30;9(4):100. doi: 10.3390/geriatrics9040100. PMID: 39195130; PMCID: PMC11353465.

www.rnzcuc.org.nz

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/rnzcuc

https://twitter.com/rnzcuc

Music licensed from www.premiumbeat.com

Full Grip by Score Squad

This podcast is intended to assist in ongoing medical education and peer discussion for qualified health professionals.  Please ensure you work within your scope of practice at all times.  For personal medical advice, always consult your usual doctor 

We should be aware of the early signs of ocular siderosis, also known as siderosis bulbi which would indicate a retained metallic intraocular foreign body.  

Check out the Stat Pearls page.

Acharya I, Raut AA. Siderosis Bulbi. [Updated 2023 Jan 30]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-

www.rnzcuc.org.nz

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/rnzcuc

https://twitter.com/rnzcuc

Music licensed from www.premiumbeat.com

Full Grip by Score Squad

This podcast is intended to assist in ongoing medical education and peer discussion for qualified health professionals.  Please ensure you work within your scope of practice at all times.  For personal medical advice, always consult your usual doctor 

Dr Ceri Battle is a Consultant Respiratory Physiotherapist and an Honorary Associate Professor in Swansea. 

Ceri's PHD work led to the creation of the STUMBL score, a tool to help determine the risk of complications for patients with rib fractures.   

Following her pre-recorded talk to our Bootcamp, she discusses the STUMBL score on the podcast and answers questions that arose from her talk last month.

Check out the STUMBL Score on MD Calc

Check out some of Ceri's work

Battle C, Hutchings HA, Driscoll T, O'Neill C, Groves S, Watkins A, Lecky FE, Jones S, Gagg J, Body R, Abbott Z, Evans PA. A multicentre randomised feasibility STUdy evaluating the impact of a prognostic model for Management of BLunt chest wall trauma patients: STUMBL Trial. BMJ Open. 2019 Jul 26;9(7):e029187. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029187. PMID: 31350248; PMCID: PMC6661629.  LINK

Battle C, Cole E, Carter K, Baker E. Clinical prediction models for the management of blunt chest trauma in the emergency department: a systematic review. BMC Emerg Med. 2024 Oct 12;24(1):189. doi: 10.1186/s12873-024-01107-6. PMID: 39395934; PMCID: PMC11470733. LINK 

www.rnzcuc.org.nz

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/rnzcuc

https://twitter.com/rnzcuc

Music licensed from www.premiumbeat.com

Full Grip by Score Squad

This podcast is intended to assist in ongoing medical education and peer discussion for qualified health professionals.  Please ensure you work within your scope of practice at all times.  For personal medical advice, always consult your usual doctor 

Why is it called hypochondriasis, and why might it benefit our patients to identify cases and ensure proper follow-up and treatment?

Check out the papers mentioned.

Sunderland M, Newby JM, Andrews G. Health anxiety in Australia: prevalence, comorbidity, disability and service use. Br J Psychiatry. 2013 Jan;202(1):56-61. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.111.103960. Epub 2012 Apr 12. PMID: 22500013. link

Florian Weck, Samantha Richtberg, Julia M.B. Neng, Epidemiology of Hypochondriasis and Health Anxiety: Comparison of Different Diagnostic Criteria, Current Psychiatry Reviews; Volume 10, Issue 1, 2014, .

Mataix-Cols D, Isomura K, Sidorchuk A, Rautio D, Ivanov VZ, Rück C, Österman S, Lichtenstein P, Larsson H, Kuja-Halkola R, Chang Z, Brickell I, Hedman-Lagerlöf E, Fernández de la Cruz L. All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Among Individuals With Hypochondriasis. JAMA Psychiatry. 2024 Mar 1;81(3):284-291. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.4744. PMID: 38091000; PMCID: PMC10719832. link

www.rnzcuc.org.nz

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/rnzcuc

https://twitter.com/rnzcuc

Music licensed from www.premiumbeat.com

Full Grip by Score Squad

This podcast is intended to assist in ongoing medical education and peer discussion for qualified health professionals.  Please ensure you work within your scope of practice at all times.  For personal medical advice, always consult your usual doctor 

Dr Fiona Moir and Dr Renske van den Brink are directors of Connect Communications.  They both have a background in General Practice and medical education, and they have extensive experience in teaching communication skills to students and experienced clinicians alike.  

In Part 2, we consider wellness, burnout prevention, and Balint peer groups, as well as the importance of allocating some of your CPD towards communication-related activities.  

Make sure you have listened to Part 1, in which we learn how they came to create Connect Communications, and we discuss why communications skills are important to all areas of our lives, not just our patient conversations.  

Check out what Connect Communications offers on their website

If you are an RNZCUC member, you can access the communication suite of videos by following this link.

Link to the Balint Society of Australia and New Zealand.

www.rnzcuc.org.nz

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/rnzcuc

https://twitter.com/rnzcuc

Music licensed from www.premiumbeat.com

Full Grip by Score Squad

This podcast is intended to assist in ongoing medical education and peer discussion for qualified health professionals.  Please ensure you work within your scope of practice at all times.  For personal medical advice, always consult your usual doctor 

Dr Fiona Moir and Dr Renske van den Brink are directors of Connect Communications.  They both have a background in General Practice and medical education, and they have extensive experience in teaching communication skills to students and experienced clinicians alike.  

In part one of this podcast, they tell us how they came to create Connect Communications, and we discuss why communications skills are important to all areas of our lives, not just our patient conversations.  

In part 2, we will consider wellness, burnout prevention and Balint peer groups, as well as considering the importance of using some of your CPD towards communication-related activities.  

Check out what Connect Communications offers on their website

If you are an RNZCUC member, you can access the communication suite of videos by following this link.

www.rnzcuc.org.nz

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/rnzcuc

https://twitter.com/rnzcuc

Music licensed from www.premiumbeat.com

Full Grip by Score Squad

This podcast is intended to assist in ongoing medical education and peer discussion for qualified health professionals.  Please ensure you work within your scope of practice at all times.  For personal medical advice, always consult your usual doctor