PREFACE The purpose of this audio course is to prepare the osteopathic student for the clinical series of COMAT examinations, which are sponsored by and provided to students by the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners. This is actually a series of shorter examinations on eight core clinical areas of practice by the doctor of osteopathy. The world of osteopathy is a large one, encompassing all the different areas of medicine plus specialized care given by the general osteopathist. The area of study in this course is emergency medicine. You will take the COMAT examination in emergency medicine after your emergency medicine rotation. In the introduction to the course, we will talk about the COMAT examination itself as well as how you can prepare for it. Upon finishing the course, you should have a solid basis of understanding of the practice of osteopathy in emergency medicine and will have reviewed each of the topics represented in the COMAT exam. The introduction to the course will teach you specifically about the examination itself. As you will see, each of the tests have a specific format and rules you will need to follow when you take the examination. The COMAT examinations are standardized to give everyone a reliable way to demonstrate their knowledge and skills on the different exams. Chapter one in the course represents the abdominal and gastrointestinal complaints you will most likely encounter in an emergency medicine practice and reflects the content on the COMAT emergency medicine examination. Areas covered include abdominal pain, gastrointestinal bleeding, bowel obstruction, certain infectious processes, gallbladder disease, and hepatitis. As will be asked of you in all areas of the clinical COMAT examination, you will focus on patient presentation, differential diagnosis, and management of the patient in an emergency situation. Chest pain is a common complaint in the emergency department; this is the main topic of discussion in chapter two. While each case must be treated as though it represents a serious process, most cases seen do not represent serious pathology but are secondary to
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