We read with interest the excellent review by Graham.¹ An important related issue is the training of the assistant to the emergency physician.

We wished to ascertain if use of an emergency nurse as an anaesthetic assistant is common practice. We conducted a short telephone survey of the 12 Scottish emergency departments with attendances of more than 50 000 patients per year. We interviewed the duty middle grade doctor about usual practice in that department. In three departments, emergency physicians will …