Emergency Medicine

Does research experience need to be in the specialty itself?

No.

What M3/M4 electives would you recommend to a student who is interested in pursuing your specialty?

• Any elective will be pertinent to Emergency Medicine in some capacity. If you are unsure about EM, consider doing an Emergency Medicine elective (listed below) to get a better idea of what EM entails. If you worked in the ED previously or have extensive ED experience prior to medical school, you may not need to do this rotation and would benefit from exploring other realms of medicine that you may not see again specifically in your training (ex. ENT, Ophtho, Ortho, Dental Medicine). Be advised that doing an EM elective will not garner the needed experience for a letter of recommendation. That rotation is solely for you to experience the specialty and the department, not for evaluation purposes from residency leadership.
• M3 Electives: If you are on the fence, would recommend the Intro EM Rotation (EMRG 9304). Would consider but not necessary: EMRG 9403 Intro to Ultrasound, RADI 9401 Radiology diagnostic imaging, Anes 9401 Anesthesiology
• M4 Electives: EMRG 9403 Intro to Ultrasound or EMRG 9405 Emergency Ultrasound, ICU Rotation (CVSU 9402 CICU, INMD 9455 MICU, PEDS 9417 PICU, PEDS 9404 NICU), RADI 9401 Radiology Diagnostic Imaging; Consider if areas of interest: EMRG 9483 Simulation and Skills Elective, EMRG 9409 Emergency Medical Services, FMLY 9440 Hospice and Palliative Care, FMLY 9421 Sports Medicine. Be sure to take advantage and pick something that interests you/provides you wellness.

Does your specialty recommend doing away rotations?

Yes, it is recommended that you complete at least 1 away rotation where you will be able to obtain a Standard Letter of Evaluation for EM (SLOE)

If your specialty recommends doing away rotations, how many away rotations do you recommend?

As mentioned above, at least 1 away so that you will have 2 total SLOEs going into the application cycle (1 from your home institution and 1 from an away institution)

If away rotations are necessary, when should they be completed?

Would recommend completion of an away between July and September. ERAS opens to programs in late September, so the goal is to have the letter in time for ERAS to open.

Which month/s are interviews most concentrated?

November to January

Does your specialty recommend that all letters of recommendation be written by members of your specialty?

Emergency Medicine recommends that you have 2 SLOEs if possible (only required to have 1). Additional letters can be from outside the specialty and should be from people who know you well. A generic letter written by a big name faculty member who met you once is not as helpful as a letter from your faculty advisor that can speak to your growth over the past 3 years.

If letters can come from other disciplines, do you have a recommendation as to which disciplines are more highly valued?

No, again everything can be considered pertinent to Emergency Medicine in some way.

Does the academic rank of the letter writer matter?

No.

How competitive are the residency programs in this specialty?

Depends on the program and what type of program you are applying to. Older more established programs are going to be more competitive than newer programs.

How important are each of the following for admission to a competitive program in your specialty?