A
Guide to the Emergency Medicine Residency Application Process
Felix Ankel, MD
Adapted from presentation 5/25/95 10 things you should do before applying to an EM
residency
1.
Know who the movers and shakers are in EM
Look at the major textbooks,
see who are writing chapters in Rosen and Tintanelli. Look at the
major EM journals. See who is on the editorial board. Take
an afternoon in the library and look at the authors of the editorials in
the last 12 months in Annals of EM, Academic EM, American Journal of Emergency
Medicine, and Journal of Emergency Medicine. You'll find out that
it still is a relatively small world when it comes to academic EM
2. Know the major
issues in EM
Again by reading the editorials you know what's
important to EPs. Be it ultrasound, resuscitation, moonlighting
etc....Read the Macy report on EM.
3.
Become a student member of ACEP/EMRA (800) 798-1822.
Services offered include handbooks,
newsletters, drug dosage cards, Annals subscription and other goodies. You
may also look into AAEM and AEP. They both have web sites. ACEP EMRA
4.
Become a student member of SAEM (517) 485-5484
Services offered include a
Catalog of all EM residencies, a medical student rotation list useful
for contemplating outside electives, newsletters and other materials. Other
than an EM rotation you may consider a tox, research, or trauma elective.
5.
Try to get your hands on the Macy report on EM.
You could probably get a copy
from the Washington DC PR branch of ACEP (202) 728-0610. They also
apparently have a nice monograph on the history of EM.
Macy Report from SAEM
6.
Plan your fourth year well.
This should include working
at places where you will get sufficient direct contact with EM leaders
that can write you good letters. Letters from outside EM may be
helpful; however, the best letters are from known EM people. Plan
on doing a fourth year elective at a place that has an EM residency. The
new EM residents have some of the best insight into the EM residency
application process (they just went through it). SAEM has a list
of elective away fourth year EM rotation.
7.
Join the EM interest group at your medical school
If you don't have one, form
one. EMRA can be a resource here.
8.
Choose your mentor well.
If you have been "assigned" one
that is not an EP, ask to set up an appointment with an EM
physician that has gone through or is a part of an EM residency
program. SAEM has a list of "mentors". ED is
such a rapidly changing field that advice is best gotten from
people intimately involved in EM.
9.
Buy Ken Iserson's book: Getting into a residency
From Galen Press 1-800-442-5369. This
has all the basics about applications, CVs, personal statements...
10.
Become computer literate
Lots of information is available
at your fingertips. The emed-l list has some good discussion. All the
residency information is available on the internet.
Summary
If you buy Ken Iserson's
book, do a home and an away EM elective, join the EM interest
group at your medical school, choose an Emergency Physician
as an advisor, join EMRA, SAEM, read EM journal editorials,
get the Macy report and surf the Emed-l bbs, you'll be in good
shape.
10
questions to ask at the interview
1.
What brought you here?
A good way to find out the motivations
of the interviewer. Also a good question to ask when there is uncomfortable
silence. People always like to talk about themselves.
2. Tell me about your last RRC review?
Programs that have
had a good site review recently will not hesitate to tell you.
3.
Where have the residents presented their research in the
last 2 years?
This will give you a feel about
resident research opportunities and support in the department. Is
research required? Will the residency pay for you if you present
at a meeting .
4.
Tell me about the last trauma patient you intubated.
This would be a good question
to ask a resident. Beware of programs were EM residents do not intubate.
5.
Tell me about the last pediatric resuscitation you led.
Another question for a resident.
One area of some insecurity for some EM residents (peds resuscitations
are infrequent). You should find out if EM residents are leading pediatric
resuscitation (vs. peds)
6.
How long have you had departmental status?
Although not an absolute, in
general EM programs that are part of a full department of emergency medicine
(rather than a section of medicine or surgery) have more autonomy.
7.
What is the poison control experience like?
Emergency physicians see a fair
amount of overdoses and patients from environmental mishaps. A poison control
center or an ED based toxicologist usually assures an adequate toxicology
curriculum.
8.
What kind of EMS experience is available?
EMS is now primarily under the
control of EM physicians. EM programs should be base stations and offer
an EMS curriculum
9.
What training in ED ultrasonography do I get?
This will be an important tool
for EM physicians in the very near future, especially in trauma and near
arrest patient management. EM physicians without ultrasonography training
will be at a disadvantage.
10.
How many PCs are there in the resident's room?
This will give you an idea of
the financial commitment to resident education. If there are no resident
offices or rooms, it may mean that residency education is not a priority
or that the department is in financial difficulty.
Resources
Kenneth V. Iserson. Getting
into a residency: A guide for medical students 3rd edition
l993. $28.95 Galen Press l-800-442-5369
ACEP: American College
of Emergency Physicians EMRA/MSA: Medical student affiliate
of the Emergency Medicine Residents Association You
can be a MSA/EMRA/ACEP student member for a combined fee
of $45. Tel 1-800-798-1822, (214) 550-0911. Services
offered include: w Emergency Medicine in Focus, A handbook
for medical students and prospective residents w Newsletters,
drug dosage cards and other materials
SAEM Society of Academic
Emergency Medicine student member Tel (517) 485-5484 $75
with journal Academic Emergency Medicine $50 without Services
offered include: w Catalog of EM residency programs w Medical
student rotation list. Useful for contemplating outside electives
w Newsletters and other materials
Emed-l bulletin board Run
by ED physicians from UCSF, this is a forum where many academic
EPs and residency directors air their views. To subscribe,
send an Email to listserv@itssrv1.ucsf.edu, skip subject
and then in body write: Subscribe Emed-l <your name>.
You will get approx. 5-10 Emails/day.
World wide web A
list of all ED residencies are on the web. Many residencies
have their own home page.
References
Diebold SE et al. Factors
influencing applicants' match rank order. Acad Emerg Med
2:328, 1995
ACEP, SAEM, ABEM. Core content for emergency
medicine. Ann Emerg Med 20:920, 1991
Wuerz RC et al. Workforce
projections for emergency medicine: How many emergency physicians
do we need? Acad Emerg Med 2:339, 1995 (abstract)
Haase CE et al. Is the
American College of Emergency Physicians' calculated number
of practicing emergency physicians underestimating current
needs? Acad Emerg Med 2:349, 1995 (abstract)
Barzansky B et al. Emergency
medicine in US medical schools. Acad Emerg Med 2:351, 1995
(abstract)
Hall KN et al. Emergency
medicine residency training as evaluated by practicing residency
graduates. Acad Emerg Med 2:351, 1995 (abstract)
Zeumer CM et al. Why do
students choose a career in emergency medicine. Acad Emerg
Med 2:411, 1995 (abstract)
Koscove EM. An applicant's
evaluation of an Emergency Medicine Internship and Residency. Ann
Emerg Med 19:774, 1990
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