1. What makes your program different from
other programs, or what made you choose your program?
The aspect of our
program that really stands out is our "minifellowship". During
our senior year of residency, we are given a shift reduction to
pursue a project or area of interest. Doing this helps each
resident develop a "niche" in emergency medicine, and the
project and contacts made can really serve as the steppingstone
for a career in emergency medicine. This is great because most
of us have chosen emergency medicine because not only do we
enjoy clinical care but also other pursuits.
2. If not
answered above, what's the best aspect of your program?
The other great aspects of our
program are our pediatric experience at Fairfax
Hospital. The pediatric EM attendings are very committed to teaching and
running mock codes for us, and every fourth grand rounds is
devoted to pediatric topics.
Because of our prelim/transitional +3 structure, we
have 3 months of electives, which can be very flexible. Many
residents have done international electives or focused on their
research projects in that time. We also have a two week
mandatory ultrasound rotation.
3.
Are there any major upcoming changes to your program?
Changes
to the curriculum are implemented based on a number of factors,
and resident input can be important in making those changes.
4. Is there
anything you would change about your program if you could?
I honestly think adult
anesthesia isn't that necessary. Operative anesthesia isn't
really why we went into Emed, and intubating a patient in an
elective case is very different from the reality of providing
airway management to the crashing patient in the ED, who may be
vomiting or have had traumatic injuries. On the other hand, our
pediatric anesthesia rotation at Children's is phenomenal, with
plenty of opportunity to intubate pediatric patients, and learn
alternative airway techniques such as the use of the LMA.
5.
How much are you responsible for blood draws, putting in IVs,
etc.?
The only blood draws one might
perform would be a femoral stick because the nurse and tech (who
are very good) couldn't get blood. And the only IVs we have to
put in would be EJs if access is difficult. The great thing
about the ED is everyone pools their skills to provide the best
possible care for the patient.
6.
Do you learn mostly from attendings, other residents, or
textbooks?
Clinical practice and bedside
teaching can never substitute for reading a textbook and reading
about individual cases. We are never going to see everything we
need to know during our residency. That being said, I've
learned from my attendings and colleagues on a daily basis.
7.
Does this vary when you do off-service rotations?
Our
cardiology attendings are great and teach us how to analyze EKGs
thoroughly. On OB, the residents are responsible for most of
the teaching, so it really depends how committed to teaching you
they are. Overall, other services respect what we do and want
to teach us what they think you should know about their
specialty.
8. How does
EMed rank in your hospital's hierarchy?
Fortunately, our program is
very good, and is recognized as such by other departments. We
have great working relationships with other services,
particularly medicine, since many of our residents were prelims
at GW, and with the surgical subspecialties, who are usually
very willing to walk us through procedures or provide teaching
on a patient.
9.
What are the perks that your school provides (PDAs, textbooks,
conference fees, meal tickets, etc.)?
The
biggest perk is the conference money. We get 3000 dollars for 2
conferences (national conferences such as ACEP or SAEM, or a
conference related to your minifellowship) over 3 years. If you
present at a conference, that's not counted toward your
aggregate limit.
10. How do you
rate your rotations outside of the emergency department?
Our rotations in cardiology,
ICU, and trauma really prepare us well for what we are expected
to know in the ED. Pediatric anesthesia is particularly good.
And OB and adult anesthesia are good, but each individual
experience will vary more with who is on the rotation.
11. What's the best elective you've done?
I spent a month at the DC
Department of Health working on Emergency Preparedness issues.
12. How much does your program focus on research?
Although we have many clinical
research, international,.
and educational projects, the focus is more on scholarly
pursuits rather than hardcore research as a requirement. So
basically you can do as little hardcore or as much hardcore
research as you want.
13. What do you love and hate most about the city you're in?
I love that DC has great food
and you can meet people from all over the world. The resources
are amazing, both for personal and professional pursuits. The
Kennedy Center, Smithsonian, and the National Gallery of Art are here. So is NIH and
the National Library of Medicine. Most non-governmental
organizations, many health policy groups and the AMA all are
headquartered here.
14. Please describe your typical month in terms of work hours
and days off.
As a junior resident (PGY-2 or
3), you work 17-18 12 hour shifts, with a three day weekend
off. Schedule requests are almost always honored. Senior
residents work 14 shifts a month, which are a mix of 9 and 12
hour shifts.
15. How much time do you spend off-duty with the other
residents?
We have occasional happy hours
on Tuesday evenings and lunch after grand rounds on Wednesdays.
There's plenty of time to hang out with friends. Residents from
different years will collaborate with each other on projects.
16. Do you have any international experience?
GW has a longstanding history
in international EM. We have an
international fellowship, and many ongoing international
projects setting up residency programs and EMS systems in other
countries. We are also strong in curriculum development and
international disaster preparedness and response. Examples of
countries GW has worked with are China, Lebanon, Jordan,
Columbia., and Turkey. There are opportunities for residents to
participate in participating in the department's international
projects, including traveling overseas to teach.
17. What are your plans after residency?
I 'm now on the faculty in the
Department of Emergency Medicine at GW. I loved the experiences
I had with my education and my mentors as a resident, and hope
to continue to mentor students and residents as an attending.
18. How prepared do you feel?
I feel our program has trained
us to "take care of anything that
walks in through the door". Honestly, there aren't any areas I
feel I didn't get adequate training in. In particular, unlike
many, I think our program is now strong in pediatrics since our
affiliation with the Pediatric EM department at
Fairfax. Although I think
as a general emergency medicine attending, one will never feel
taking care of sick kids is easy, my experience at Fairfax
(including the PICU), made me confident I will be able to
stabilize even a very sick child.
19. Do you have any advice for current applicants, or is there
anything you wish you'd known when you were applying?
That the three vs 4 debate
isn't really all that important. It's
much more important to go somewhere you feel comfortable. After
all, you're going to be spending at least three years working
with the residents and attendings, you need to like your
program. The RRC requirements are strict and you'll get good
training at any accredited program you end up at. When
interviewing, look for the little details that make a place
special: the overall atmosphere, relationships with staff and
other services, location, your support network of family and
friends.
