Career Development - Emergency Medicine

 
What Does Training Look Like?

Emergency Medicine residencies are three or four years. There are several post-residency fellowships available.

 
Subspecialties
  • Ultrasound
  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Toxicology
  • International Emergency Medicine
  • EMS/Disaster
  • Hyperbaric Medicine
  • Critical Care
  • Wilderness Medicine
  • Administration
  • Simulation/Education
  • Sports Medicine
  • Palliative Care
  • Research
  • Health Policy
  • Simulation Education
  • Medical Education
 
What Does a Typical Workday Look Like?

Full-time clinical EM physicians work about 28-36 hours per week. Shifts range from 8-12 hours and are usually a combination of days, nights, weekends & holidays. Traditionally, scheduling is flexible. Although this may seem like a "light" schedule, the hours spent working clinically are often very challenging both mentally and physically.

 
Important Qualities and Traits
In Emergency Medicine, the ability to task switch, differentiate between sick and not sick, prioritize potential life-threatening illness & injuries, and make sound decisions with limited information are necessary skills for success. EM is a team-based specialty, therefore good communication, mutual respect and the willingess to help other members of the healthcare team is paramount. In addition, empathy, compassion and a high degree of emotional intelligence are essential skills which allow EM physicians to connect with patients and families from all walks of life.
 
Shadowing Opportunities
Volunteer experiences are available through Tulane Emergency Medicine Interest Group (EMIG) Unfortunately, these are currently not available due to COVID.
 
Research Opportunities

There are several different research opportunities, including basic science, clinical and social science research. Contact our Research Director, Dr. Steven Lim, for more information.

Additionally, students may want to pursue research opportunities through the DeBakey Scholars Program. This program offers medical students the opportunity to pursue and complete a longitudinal, structured, closely supervised research experience culminating in a capstone presentation prior to graduation. For more information, contact Dr. Derek Pociask.

 
Specialty Interest Group

TEMIG, the Tulane University School of Medicine Emergency Medicine Interest Group, is one of the largest student groups on campus. Organized in 1995 in order to facilitate interest in emergency medicine among Tulane students, TEMIG has become instrumental in offering early clinical opportunities to medical students at a school with no emergency medicine residency program.

TEMIG works closely with the Louisiana State University Department of Emergency Medicine, the only emergency medicine residency program in New Orleans. TEMIG provides a direct link to one of the most prestigious programs in the country.

By providing an open observation program in the Emergency Department, students can obtain clinical exposure in their pre-clinical years.

In addition, TEMIG offers:

  • Educational SIM Center Clinics in suturing, ultrasound, and intubation
  • Lunch lectures featuring prominent leaders, medical topics of interest, and general information about the specialty
  • Yearly Match Panel in which newly matched EM residents share their application experience and advice

TEMIG is a great organization for anyone looking to gain early clinical experience at Tulane or desiring more information about emergency medicine. TEMIG is not only for those students wishing to specialize in emergency medicine!

Contact:

Divya Dharmaraj

Recommended T3 & T4 Coursework

Students should try to do a four-week EM rotation early in their fourth year. There is no need to also do the two-week required rotation if you plan to do the four-week rotation.

 
Specialty Statistics

Summary Statistics (from "Charting Outcomes in the Match 2022")

 

 

 

 

Matched 

Measure                                                                                           (n=1,332)                                                                                              

 

1.    Mean number of contiguous ranks

15.0

2.    Mean number of distinct specialties ranked

1.1

3.    Mean USMLE Step 1 score

234

4.    Mean USMLE Step 2 score

247

5.    Mean number of research experiences

3.2

6.    Mean number of abstracts, presentations, and publications

5.1

7.    Mean number of work experiences

3.9

8.    Mean number of volunteer experiences

8.2

9.    Percentage who are AOA members

11.9

10. Percentage who graduated from one of the 40 U.S. medical schools with the highest NIH funding

27.9

11. Percentage who have Ph.D. degree

1.2

12. Percentage who have another graduate degree

20.3

Note: Only U.S. MD seniors who gave consent to use their information in research are included.

Sources. NRMP Data Warehouse; Top 40 U.S. medical schools with the highest NIH funding in measure 10 is from the NIH website (http://report.nih.gov/award/index.cfm).

   
 
Special Considerations When Applying for Residency

EM also has specialty-specific letters of recommendations called SLOEs.

 
Important Advice

An away rotation is a MUST.

This is a very competitive specialty, so the overall application should be well-rounded and strong.

Standard Letters of Evaluation (SLOEs) are very important to your application, as are EM rotation grades.

 
 
Where Past Tulane Students Have Matched (Past Five Years)
Naval Medical Center PORTSMOUTH VA 2020
U Southern California LOS ANGELES CA 2020
NYU Grossman School Of Medicine‐NY NEW YORK NY 2020
Madigan Army Medical Center TACOMA WA 2020
LSU SOM‐New Orleans‐LA NEW ORLEANS LA 2020
Univ of Vermont Medical Center BURLINGTON VT 2020
U Florida COM‐Jacksonville JACKSONVILLE FL 2020
Stanford Univ Progs‐CA STANFORD CA 2020
Maimonides Med Ctr‐NY BROOKLYN NY 2020
Detroit Med Ctr/WSU‐MI DETROIT MI 2020
Florida State University COM SARASOTA FL 2020
LSU SOM‐New Orleans‐LA NEW ORLEANS LA 2020
Hosp of the Univ of PA PHILADELPHIA PA 2021
St Agnes Med Ctr-CA FRESNO CA 2021
Montefiore Med Ctr/Einstein-NY BRONX NY 2021
LSU SOM-New Orleans-LA NEW ORLEANS LA 2021
U Kansas SOM-Kansas City KANSAS CITY KS 2021
UCLA Med Ctr-CA LOS ANGELES CA 2021
ISMMS Mount Sinai Hospital-NY NEW YORK NY 2021
Johns Hopkins Hosp-MD BALTIMORE MD 2021
UHS So California Med Ed Consortium TEMECULA CA 2021
UCLA Med Ctr-CA LOS ANGELES CA 2021
Johns Hopkins Hosp-MD BALTIMORE MD 2021
U Nevada Las Vegas SOM LAS VEGAS NV 2021
Emory Univ SOM-GA ATLANTA GA 2021
U Southern California LOS ANGELES CA 2021
LSU SOM-New Orleans-LA NEW ORLEANS LA 2021
U Southern California LOS ANGELES CA 2021
ISMMS Mount Sinai Morningside-West-NY NEW YORK NY 2022
LSU SOM-New Orleans-LA NEW ORLEANS LA 2022
LSU SOM-New Orleans-LA NEW ORLEANS LA 2022
Kaiser Permanente-San Diego-CA SAN DIEGO CA 2022
Valley Health System-NV LAS VEGAS NV 2022
Oregon Health & Science Univ PORTLAND OR 2022
Eisenhower Med Ctr-CA RANCHO MIRAGE CA 2022
Zucker SOM-Northwell NS/LIJ-NY MANHASSET NY 2022
Zucker SOM-Northwell NS/LIJ-NY MANHASSET NY 2022
UC San Diego Med Ctr-CA SAN DIEGO CA 2022
LSU SOM-New Orleans-LA NEW ORLEANS LA 2022
UCLA Med Ctr-CA LOS ANGELES CA 2022
John Peter Smith Hosp-TX FORT WORTH TX 2022
Denver Health Med Ctr-CO DENVER CO 2022
LSU SOM-New Orleans-LA NEW ORLEANS LA 2022
Ochsner Clinic Foundation-LA NEW ORLEANS LA 2023
Vanderbilt Univ Med Ctr-TN NASHVILLE TN 2023
Orlando Health-FL ORLANDO FL 2023
LSU SOM-Baton Rouge-LA BATON ROUGE LA 2023
U Rochester/Strong Memorial-NY ROCHESTER NY 2023
Detroit Med Ctr/WSU-MI DETROIT MI 2023
Massachusetts Gen Hosp BOSTON MA 2023
Riverside Community Hospital-CA RIVERSIDE CA 2023
Trident Medical Center-SC NORTH CHARLESTON SC 2023
NYP Hosp-Columbia & Cornell-NY NEW YORK NY 2023
U Texas Med Sch-Houston HOUSTON TX 2023
George Washington Univ-DC WASHINGTON DC 2023
Kaiser Permanente-San Diego-CA SAN DIEGO CA 2023
Case Western/Univ Hosps Cleveland Med Ctr-OH CLEVELAND OH 2023
Ochsner Clinic Foundation-LA NEW ORLEANS LA 2023
U New Mexico SOM ALBUQUERQUE NM 2024
George Washington Univ-DC WASHINGTON DC 2024
Denver Health Med Ctr-CO DENVER CO 2024
Emory Univ SOM-GA ATLANTA GA 2024
Ochsner Clinic Foundation-LA NEW ORLEANS LA 2024
Naval Medical Center PORTSMOUTH VA 2024
Yale-New Haven Hosp-CT NEW HAVEN CT 2024
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr-IL CHICAGO IL 2024
SW Healthcare Med Ed Consortium-CA TEMECULA CA 2024