Graduated Responsibility
Graduated responsibility is a hallmark of our emergency medicine experience:
PGY-1 residents focus on building their knowledge of EM and applying this knowledge to manage ill and injured patients in the emergency department.
PGY-2 residents develop the ability to manage higher patient volumes and higher-acuity patients (including trauma activations) and begin to assume responsibility for one area of the emergency department.
PGY-3 residents continue to see patients throughout our ED while also functioning in a supervisory role as they manage half of the emergency department and also teach students rotating in emergency medicine.
Clinical Curriculum Overview
| PGY 1 |
|---|
| Intro to EM (1 block) UAMS ED (4.5 blocks) Baptist ED (1 block) EMS/Baptist ED (1 block) UAMS Ultrasound/Anesthesia(1 block) ACH Peds ED/Peds Anesthesia (1 block) Peds ED/UAMS ED (1 block) VA MICU (1 block) UAMS L&D (1 block) UAMS Trauma (1 block) |
| PGY 2 |
|---|
| UAMS ED with longitudinal ACH Peds ED experience (9 blocks) VA MICU (1 block) UAMS SICU (1 block) ACH PICU (1 block) UAMS Tox/Ultrasound (1 block) |
| PGY 3 |
|---|
| UAMS ED with longitudinal ACH Peds ED experience (9 blocks) Administrative Rotation (1 block) Teach Rotation (1 block) Electives (2 blocks) |
Year One: Build the Foundation
PGY-1 is about becoming an emergency physician. Residents begin with an immersive orientation experience that combines ED shifts, intern-only didactics, simulation, procedural training, and time to build community as a class. Throughout the year, they develop the core skills of emergency care: evaluating the undifferentiated patient, building thoughtful differentials, creating safe management plans, recognizing critical illness, and developing procedural confidence.
Leadership is part of this development from the beginning. Interns learn to communicate clearly, contribute to team-based care, organize their approach to complex patients, and begin taking an active role in resuscitations and procedures with appropriate supervision.
Emergency Medicine rotations are complemented by carefully selected specialty experiences and early exposure to ultrasound, EMS, pediatric emergency medicine, and community practice, giving residents both a strong clinical foundation and an early view of the breadth of careers within Emergency Medicine.
Year Two: Take Ownership
PGY-2 is a year of increasing responsibility, autonomy, and leadership. Residents care for more patients, take primary responsibility for higher-acuity cases, and continue developing their ability to lead resuscitations, trauma evaluations, procedures, and multidisciplinary care. They build on the leadership skills developed during intern year while learning to anticipate the needs of patients, families, consultants, nurses, learners, and the department as a whole.
Expanded Emergency Medicine and critical care experiences develop efficiency, situational awareness, procedural proficiency, and confidence managing multiple competing priorities. A dedicated toxicology block rotation broadens residents’ approach to complex exposures and undifferentiated illness. Integrated pediatric emergency medicine provides longitudinal exposure across seasons. By the end of the year, residents are increasingly able to recognize what needs to happen next, communicate a clear plan, and take ownership of making it happen.
Year Three: Refine and Lead
PGY-3 is designed to support the transition from resident to independent emergency physician. Senior residents refine clinical judgment, efficiency, and leadership while functioning with increasing autonomy as leaders of the Emergency Department team. Throughout residency, residents participate in and progressively lead medical and trauma resuscitations; by PGY-3, they are prepared to lead these events with greater confidence, anticipate team and patient needs, and support junior learners during high-acuity care.
Senior residents also supervise and teach junior learners, manage department flow, coordinate multidisciplinary care, and develop the judgment to anticipate patient and system needs before problems arise. Dedicated experiences in administration and teaching broaden residents beyond bedside medicine, while two elective rotations allow them to intentionally shape their training around individual career goals.
Extensive Emergency Medicine experience and increasing responsibility prepare graduates to leave UAMS ready to practice independently, teach effectively, lead collaboratively, and continue growing throughout their careers.
Current Elective Options
- Addiction Medicine
- Advanced Ultrasound
- Cath Lab Elective
- Clinical Toxicology
- Consult Services
- Critical Care Selective
- Medical Education
- Medical Ethics, Humanities, and Palliative Care
- Neonatal response team and Resuscitation
- Orthopedics
- Pediatric Critical Care Transport
- Radiology
Clinical Curriculum
Location Sites
UAMS Hospital :
The UAMS Medical Center Emergency Department is a state-of-the-art, high-acuity facility and the primary clinical site for UAMS Emergency Medicine residents, with over 60,000 annual visits and a 30% admission rate. The department includes dedicated resuscitation bays, medical/trauma beds, psychiatric evaluation rooms, and a decontamination suite, with 24/7 in-house EM faculty coverage. As a Level I–accredited center, we provide comprehensive care across medical, trauma, neurologic, surgical, and obstetric emergencies.
The department also features a Clinical Decision Unit, staffed by APRNs and overseen by EM attendings, designed to optimize observation care and enhance patient flow.
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Just 5 minutes away from UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital sees over 60,000 annual visits and is part of the state’s only pediatric-focused hospital system. Staffed 24/7 by board-certified pediatric emergency medicine physicians, it serves as a primary site for pediatric emergency and PICU training within the residency, with longitudinal pediatric exposure throughout training.
John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital
Opened in 1984, the John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital, located adjacent to the UAMS campus, provides residents with core training in adult critical care. PGY-1 and PGY-2 residents rotate through the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), gaining valuable experience managing critically ill adult patients in a veteran population.
Baptist Hospital
Only a 10 minute drive away, Baptist Health Medical Center is a high-volume community emergency department with over 50,000 annual visits, offering residents valuable experience in a non-academic setting. As part of a large statewide health system, it provides exposure to community-based emergency care through dedicated rotations, including ED shifts and transport experiences.