Education and Training

Over three years, fellows can expect to spend their time as follows:

• One year in the Emergency Department
• One year in research activities culminating in an independent manuscript as well as a QI/QA project
• One year in off-service rotations, including critical care, adult emergency medicine, anesthesia/sedation service, toxicology, child abuse, OB/EMS transport, and one month of elective.

Roles in the emergency department are well-defined, and fellows are given a graduated level of responsibility over the course of their training.

• First-year fellows are expected to begin initiating treatment independently as graduated pediatricians and are encouraged to see all their cases through to completion. They are encouraged and given time to perform any and all necessary procedures, including those requiring the assistance of other subspecialists (i.e. fracture reduction).
• Second-year fellows are responsible for overseeing multiple cases simultaneously, learning to prioritize patient care and ED flow. They are responsible for the initial stabilization of critically ill patients and are responsible for airway management in all trauma and medical resuscitations.
• Third-year fellows control the flow of the emergency department with PEM faculty backup. They oversee and manage patients seen by residents and serve as team leaders during trauma and medical resuscitation cases.

During the fellowship, fellows have the opportunity to increase their clinical knowledge through a multitude of opportunities:

• Weekly didactic conferences focusing on patient care, management strategies, new and innovative approaches in pediatric emergency medicine, and research strategies and techniques
• Monthly interesting cases and M&M conference
• Bi-monthly journal club with collaboration from an outside subspecialty
• Bi-monthly interactive ultrasound lectures. First-year fellows also attend an ultrasound review course.
• Bi-monthly combined PEM/PICU case conference
• Monthly Trauma/Medical Resuscitation video review
• PULSE Simulation Center – Fellows participate quarterly in scenarios involving resuscitation, complicated management, and advanced procedural modules. The staff at the center also employs trained actors on occasion to further augment the experience. Scenarios also include nurses and other staff to provide a multidisciplinary approach to provide our fellows with an exceptional education opportunity.
• Boot Camp – First-year fellows attend a “boot camp” with critical care fellows focused on medical resuscitation, ultrasound, and procedural technique.

Additionally, all fellows are responsible for teaching and mentoring others within the department. Fellows serve as bedside teachers and preceptors to residents and medical students during procedures and patient cases. They also give lectures to residents, participate in mock codes, and assist in the continuing education of nurses and paramedics. The fellows also serve on multiple committees in the hospital and are involved in multiple improvement projects. Our PEM fellows serve as the face of the emergency department.