Formal didactic conferences are held every Tuesday in the emergency department. Formal lecture is minimized, while interactive techniques and case-based conferences are stressed. Assigned topics based on a three-year curriculum are presented by the residents and the emergency medicine and guest faculty.

Grand Rounds begin with a case presentation by a resident. All residents and faculty participate in a discussion about the appropriate work-up, differential diagnosis and treatment. The resident then concludes with a summation of the significant basic science and clinical aspects of the case.

Regularly included in the emergency medicine conferences are sessions on cardiology, pediatrics, trauma, journal club, morbidity and mortality, emergency medical services, ultrasound and administration.

Study guide is conducted twice a month. These sessions include group discussion of board-type questions related to the assigned reading material. Assigned reading is from a major text in emergency medicine, which is reviewed over a period of 18 months.

A mock oral examination, which simulates Part II of the Board Examination for Emergency Medicine, is held monthly. An EM-2 or EM-3 resident is “examined” on three cases by an emergency medicine faculty member. This exercise familiarizes residents with the process used in the oral board examination.

Annually, the department provides a variety of activities to augment the residents’ experience. These include ACLS, ATLS and PALS. A suture lab reviews the basic techniques of plastic repair. An equipment lab provides residents with hands-on experience in the use of the external pacemaker, the slit lamp, the fiber optic laryngoscope, the auto-transfuser, ventilators and other equipment. An extrication course is conducted with the assistance of the local fire department. Residents learn to perform extrication maneuvers used in the pre-hospital setting. A hazardous material course is also presented as part of the residency EMS curriculum.

Each EM-1 resident takes a self-study course in basic medical statistics and clinical research design. This course is followed by an examination.

The first rotation for EM-1 residents is devoted to fully integrating them as members of the emergency medicine team. A didactic series teaches the approach to critically ill and injured patients. A base station course familiarizes the residents with the appropriate use of the radio and EMS protocols. The EM-1’s first several shifts are shortened and performed with a more senior emergency medicine resident assigned as a mentor. Administrative orientation to the department and hospital is aimed at easing residents into the bureaucratic milieu of the department.

Under the leadership of P. John Konicki, D.O., our emergency department ultrasound program has grown in reputation and is an integral part of our residents’ education. We have three machines that are part of the department. Established in 1996, Advocate Christ Medical Center offers a fellowship program in emergency ultrasonography. Our hope is that the fellowship program not only trains fellows, but advances the learning of our residents in emergency ultrasound.

The emergency department also supports fellowships in emergency medicine administration, emergency medical services, and new for 2000-2001, a traumatology research fellowship.

Exams
Annually, residents participate in the emergency medicine in-training examination. Results from this exam allow residents to identify areas of weakness and to compare their performance with their peers from across the country. Grouped by level of training, Christ Medical Center resident in-training scores are near the top nationally.

A mock oral examination simulating the real ABEM oral exam also is held annually for our residents.

Outcome Data
Although critical to evaluating residency programs, little outcome data exists. What is known is that Christ Medical Center has graduated approximately 150 emergency medicine residents who are successfully practicing emergency medicine in nearly 30 states across the country.

The American Board of Emergency Medicine gives two pieces of data to residency programs—overall board certification percentage and first-time pass rates for both exams. Christ Medical Center’s data is: