Emergency Medicine Residency Curriculum

We value the transition from medical school to residency. Your entire first month with us focuses on orientation to the department, our personnel, procedures and adjusting to life as a resident. After that comes a yearlong rotation through the majority of your off-service rotations to give as well as time in the Emergency Department.

PGY1 residents In the Emergency Department do 20 shifts a block.

• Emergency Medicine Orientation (4 weeks)
• Emergency Medicine/Pediatric Emergency Medicine (19 weeks)
• Medical Intensive Care Unit (4 weeks)
• Cardiology Critical Care Unit (4 weeks)
• Anesthesiology (3 weeks split in 2 week blocks and paired with 2 weeks of EM)
• Inpatient Pediatrics (2 weeks)
• Obstetrics & Gynecology (2 weeks)
• Ultrasound (4 weeks)
• Trauma (4 weeks)
• EMS (2 weeks paired with 1 week of ED shifts)
• Vacation (4 weeks)

Your second year of residency includes specialty training in pediatric intensive care and surgical intensive care. You’ll have an elective to tailor your education to your needs. During this year, your pediatric shifts are scattered throughout each EM month so you can see the seasonality of Pediatric Emergency Medicine.

You’ll gain progressive responsibilities in the Emergency Department as your skills develop and improve. Upper-level EM residents manage all airways (including trauma), direct major resuscitations, and perform invasive procedures.

PGY2 residents in the ED do 19 shifts per block.

• Emergency Medicine/Pediatric Emergency Medicine (36 weeks)
• Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (4 weeks)
• Surgical Intensive Care Unit (4 weeks)
• Elective (4 weeks)
• Vacation (4 weeks)

You’ll spend the majority of your third year in the emergency department. The third year includes a one-month local community EM rotation and one month of elective, with available international experiences.

On an alternating basis, senior residents are designated as the trauma leader, meaning they direct the initial trauma resuscitation. When they are not the trauma leader, they are still heavily involved in the secondary survey and procedures in the trauma bay! As a senior resident, you’ll be increasingly exposed to the administrative aspects of the department, continue to direct medical resuscitations, and further develop leadership skills.

In the ED, PGY3 residents have 18 shifts per block.

• Emergency Medicine/Pediatric Emergency Medicine (40 weeks)
• Community Emergency Medicine (4 weeks split in 2 week blocks)
• Elective (4 weeks)
• Vacation (4 weeks)

Plus: 4-weeks vacation from Emergency Med, OB/Gyn, Ortho/Ultrasound or Anesthesiology months

Plus: 4-weeks vacation from Emergency Medicine months

Plus: 4-weeks vacation from Emergency Medicine

All residents are involved in a Continuing Quality Improvement project. These projects aim to improve a certain process in the department or hospital wide.

Here at Baystate Medical Center, we perform primarily clinical research in areas related to emergency medicine. While our emphasis is on departmental initiated projects, we also participate in several multicenter groups. Residents are taught methodology and statistics to efficiently evaluate current literature and the basis for our current standards of care. Participation in research projects during the residency is encouraged, although, not required.

Research programs are available for undergraduate and medical students as an elective or on a volunteer basis. Students also have the opportunity to spend time with our clinical faculty in the ED. Email inquiries to Kye Poronsky, Department of Emergency Medicine Research Coordinator.