MS4 Electives

4th Year Medical Student Clerkships

The Department of Emergency Medicine offers 4-week medical student electives in Adult Emergency Medicine, as well as electives in Pediatric EM, Critical Care, and ED Ultrasound.  The rotations are designed to introduce students to the scope of EM, including principles of patient care and the basis for problem solving in the ED.  Didactic sessions and hands-on procedure labs are taught by faculty.  The combined North and South site hospitals see approximately 130,000 patients annually. The North hospital is a Level I Trauma center, a cardiac catheterization center, a recognized regional burn center, and has almost all subspecialty capabilities.

Medical students will be assigned individual patients that they are expected to follow throughout the patient’s course in the Emergency Department.  There will always be an attending or a resident available for bedside teaching and to guide the student throughout this process.

Applicants should be fourth year medical students in good standing, at either an LCME or AOA approved medical school.  Applicants should have completed all core clinical rotations (Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, and OB/GYN) prior to starting their Emergency Medicine elective.

Scheduling

Students will be scheduled for an average of 12 shifts, which includes a variety of 8-, 10-, and 12-hour shifts, during their rotation, inclusive of days and nights and one full weekend. 

Lectures and Labs

In addition to clinical shifts, students are required to attend the weekly academic conference on Wednesday mornings from 7AM to noon in the education conference center of the department.  Skills sessions are hands-on procedure labs taught by residents and faculty, covering splinting, laceration repair, EKG interpretation, and emergency ultrasound. Students will receive dedicated lectures covering Ultrasound, Toxicology, Pediatrics, Global Health as well as a specialized lecture from our Program director. Students also practice clinical cases with our Clerkship director and run through common cases. During your time here, students will also have a dedicated simulation day with our director of Patient Safety Institution for the hospital.

For those fourth year students interested in Emergency Medicine, there will be an advanced part of the elective that will also gear you to be a step ahead for residency.  There will be an entire day ran by the Director of Medical Student Education and will include trauma resuscitations, central line placement, chest tube placement, and more Emergency Ultrasound.

Trauma/Critical Care

Students will have the opportunity to do a two-week rotation in the trauma/critical care area of the emergency department where they will be exposed to high acuity patients. They will gain the knowledge to recognize patients with critical or life-threatening conditions and initiate appropriate therapy. They will be immersed in bedside teaching and via hands on experience and direct supervision, students will also incorporate the skill set to perform an array of life-saving procedures.

Pediatrics

Students will get a chance to do two-week or four-week rotation in the pediatric area of the emergent department. They will be exposed to a range of ages from newborns to adolescents, allowing them to formulate differentials with sound clinical reasoning and plans. Students will collaborate with families and healthcare professionals in a multidisciplinary approach to implement optimal and comprehensive patient care strategies. They will also learn multiple common pediatric procedures from suturing, splinting, foreign body removal, as well become immersed in pediatric resuscitations.

Ultrasound

Students will have the opportunity to do a two-week rotation with our ultrasound department where they will be exposed to didactic and hands-on experience that will enable them to become proficient with routine emergency ultrasound. In addition, they will learn the function of the ED ultrasound equipment, including knowing the differences between probes and their uses, and identify normal anatomy with ultrasound. In addition, students will be able to interpret a multitude of abnormal ultrasound findings and integrate them into patient care. At the end of each week, there will be a tape review session to interpret and discuss the scans obtained throughout the week in order to continue to implement and improve the use of ultrasound in the ED.

Community ED

During this 2 week or 4 week rotation, we offer the unique experience for students to work in a community ED Setting. Students will learn how to focus on ED patient flow, safe transfer of patients, and how to manage critically ill patients without immediate access to in-house consultants.

Podcasting/Digital Scholarship

During this 2 week rotation, students will learn how to build a professional online prescense on various platforms (blogs, social media, podcasting). Spcifically, students will develop skills in podcasting.

Virtual

During this 2 week rotation, students will undergo a variety of one on one didactic sessions and procedure labs with residents and attendings. Students will learn how to approach various clinical scenarios and learn both common and rare procedures performed in the emergency department.

Simone Rudnin, DO
Director of Medical Student Education

For more information, e-mail our Training Program Administrator, Heather Milata, or call at 718-226-3351.