Max Said:

If I went to medical school and then did a medical residency for emergency medicine could I take a 5 yr break?

We Answered:

You'd run into the LLSA problem, though that isn't insurmountable. But it would be a more reasonable option simply to work part-time at both.
On the other hand, it's hard to justify your doing any of that. There are only enough residency slots to supply about a third of the need for emergency medicine, and it would be something of a shame to use one of those precious positions on somebody not committed to it.

Roberto Said:

Can A DO (osteopathic medicine doctor) do a residency in Emergency Med. or can they become ER doc.?

We Answered:

Sure they can. Osteopaths can enter any specialty they want.

Wallace Said:

Emergency Medicine?

We Answered:

Emergency medicine is a three year residency.

Average work hours (for all programs self-reporting their hours to the AMA FREIDA database) is 54.5 for the first year. Like stated above, this is highly variable from place to place (with theoretically no more than 80 hrs per week anywhere).

Check out this link for lots of information!

Jorge Said:

What are some of the top Emergency Medicine Hospitals in the United States? And where?

We Answered:

Depends where you are, and where you want to be. I'll tell you about the midwest, which I'm most familiar with. Pittsburgh (UPMC) is a good program, MetroHealth (in Cleveland), Indianapolis and Ohio State are good. Henry Ford in Detroit. Cincinnatti is where emergency medicine started as a residency and still does a good job. (I interviewed at all the above programs plus U of maryland below and Carolinas. The others I'll mention below are just by reputation)

the Chigago programs I looked at but seemed very piecemeal, like there wasn't one program that was strong in everything. Each seemed to have one piece of the pie (EMS, Childrens, major trauma, research, etc)

Outside the midwest: University of Maryland (Shock/Trauma-- too much trauma & surgery for my taste, but you might like it). Carolinas medical center (north carolina) and UNC are both good. Bellvue in NYC, Hennipen, Harborview in CA. Univ of Arizona is good. Denver is good, but has a reputation for being malignant.

Las Vegas is a brand new program, but I have a friend who is enjoying himself there, and it has a lot of potential. I've heard portland's program is a lot of fun as well.

Ask the program director for the residency at your school to make you a list if you don't know where to start.

Good luck and have fun interviewing!

Bob Said:

Podiatric surgery or emergency medicine?

We Answered:

I'm not an ER doctor, but I am an ER nurse. If you have an interest for caring for feet, you will get plenty of that in the ER and so much more. You can get an adrenaline rush as a surgeon, but not like what you will get in the ER. If you enjoy that rush, stick with the ER. If you look beyond your residency, as an ER doctor you will work your shift and go home to a normal life. As a surgeon your hours will be more irregular and, depending on where you work, you may wind up having to be on-call on occasion. When I finished nursing school, I wanted to be an OB nurse, but once I got a taste of the ER I was hooked and haven't looked back.

Clara Said:

when do i start getting paid in emergency medicine?

We Answered:

After you finish residency, then you get to start repaying your school loans. That usually takes many years.

Ana Said:

Is a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship worth the extra three years?

We Answered:

An adult emergency medicine residency includes training in pediatric emergencies. General EM physicians will see both children and adults on a regular basis.

However, if you work in a city large enough to have a children's hospital, you will only see one or the other. Adults will go to some of the hospitals, and kids will go straight to the kids hospital. If you like working with the very sick kids, and would like to work in the ED of a children's hospital, then you have two choices. You can specialize in either EM or peds, and then do a peds EM fellowship.

The children's EM physicians I work with love their job. They do lifesaving work on a daily basis. A Children's hospital is often a major referral center for the surrounding area, so they will get transfers from other cities and even states, when they get a kid who was poisoned, in a car accident, nearly drowned, new diabetic ketoacidosis, etc. They also have a lot of underserved patients who come in for primary care type stuff.

They don't get paid any more than general EM physicians do, so it depends on what you mean by "worth it." They do tend to have tremendous job satisfaction, but there's not much salary differential. Fellows are, however, paid better than residents, and you can live very decently on a fellow's salary.