Curriculum Overview
Curriculum
The educational curriculum in Emergency Medicine consists of over 650 hours of lectures and demonstrations, as well as bedside teaching, patient encounters, and pre-hospital care field experience. The didactic material is presented during two three-hour conferences each week given by the Department of Emergency Medicine. Residents also receive teaching through specialty conferences given during off service rotations and electives.
During Emergency Medicine conference time, all patient care responsibilities are assumed by attending staff so all residents are at liberty to attend conference. Presentations include Emergency Medicine grand rounds, morbidity and mortality conference, combined Surgery/Emergency Medicine trauma conference, pre-hospital care conference, radiology conference, ultrasound conference, Tintinalli study guide review, journal club, and the Base Station Physician Course. All residents are given graded responsibility for teaching and supervising junior residents, clinical clerks, and paramedic trainees within the Emergency Department.
While in the Emergency Department, residents spend a minimum of 60 hours per week toward residency activities. Of this, approximately 40 hours per week, divided into eight-hour shifts, are spent on patient care. The remainder of the 20 hours is devoted to research and purely educational activities including conference attendance and personal reading.
The Kern Medical Center Emergency Medicine Residency Program has 13 four-week rotations during the year. All rotations are within KMC for inpatient and outpatient services except for the Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) rotation, which is conducted at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.
Speciality Courses
Courses of particular interest to Emergency Medicine Residents are given at specific times throughout the residency, usually in the PGY-1 year. Formal certification is provided upon successful completion of a given course.
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) Instructor Course
• Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS)
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
• Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP)
Simulation Lab
The Simulation Lab contains both adult and pediatric mannequins. During protected time, residents participate in running various ACLS codes, as well as practicing different procedures such as intubation, cricothyroidotomy, and pericardiocentesis.