FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are a few questions our residents have been asked over the last several years about the nuances of our program. If you don't find what you're looking for, please feel free to contact our chief residents or program director.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of the EM/Peds program?

• Advantages:
  Broad training with excellent faculty in both programs to teach you about their specialty. The fields also complement each other so training in Pediatrics enhances the practice of Emergency Medicine and vice versa. The program also allows one to "design a career" when completed (i.e. work in an "all-comers" ED, work in a pediatric ED, practice inpatient pediatrics (hospitalist), work in a pediatric clinic, cover deliveries, etc.). You are in a tight knit group of friends that look out for each other and have a true family feeling through residency.

• Disadvantages:
  This is a long program! You start with a class of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine interns and they finish two years before you do. The other disadvantage is that the start of this program is a little more frenetic than most in that you make switches from things like NICU to trauma overnight and may feel like you're not sure who you are. This, however, becomes very comfortable in a remarkably short period of time.

What are the differences between a fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine and the EM/Peds Residency? 

• The biggest difference is philosophy and emphasis. Each track has its appeal for different physicians. EM/Peds is designed for very broad physician training. There is a research project required during your tenure, but no dedicated time away from clinical practice for research. This is not a narrowing down of specialty training, but a broadening. One can enter a pediatric emergency medicine fellowship after either pediatrics or emergency medicine residency, usually completing two or three years of further training. This training usually prepares one for practice in a pediatric ED, often academic. They are board certified in their initial general field of training, then in Pediatric EM. EM/Peds training, on the other hand, is predominantly clinical and allows one to sit for boards in both general EM and general Peds. There are endless possibilities to what one can do with these qualifications.
  
  

Do you feel comfortable with both pediatrics and emergency medicine when you are done?

• Yes! To risk sounding stereotypical, we can immunize and intubate with the best!
  
  

Could you be a pediatric emergency physician?

• We feel very confident that our categorical EM colleagues are trained and qualified to take care of sick people of all ages, including children. The specific field of academic pediatric emergency medicine and the growing community pediatric EM has been, however, very hospitable to our graduates in particular.
  
  

How does the program work (nuts and bolts)?

• We are a five year program (60 months). We divide the time into three-twenty month "years." So, your intern year is twenty months, second year is twenty months, and third year is twenty months. This allows a more concrete transition along with the categorical residents from each program in terms of both requirements and expectations. For a sample curriculum , click here. There are two or three residents per year that rotate opposite each other, essentially functioning as a single person (think of it as job sharing.) We do blocks of rotations two months at a time for the entire program-two months EM, then two months Peds, etc. You will be immersed in each department while you are there i.e. pediatric continuity clinic is covered by your other half while you are on an EM rotation. You are also not expected to do the EM reading while on Peds, or vice versa.

What do your alumni do?

• What don't they do?  They are academic PEM faculty and PEM fellowship directors, high profile researchers, and community EM practitioners with specific content expertise in pediatrics and everything in between.  They are pediatric hospitalists and dual practitioners in pediatric and adult EDs all over the country.  You name it, we can do it!