Overview

An emergency physician focuses on the decision-making and action necessary to prevent death or any further disability in the emergency department. Further, the EM physicians directing emergency medical technicians in providing pre-hospital care. The emergency physician provides immediate recognition, evaluation, care, stabilization and disposition of diverse population of adult and pediatric patients in response to acute illness and injury.

- Source: Edited from the American Board of Medical Specialties, Guide to Medical Specialties.

Residency Training Information

• Length: 3 years
• Subspecialties: Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Sports Medicine, Medical Toxicology
• Application: ERAS
• Match: NRMP

UW Residency Director -

• UW Hospital now has an Emergency Medicine residency.
• Contact Mark Bogner, MD, FACEP (mpb@medicine.wisc.edu) for more information.

Application Tips

UW Hospitals and Clinics now has an Emergency Medicine residency program that began in 2007. Also, students do not have a required third or fourth year clerkship in the ER. Because of these two details, students interested in EM are advised to take a two-week elective clerkship in the second semester of their third year; the UW EM section does not take third-year students during the first semester. Students must also have completed either their required 8-week surgery or medicine clerkship prior to the elective. Current UWSMPH students interested in a residency should contact Sue Morschhauser (sam@medicine.wisc.edu) directly. In addition to early exposure to EM during the third year, students are also advised to schedule at least one away/visiting clerkship during the first months of their fourth year and secure from this experience a letter of recommendation for residency.

Match Overview

Both nationally and among UW graduates, EM has gained popularity over the past several years. In the past ten years, EM has added ~250 residency positions nationally increasing their percentage of the total PGY-1 spots from 5% to 7%. Similarly, among UW graduates, the percentage pursuing EM has increased 5% since 2000. These increases in popularity have not corresponded to an rise in match competitiveness for UW graduates, measured by class rank and USMLE Step 1 scores. Therefore, EM remains a moderately competitive specialty with approximately even student distribution across the class rank terciles. Top students are competitive nationally and have matched to strong, prestigious programs at major academic medical centers and large community hospitals while students from the bottom third of the class have correspondingly gone to less-desired programs. With the increasing popularity and the relative small size of Emergency Medicine as a specialty, students are encouraged to cast a wide net when applying to programs.

Links:

• American College of Emergency Physicians - ACEP is the major professional association, and its website contains some basic overviews of residency application and ACGME-approved programs.
• Careers in Medicine - EM Specialty Overview - A one-page description of EM as a specialty that includes brief descriptions of the work, compensation, and match.
• University of Wisconsin Emergency Medicine - The main website for the Section of Emergency Medicine.
• University of Wisconsin Emergency Medicine Residency Program - The website for information about the UW ER medicine residency program.

UWSMPH Match Data

Median GPA (+/- 1 SD, n): 3.531 (3.309 - 3.753, 26)
Median USMLE Step 1 (+/- 1 SD, n): 215.9 (199.3 - 232.5, 26)

Percent of Class Entering Speciality by Year:

2006	10.6%
2005	8.0%
2004	6.8%
2003	4.0%
2002	3.7%
2001	5.6%
2000	5.8%