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Specialty Tracks

The Emergency Medicine Residency program at IU School of Medicine offers eight separate, voluntary tracks for residents who can choose to focus on a specialized area of emergency medicine. These options afford residents the opportunity to tailor their career focus to specific interests in these areas and gain valuable experience prior to graduation.

Academic

The purpose of the academic track is to teach interested residents about the skill sets required for a successful career in academic emergency medicine. In April 2016, the academic track was augmented by the addition of sub-tracks to allow the resident to concentrate their academic interest in a focused area. The sub-tracks are research, toxicology, simulation, ultrasound and education. The track consists of a component that is repeated annually as well as a two-year longitudinal curriculum. Topics of discussion in the past of included fellowships, academic writing, leadership, didactic teaching skills and time management skills. Each sub-track has further objectives and requirements based on the area of interest the resident has identified.

Advocacy

The advocacy track prepares physician leaders in emergency medicine to be the voices and advocates of health care change in society. The advocacy track provides patient-centered advocacy strategies and teaches the basic principles of health policy and interaction with the legislative process. This training is accomplished through mentoring, modeling, education and outreach, information flow, and innovations in scholarships. This track serves to:
  • Produce physician leaders in emergency medicine advocacy who will be the voices of change in society
  • Promote patient-centered, not physician centered, advocacy strategies 
  • Inspire exceptional professionalism and systems-based practice 
  • Ingrain physician social responsibility 
  • Cultivate advocacy vision that places individual patients in the context of larger community, system or health policy 
  • Teach the basic principles of health policy and interaction with legislative process

These goals will be accomplished through mentoring, modeling, education and outreach, information flow and innovations in scholarship. Participation in the track culminates in the opportunity for residents to attend the ACEP Legislative Advocacy Conference and Leadership Summit in Washington, DC.  

Community Medicine

The community medicine track provides emergency medicine residents an opportunity to further explore and prepare for careers in community-based practice. Track participants will develop a broad understanding of community-based practice through mentorship and participation in workshops covering topics such as billing and solo coverage. Our mentorship program utilizes the extensive network of IU emergency medicine graduates and includes an annual networking mixer. Track participants will also be provided focused clinical development in the community setting by completing a community elective block and procedure boot camp.

Critical Care 

The critical care track is a two-year experience that provides residents with additional experience in critical care. The track fosters interest in and education about critical care (CC) an resuscitation for emergency medicine residents and medical students, provides mentorship for emergency medicine residents interest in pursuing CC fellowship, improves resuscitative skills for use in both the ICU and ED environment and collaborates with other specialties in simulation and procedure lab environments to improve team-based care of the critically ill patient. Experiences include journal clubs, teaching opportunities, extra critical care electives and scholarly activities.

Learn about IU School of Medicine's Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship.

ED Clinical Practice

The ED Clinical Practice track is a two-year longitudinal experience developed for residents interested in exploring and potentially pursuing a career in healthcare administration and operations. This unique opportunity consists of various readings and monthly discussions, as well as dedicated time working directly with faculty in administrative roles, such as ED medical director, department chair and chief medical officer. This track also allows for formalized training in efficiency and operations by having resident complete LEAN training. Track exclusive administrative projects offer additional exposure while also meeting general residency requirements. 

EMS

The EMS track prepares residents to serve as community-based EMS medical directors after graduation and provides a solid stepping-stone for work in larger metropolitan areas by priming the resident for an EMS fellowship. The EMS track consists of several subspecialties, including motorsports medicine, mass gathering medicine, tactical EMS, urban search and rescue, and pediatric EMS.

This scholarly track serves residents who are committed to developing the unique skill set that enables them to participate more fully in EMS endeavors in a community, academic and/or administrative setting after completing the residency. During the R1 year, residents can participate as desired in EMS Journal Clubs, conferences and mass gathering evens such as the Mini Marathon. 

Formal participation in the track begins during the R2 year with the opportunity to take over assistant EMS medical directorship of their respective EMS system and spend time on the streets paired with a paramedic team as an EMS physician. As an R3, the resident advances to associate EMS medical director for their system. The R3 responds in an EMS administrative vehicle, backing up critical runs, operating as on-scene medical control, and working on EMS administrative skills.

The capstone of our experience is participation in the National Association of EMS Physicians EMS medical directors course prior to completion of residency. We believe the EMS track provides the interested resident physician with the job skills to function as community-based EMS medical director after graduation and provides a solid stepping stone for work in larger metropolitan areas by preparing the resident for an EMS fellowship.  

Global Health

The global health track utilizes resources from IU School of Medicine and is customized for emergency physicians to learn about global health in the U.S. and internationally. Residents on this track members work with refugee populations in Indianapolis, learn from didactic sessions quarterly, and rotate at Patan Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, to gain a better understanding of global health advocacy, uncommon disease processes, and resource-constrained medicine.

Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) 

The POCUS Track provides Emergency Medicine residents an opportunity to take their point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) skills to the next level, through mentorship, focused workshops/education, and clinical development. Track participants will learn advanced POCUS applications and develop specialized expertise that will make them leaders in their clinical practice.