Clinical Experience
Emergency medicine is a specialty that cannot be learned in the classroom. The core of our educational training occurs in the Kennestone Hospital Emergency Department, a highly efficient patient-centered center serving a catchment that includes part or all of six counties with a population over 2 million residents. Working one-on-one with board certified emergency medicine faculty, you will manage a high volume of ED patients of all acuity. Our structure allows for individual graduated development, with residents gaining additional clinical responsibilities commensurate with their experience and abilities. By the time you are a senior resident you will possess the necessary knowledge and skills to independently manage an emergency department clinical pod with faculty oversight.
Core Rotations
We believe that a strong foundation in the breadth of medicine is integral to being an emergency physician. As an intern, you will spend vital time on outside services building your knowledge including internal medicine, MICU, anesthesia, and OB/GYN. You will also get to spend over half of your time in the emergency department, with four months in the adult ED, 2 in the pediatric ED and one on an ED based Orthopedic and Procedures rotation. In recognition of the ever increasing importance of bedside ultrasound in the emergency department, you will spend a month working shifts in the ED focused on performing educational ultrasounds under the guidance of faculty. This rotation will also include weekly didactic review session with our ultrasound faculty, and will allow you to become fully competent in the performance of ED ultrasound.
As a second year, our focus turns to critical care and resuscitation. You will complete rotations in the Pediatric Intensive Care unit at the Medical College of Georgia and in the Neuro Intensive Care Unit at Kennestone. During this rotation you will also be the primary response physician for all Code Strokes in the hospital, and together with the Critical Care Neurologist will make determinations on the administration of thrombolytics and the activation of the catheterization lab for all ischemic strokes. EM2 residents will complete 7 months of emergency medicine, six in the adult ED and one in the pediatric ED. During your shifts, you will be directing the initial resuscitation of multiple critically ill and injured patients, including primary assessment and airway management.
During the third year, residents at Kennestone will continue to hone their patient care as well as developing leadership in emergency medicine. During your 8 months in the emergency department, you will function as the lead physician in your care zone, assessing and managing all patients in your area. You will also have the opportunity to precept medical students and junior residents, developing your bedside teaching and supervisory skills. Pediatric emergency medicine shifts will be integrated throughout these months where you will be able to take a leadership role in the care of children in the ED. This leadership will also be important when you work as a senior resident in the Medical Intensive Care unit, overseeing the management of multiple critically ill patients and precepting junior residents.
Additional Key Rotations
As you progress through your residency at Kennestone, we want you to experience aspects of emergency medicine outside of the ED. During your second year, you will complete an EMS rotation during which you will work closely with pre-hospital providers on the provision of care outside of the hospital. You will have the option of participating in helicopter transports from accident scenes and transferring hospitals, but this is not a required portion of the rotation. Second year residents will spend a month on the Toxicology service, taking call to aid in the management of poisoned patients, and participating in teaching programs at the Georgia Poison Center, one of the busiest in the country.
As a part of our focus on leadership during the third year, we have designed an Administrative rotation that will provide you with exposure to hospital governance. You will participate in high level meetings with the Department of Emergency Medicine as well as Kennestone Hospital, and will spend one-on-one time with directors throughout the system. Completion of this rotation will help prepare you for leadership roles upon graduation, including medical directorships and hospital administration.
Selective Rotations
As a comprehensive Health Care System, Wellstar offers a myriad of clinical opportunities to expand your medical knowledge. During both your second and third years you will have the opportunity to select from one of a number of clinical and educational rotations. Options will include burn care, cardiology, health policy/advocacy, education, research, palliative care as well as many others. We will also provide support for residents looking to practice emergency medicine in alternative or resource poor environments through an international rotation.
Didactic Curriculum
While we strongly believe that the practice of emergency medicine is best learned through hands on clinical care, we also recognize the importance of a high quality didactic curriculum to supplement clinical learning. We utilize an innovative block curriculum that includes spaced repetition to help solidify knowledge acquisition. Utilizing simulation and procedure labs, small group seminars, and flipped classroom sessions, we provide a robust and dynamic educational program that enhances your clinical knowledge. Our Grand Rounds series invites distinguished and nationally renowned experts in emergency medicine to participate in conferences and intimate lunchtime Q&As. During monthly Journal Clubs, held at faculty homes, we teach research methodology and literature review in a casual setting, complete with food and beverage. Additional sessions include Morbidity and Mortality, a longitudinal EKG and Radiology series, a board review program, and a Wellness and Longevity curriculum.
At Wellstar, we believe that emergency physicians are masters of resuscitation, and we start each academic year with a critical care and airway management series. This includes simulation sessions, procedure labs, and interactive didactics to help prepare you manage the most complex of medical and trauma patients. We provide certification in ATLS, ACLS, and PALS in addition to a comprehensive emergency medicine curriculum.
