Hey guys,
I'm currently a 1st year EM resident over at St. Mary's Mercy in Livonia and rotated here last year as well. Doesn't seem to be much info out there about the program and the website is kind of dated so if you have any questions regarding the program ask away. I will say that they are definitely big on EM auditions for interviews spots, however, only half my intern class of 6 rotated through here. 2 of the 3 that didn't rotate here had comlex scores in the 600s plus. Not sure what the 3rd intern scored but was a strong applicant nonetheless. Its is a primarily ACGME hospital with IM, FM, and Psyche residencies but the osteopathic EM residency is definitely seen as the strongest component of the GME department. They are also already set up for the ACGME/AOA merger and have already put in the proposal.
High acuity/very sick population here as we deal with a significant amount of geriatric patients. We also only ask for consults if we absolutely need to and get all ED procedures including intubations and chest tubes. No surgery/surgery subspecialty residencies to compete with. We also have a dedicated Anesthesia month where residents typically get around 100 intubations over the course of the month.
Very down to earth faculty and residents here and nursing staff is amazing. Faculty is an even mix of MDs and DOs, and almost all of them graduated from big ACGME programs in Michigan like Henry Ford, U of M, and DMC. We also have one faculty member with Ultrasound specialization who graduated from St. Lukes EM program in NY and guides you along to meet the requirements for certification in Ultrasound if you are interested. All faculty members that I've worked with so far love to teach, and as in every EM program, each attending has his/her own style.
Only 1 IM wards month, and 1 IM night float month and these are both done intern year. Trauma is done 2nd and 3rd year at a huge knife and gun club hospital in Detroit, St. John's Medical Center. Not as crazy as DMC/Sinai but crazy enough. 3rd year residents run the trauma team at St. John's and from what I've heard is a super tough yet amazing learning experience. Peds EM rotations are also done at St. John's even though we do see a decent amount of peds at St. Mary's.
Residents here are great. No one seems to have any beef with anyone. All laid back and always willing to lend a helping hand or teach. There is No "throw you into the fire" type learning. The faculty wants to make sure you have enough time the first couple of months to learn the ropes and ease you in. Didactics are interactive and lots of guest speakers come through.
As with most Osteopathic EM programs, the downside is that we are based at a community hospital and are not part of a powerhouse academic center like U of M. We don't exactly have a large research/publication presence, but things are changing. If you are more into big academic programs, St. Mary should not be near the top of your list. Another arguable downside is the volume. Its around 50k a year, but we just became an official Level 2 Trauma center a couple of months ago and volume is slowly increasing. With lower volume, however, along with level of acuity of most of these patients, the learning and management curve is vast. Sometimes I feel like we run a fast paced ICU due to the complexity of a lot of the cases we see.
Anyways, hope I covered a good chunk of what you all would want to know about the program. Overall, I am loving the program and look forward to a great 4 years.
Good luck to all of you and hope the match goes well for you guys.
