Tell me about the disparity between EM residencies?

[dikoerastenie]

Please enlighten me on the following: if you are a top student in your class and you have the option to go either into a military EM residency or a civilian EM residency of your choice, where would you go if the goal were to get the best education possible? As you probably realize I know very little about EM, and I can only rate programs based on geography, like where would I like to live for a few years. Also I am not passionate about anything like giving service to the homeless patients(basically if it teaches me about the disease it's good, but if it only teaches me about compassion, it's bad). But I would like to learn the most about how my body works. So if I get into any health trouble or someone I love dearly is stuck with me in the middle of nowhere and asks me for medical advice I could be the most prepared to figure out what's wrong with them or to help them. Thanks.

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[tegs15]

Popcorn anyone?

 

[dikoerastenie]

Popcorn anyone?

To be more clear, I know there have been threads on "best residency" in the past. But I wrote additional information about myself just so you could rate some residencies taking into account that I just want a good education. I also read on another forum that military residencies do not have enough acuity but at the same time EM is very very competitive in the military (therefore prestigious). Also I read that most soldiers are young and therefore are poor patients because they rarely get diseases that are so important in the population-cancer and heart attacks. But at the same time military EDs such as san diego do get a lot of visits and soldiers would not go to the emergency room unless it is an emergency(even if it's not life threatening)-people agree it is more rewarding to work with them than with homeless people. But if they do not have multiple comorbities, does it create a problem in getting the optimal education? Please bear in mind, I am interested in treating disease, not the soul.

 

[RxnMan]

I think the most important thing right now for the OP is to figure out his rate-limiting steps. If you are a pre-med, as is shown in your status, you need to get over the hurdle of getting that med school acceptance first. If you've already got an acceptance and you're trying to figure out how to pay for things (since you mention military residencies), then it would be better to figure out the mechanics of military obligations, not residency prospects at this point.

In either case, you have plenty of time, and if you get into med school, it is likely that your residency preferences will change and/or the competitiveness of residencies will change. Good luck.

 

[Tiger26]

To be more clear, I know there have been threads on "best residency" in the past. But I wrote additional information about myself just so you could rate some residencies taking into account that I just want a good education. I also read on another forum that military residencies do not have enough acuity but at the same time EM is very very competitive in the military (therefore prestigious). Also I read that most soldiers are young and therefore are poor patients because they rarely get diseases that are so important in the population-cancer and heart attacks. But at the same time military EDs such as san diego do get a lot of visits and soldiers would not go to the emergency room unless it is an emergency(even if it's not life threatening)-people agree it is more rewarding to work with them than with homeless people. But if they do not have multiple comorbities, does it create a problem in getting the optimal education? Please bear in mind, I am interested in treating disease, not the soul.

1) Soldiers don't go to the ED in San Diego because there are no soldiers in San Diego--pretty much only sailors and Marines

2) Anybody who's ever been in a military training environment knows that sick call (i.e. the ED) is specifically the place that people who are not sick tend to end up

 

[roja]

1) Soldiers don't go to the ED in San Diego because there are no soldiers in San Diego--pretty much only sailors and Marines

2) Anybody who's ever been in a military training environment knows that sick call (i.e. the ED) is specifically the place that people who are not sick tend to end up

I worked at BAMC (which has a phenomenal EM program) and you do get sick patients. Active duty army hospitals (aka not VA) can see active duty and retired army and family members. Thus, I saw kids, pregant wives, pregnant soldiers, husbands, MI's, septic patients, asthmatics. Also, depending on location, if it is the closest ED is military and the aptient is unstable (coding asthmatic nonmilitary) its going there.

Most military residencies have 'civilian' hospitals they rotate at as part of thier education.

The discussion of military vs civilian residency is not about quality but more about the plusses and minuses of military service.

The rest of your comments regarding compassion etc, I'll just wait for the popcorn

 

[Jeff698]

There honestly isn't much disparity between civilian EM programs. This is because there is a strong program in place for accreditation. Each program has it's own strengths and weaknesses and individual flavor, but overall there aren't many disparities when it comes to the bottom line, ie turning out a competent entry level EP.

While you may get some feedback here about the differences between civilian and military EM programs, I'd also recommend checking in on the military medicine forum. That might be a bit higher yield.

Take care,
Jeff

 

[dikoerastenie]

I worked at BAMC (which has a phenomenal EM program) and you do get sick patients. Active duty army hospitals (aka not VA) can see active duty and retired army and family members. Thus, I saw kids, pregant wives, pregnant soldiers, husbands, MI's, septic patients, asthmatics. Also, depending on location, if it is the closest ED is military and the aptient is unstable (coding asthmatic nonmilitary) its going there.

Most military residencies have 'civilian' hospitals they rotate at as part of thier education.

The discussion of military vs civilian residency is not about quality but more about the plusses and minuses of military service.

The rest of your comments regarding compassion etc, I'll just wait for the popcorn

Thank you for the response. Actually I just posted here to motivate myself to study. Please disregard my comments about compassion,etc. I just wanted to learn about the differences between different programs and thought the previous threads were not personal enough.

 

[dikoerastenie]

There honestly isn't much disparity between civilian EM programs. This is because there is a strong program in place for accreditation. Each program has it's own strengths and weaknesses and individual flavor, but overall there aren't many disparities when it comes to the bottom line, ie turning out a competent entry level EP.

While you may get some feedback here about the differences between civilian and military EM programs, I'd also recommend checking in on the military medicine forum. That might be a bit higher yield.

Take care,
Jeff

Thank you. I do read military forums whenever I am bored. I don't care too much if I have to work in the military for a few years. They have only 30days=6weeks of vacation, but even if I were a civilian I would expect to work at least 45wks per year at first, just to gain more experience. What I am worried about is that some residencies might make you less marketable for some jobs. I read in another thread that if you want to work in the rockies you should do a residency in the rockies-i.e. Denver. If that's not true, then does it mean that among civilian residencies the only factor that makes a program more or less competitive is the geography(if it's sunny) and the #/type of shifts per month?

 

[dikoerastenie]

please delete my thread and my account. i should only use sdn for reading, not writing. thank you.

 

[DeadCactus]

The discussion of military vs civilian residency is not about quality but more about the plusses and minuses of military service.

I have to disagree with this. I agree that it's important to concider the benefits and costs of serving in the military prior to taking on an obligation. Residency makes up half of the time you spend on AD, though.

While there are deferals, the loss of the freedom to choose from civilian residencies is one of the more major sacrifices in taking on a military commitment. Looking at what is offered in military residencies and how it stacks up against civilian counterparts is an important part in deciding if the trade-off is worth it...

 

[The White Coat Investor]

But at the same time military EDs such as san diego do get a lot of visits and soldiers would not go to the emergency room unless it is an emergency(even if it's not life threatening)-