Emergency Medicine Orientation

(Also see Curriculum)

An elective rotation for PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents is available. The obligation is for 210 hours during the month. The hours may be generated through 10 to 12 hour shifts at the resident’s choice. Night shifts are waived unless the resident specifically requests them.

All schedules are written by Dr. Sprueil or his designee. Resident requests for special off-days are usually accorded. Vacation requests are automatically granted if approved by Dr. Feldman’s office. Schedules are written the week prior to the beginning of the rotation. If trips, travel plans, or special occasions are anticipated during the rotation, it would be prudent to discuss them with Dr. Sprueil prior to finalizing arrangements. Contact him at (972) 567-6782 or (214) 345-4781.

An orientation and tour of the department occurs at the beginning of the first scheduled shift. The resident should “shadow” the ED attending for the first 1-2 hours until the logistics and mechanics become apparent. At that point, the resident may begin seeing patients primarily with consultation with the attending to quickly follow.

The ED attendings follow a shift pattern that is quite different from the residents’. A fresh ED attending arrives about every 3 hours from 5:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Cases staffed by the “old” attending with a resident will continue to be followed with the resident by that same attending; all new cases seen by the resident will be presented to and followed by the “new” attending.

A few suggestions:

1. Make certain that the ED attending to whom you present a case, signs the chart.
   
   
2. Always notify the attendings if you leave the department.
   
   
3. Dress professionally (clean, neat scrubs are acceptable).
   
   
4. Be aggressive about picking up cases; you should have 3-4 cases concurrently.
   
   
5. Your initial encounter with a patient should take no more than 10 minutes; get the basics to form a plan in that time, and then present the case and plan to the attending so that therapeutics and diagnostics can be started. You can then go back to the patient and complete the details.
   
   
6. A patient with unstable vital signs or who, by virtue of symptoms, signs, appearance, intuition, is perceived by you to be unstable or at risk, warrants immediate consultation from an attending. If you feel nervous or uncertain about a patient’s stability, get help immediately!
   
7. If you have any problems, questions, or concerns about the rotation, either before, during, or afterwards, please contact Dr. Sprueil at the previously mentioned numbers.