ERM 402 - Emergency Medicine

Rotating medical students spend 4 weeks in our department, and function in a capacity similar to that of the typical sub-intern. Students evaluate patients autonomously and make presentations to any one of 17 individual emergency medicine attending physicians whose cumulative background encompasses over 9 separate residency training programs throughout the nation. They participate in the resuscitation of critically ill or injured patients, and perform necessary procedures when indicated. Didactically, the student participates in the accredited weekly emergency medicine residency conferences, daily intern lectures, and patient rounds. Additionally, students benefit from a specialized medical student curriculum which covers key concepts in the field. They may also participate in a monthly animal lab in which ATLS procedures are taught and they are invited to attend monthly journal club sessions. Students also benefit from their interaction with interns and residents of varied levels of training and specialty interests. A particularly unique feature of our rotation is the exposure to emergencies presenting primarily in the military setting and emergency physician use of ultrasound. Naval Medical Center Portsmouth is a large 450 bed teaching hospital which has 14 specialty residencies/fellowships. The annual patient census in the emergency department approaches 70,000 visits. Approximately 30-40% of these pertain to the pediatric population. The admission rate from the emergency department is approximately 12%. The ratio of medical/surgical presenting complaints is roughly 3/2. This high volume provides a rich environment for exposure to the entities commonly encountered in emergency medicine. The recently renovated and upgraded emergency department has 13 general beds, 5 specialty beds, and 2 resuscitation beds.