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Career Track Elective (EMED 8006)

Offered June-October for 2025

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This rotation is for the senior medical student who has decided on emergency medicine as a career and will be
applying to emergency medicine residencies. Students will be immersed in the complex world of emergency medicine
and be fully integrated into the ED care teams at two Level 1 trauma hospitals (Denver Health Medical Center and
University of Colorado Hospital). Students will be challenged to function as a sub-intern and be supervised by our outstanding senior residents and faculty to gain familiarity with the unique approach to the emergency patient, the evaluation of the acutely ill and injured, and the concepts of resuscitation. By exploring emergency care in the context of our community, students will understand the critical role that safety-net hospitals play in the care of vulnerable, disadvantaged, and historically marginalized patient communities. In addition to the outstanding clinical and didactic learning opportunities the Career Track Elective also includes:
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1. Career Advising: Students will receive career advising through conversation with residents and faculty as well
as informal advising at a social evening with residents and clerkship/residency leadership.

2. Clinical Advising: Each student will work multiple shifts with senior residents and faculty to foster the
development of working relationship, ongoing clinical feedback and mentorship.

3. Additional Exposures: Students will participate in workshops/exposures in subspecialties of emergency
medicine such as US, Simulation, and Health Equity.

 

Dates for our 4-week rotations for the 2025 academic year are:

6/22/25 - 7/18/25

7/20/25 - 8/15/25

8/17/25 - 9/12/25

9/28/25 - 10/24/25

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Goals and Objectives for Knowledge and Skills

Learning Objectives

 

By the end of the emergency medicine rotation, medical students will develop the skills to:

1. Employ a systematic approach to obtaining an accurate history and physical exam specific to the presenting problem.

2. Recognize and appropriately respond to acutely ill patients.

3. Generate differential diagnoses that prioritize life-threatening conditions and incorporate the likelihood of potential diagnoses based on patient factors and acuity.

4. Construct effective and efficient diagnostic, therapeutic, and disposition plans, incorporating appropriate testing and consultation, and arrange continuing health care whenever possible.

5. Communicate the management plan to patients and families in a manner that is easily understandable, ensures patient comprehension, and takes into account patients’ health care preferences.

6. Synthesize data collected from the patient into case presentations that are complete, concise, and organized. 

7. Assess patient response to therapeutic interventions and identify when critical changes to patient status occur.

8. Collaborate with all members of the emergency medical team to promote excellent patient care including paramedics, nurses, technicians, pharmacists, consultants, and ancillary staff.

9. Create illness scripts for common emergency department conditions through didactic and experiential learning.

10. Demonstrate the proper technique for common ED procedures including but not limited to airway management, central venous access, tube thoracostomy, intraosseous access, fracture stabilization, incision & drainage, and suture repair.

11. Apply the use of POCUS in the evaluation of patients with undifferentiated shock or critical illness.

12. Reflect on the moral, ethical, legal, social, and economic issues that impact the practice of emergency care for our communities.

13. Appreciate the critical role that safety-net hospitals play in the care of disadvantaged, at-risk, and vulnerable patient populations.

14. Exercise the professional behaviors needed to succeed as a physician including responsibility, accountability, sensitivity, and maturity. 

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Clinical Experience and Responsibilities

This clinical experience takes place in the Emergency Departments at Denver Health Medical Center (DHMC) and the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH), both of which are core training sites for the Denver Health Residency in Emergency Medicine. 

 

Students will work 14 clinical shifts, distributed between the DHMC adult and pediatric emergency departments and the UCH adult emergency department.

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The Denver Health Medical Center Emergency Department including the Pediatric Emergency Department and Urgent Care Center is the only Level 1 Trauma Center (ACS) in the city of Denver and treats approximately 120,000 patients per year. DHMC is the critical safety-net hospital for the city and county of Denver, and is also the base hospital for the Denver Department of Health and Hospitals Paramedic Division. The University of Colorado Hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center (ACS) in Aurora, CO, located on The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. UCH is a clinical and academic center of excellence in the Rocky Mountain Region and its Emergency Department treats approximately 100,000 patients per year. 

 

The student, as the primary caregiver, evaluates and provides the necessary emergency care for patients who present to these Emergency Departments under the supervision of emergency medicine residents and attending physicians. 

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Didactic Curriculum and Opportunities

There are numerous core and optional opportunities for education outside of clinical shifts during this rotation.  The educational opportunities include:

1. Weekly Medical Student Core didactic experience every Monday morning specifically tailored for Senior Medical Student education.

2. Weekly Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) conference followed by resident educational conference occurring every Wednesday.

3. Daily Student/Intern Teaching Rounds at the start and end of every shift at Denver Health with an Attending Emergency Physician.

4. Student workshops including Advanced EM Ultrasound, and Simulation/Procedure exercises.

5. Participation in a collaborative Health Equity Project to gain deeper understanding of the ED patient’s perspective and major themes of health equity.

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Evaluation

Following the end of the rotation, each student receives a comprehensive written evaluation. This course is formally pass-fail, however the evaluations and assessments collected from residents and faculty are used to compile a final assessment. This is a composite evaluation based on the feedback from the Attending Staff and Emergency Medicine Senior Residents based on performance during clinical shifts (nonclinical educational activities such as workshops are not graded) as well as the results of the end-of-rotation Exam. Copies of this evaluation are made available to the student and kept on file in the Emergency Medicine Offices. The areas that are specifically evaluated include:

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1. History and Physical exam skills

2. Ability to generate an appropriate DDx

3. Clinical judgment and plan formulation

4. Patient reevaluation and monitoring

5. Emergency recognition and management

6. Compassion, sensitivity, respect toward patients and team

7. Relationship and communication with patients and staff

8. Dependability and motivation

9. Professionalism

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All Rotating Students will be offered a SLOE

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Application Process and Requirements

Applications for electives are accepted via VSLO. Please find us under ‘University of Colorado SOM’ (EMED 8006) starting March 1st 2025. We highly encourage interested students to apply as early as possible to secure desired dates since rotation slots tend to fill far in advance.

 

Application requirements:

• Complete all requested information on the VSAS application

• Please additionally complete and submit a short essay: In less than 500 words please tell us about a meaningful experience (activity, program, event, lived experience, interaction, etc.) that illustrates your drive to pursue Emergency Medicine.

Please submit this as an Essay Question on your VSLO application.

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DENVER Health Equity EM Externship (EMED 8011)

Offered June through October 2025
​Please click this link to be taken to our DENVER Health Equity Visiting Student Externship.

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Additional Resources