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Career Track Elective (EMED 8006)

Offered June-October for 2024

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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). By exploring the process of emergency care, in the context of the communities we
serve across multiple practice and patient environments, students will understand the critical role safety-net hospitals
play in the care of vulnerable, disadvantaged, and historically marginalized patient communities.
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. 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 get-togethers during the month including a social evening with residents as well as
Clerkship and 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 EMS, US, and Simulation.

Dates for our 4-week rotations for the 2024 academic year are:

 6/24/24 - 7/19/24
 7/22/24 - 8/16/24
 8/19/24 - 9/13/24
 9/30/24 - 10/25/24

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Goals and Objectives for Knowledge and Skills

1. Advance the ability to identify acutely ill patients and respond quickly and appropriately to their needs, the foundations of ED resuscitation.

2. Improve history taking and physical diagnosis skills, learning to incorporate all relevant information and develop a focused problem-oriented approach.

3. Hone ability to generate effective and efficient diagnostic, therapeutic, and disposition plans, incorporating appropriate testing and consultation as necessary, and arranging continuing health care whenever possible.

4. Sharpen documentation skills in order to convey clear, concise, and internally consistent records.

5. Improve diagnostic vocabulary and gain further insight into the pathophysiology and clinical manifestations of various illnesses.

6. Improve technical and procedural skills, including (but not limited to) simple and advanced intravenous access, airway management, fracture and dislocation care, wound and abscess care, foreign body removal, lumbar puncture, electrocardiography, and bedside ultrasound.

7. The quest to continuously enhance the human connection, communication, and interaction between physicians, patients, and patients' families.

8. Understand that outstanding emergency care is a coordinated team effort consisting of paramedics, nurses, technicians, emergency physicians, pharmacists, consultants, and ancillary staff.

9. To see beyond the patient's clinical problems into the moral, ethical, legal, social, and economic issues of emergency care in the context of the patient communities we serve.

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

11. To help develop responsibility, maturity, and poise that will serve the student throughout their professional life.​

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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. 

 

Each month, 14 students will participate in this clinical experience with shifts distributed between DHMC and UCH and exposures involving adult as well as pediatric emergency care.

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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: 1st/3rd/5th Wednesdays of each month feature cases from DHMC,  2nd/4th Wednesdays of each month feature cases from UCH.

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

4. Core Student workshops including Advanced EM Ultrasound, EMS-Mass Casualty Incidents, Simulation/Procedure exercises.

5. Monthly collaborative Health Equity Project utilizing perspective-taking to identify a theme for a health equity literature search and group presentation.

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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. We provide an eSLOE for all rotators based on this evaluation. 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. Clinical and procedural skills

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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Application Process and Requirements

Applications for electives are accepted via VSLO. Please find us under ‘University of Colorado SOM’ (EMED 8006) starting March 1st 2023. 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 as above

• 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 for 2024
​Please click this link to be taken to our DENVER Health Equity Visiting Student Externship

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