Curriculum

Our residents get significant clinical exposure to pediatric patients in our emergency department (approximately 15% of our patient volume) but also will spend three months of dedicated pediatric experience at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in the Pediatric Emergency Department and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

As the use of point of care ultrasound continues to grow in emergency medicine practice, our program provides our residents with the tools to become proficient. Our residents complete a comprehensive curriculum in ultrasound including modules on POCUS Focused, hands on lectures in didactics and a dedicated ultrasound rotation. Our ultrasound director, Dr. Lagerveld meets with residents regularly to go over their progress making sure they meet the standards of ACGME for graduation.

Our residents get significant critical care experience and exposure. Not only do we get significant critical care experience in our emergency department, but they also get four months of dedicated critical care experience. Two of those months are in our Critical Care Unit in their PGY-1 and PGY-2 years under the direct supervision of critical care fellows and attendings. The PGY-2 year the resident will be considered the “senior resident” and will take on more responsibility. Our residents also spend one month in Henry Ford Detroit’s Medical Intensive Unit to get experience in a tertiary care facility. As the largest transplant center in the state of Michigan our residents get exposure to critically ill transplant patients that they would not typically care for in our facility. Lastly, our residents spend one month at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in their Pediatric Intensive Care Unit caring for critically ill children under the direct supervision of Board Certified Pediatric Intensivists.

As a level 2 trauma center, residents will have ample exposure to trauma. Education in trauma care includes both opportunities within our emergency center, and the trauma service at either the world renowned University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma or Hurley Medical Center.  Due to our proximity to multiple highways and our location in an urban setting we see a high volume of both blunt and penetrating trauma. We also have a monthly trauma grand rounds with our surgical colleagues going through different topics in trauma care.

In our simulation exercises at the state of the art Applebaum Simulation Learning Institue, we work to enhance your training and preparedness as physicians in emergency settings.   We will work through real life emergency scenarios to learn emergency procedures as well as high stakes life threatening disease processes in a more relaxed atmosphere to accelerate your learning.   Teaching in the SIM lab takes some of the pressure off so that you are well prepared to take charge inside the emergency room.   Rotating through a three year curriculum, you will be more than prepared when you step out into the "real world".  By fostering a hands-on learning environment, we ensure that trainees are equipped with the skills and confidence needed to respond effectively in high-pressure situations, ultimately improving patient care and outcomes in emergency medicine.

EM residents at Corewell Health Farmington Hills are evaluated and provided with feedback in multiple ways. First, residents receive feedback on every EM shift verbally from faculty, and with end of shift evaluations. Residents receive monthly on and off-service evaluations based on the core competency set forth by ACGME.  Residents will also be evaluated with a semi-annual and annual summative evaluation completed mid-year and prior to moving on to the next year. Residents also are evaluated once yearly by a nurse and a patient. The resident also will have bi-annual “Face-to-face” evaluations with the program director and assistant program director. 

Residents will evaluate faculty through multiple avenues. First, the residents will evaluate the faculty via the ACGME survey. Residents also complete an internal Corewell Health survery covering all facets of the residency. The residents also have the opportunity to complete an anonymous survey of each faculty member. Lastly residents have the opportunity to provide verbal feedback to EM program leadership via face-to-face meetings, residency townhall meeting and through our program evaluations committee meetings which all residents are invited to participate. 

As a core site of Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine our residents have the opportunity to teach and work with medical students. Throughout the year there are multiple medical students rotating through our department and our residents work with them closely. Starting as a PGY-2, residents will assigned medical students that will work with them directly throughout their shift. The resident will then be expected to evaluate that student. Our residents are also encouraged to become clinical faculty at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Residents will all participate in a longitudinal QI experience during their training. You will be expected to attend the QI meetings every other month when on the emergency medicine service. During your PGY-3 year you will be expected to present a case during the QI meeting with Dr. Adam Vieder.  You will also be encouraged to start or help with QI projects that are occurring in our department.

Emergency medicine residents and core faculty at Corewell Health Farmington Hills are all involved in research and scholarly activity. It is expected that all residents complete one research or QI project throughout their residency that is submitted for publication. Residents are involved in original research, case reports and poster presentations at local, statewide and national level. We have multiple resources to help assist with research including through the Corewell Research Institute, Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and now have added a research faculty member Dr. Amanda Esquivel Ph.D from University of Michigan College of Engineering. We have embarked on many exciting projects with Dr. Esquivel using dynamic ultrasound.

Our program places a strong emphasis on resident wellness through a variety of initiatives. Several times per year, residents are given Wednesday mornings off to participate in a wellness activity of their choice. We also offer a range of out-of-hospital events, such as trips to the cider mill, WhirlyBall, a holiday party, golf outings, and dedicated "guys' day" and "girls' day" events for residents and attendings. Each residency class is paired with two core faculty mentors to provide guidance and support throughout their training. In addition, residents have access to a wide range of resources, including comprehensive mental health services. 

The ACGME requires residents to complete and document specific procedures throughout their training. Our program offers ample opportunities to perform these procedures both during clinical shifts and in simulation settings. Residents are expected to maintain an up-to-date procedure log in the New Innovations website, and core faculty members review each resident's progress on a monthly basis to ensure they are meeting requirements.

At Corewell Health Farmington Hills we have a robust didactic curriculum. Our didactics occur every Wednesday starting between 6 A.M or 8 A.M and ends at noon. This is protected time for our residents. We use multiple sources in our didactics including, Foundations of Emergency Medicine, HippoEM, ROSH Review and Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine. We have multispecialty conferences with our surgical and internal medicine colleagues as well as guest lectures from an array of different subspecialists. We are also part of Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine’s GME Alliance who provides education the third Wednesday of the month.