Educational Experience - Emergency Medicine Residency Program

The Ochsner Emergency Medicine Residency Program offers a distinctive approach to curriculum and scheduling. Our 36-month curriculum is designed to meet ACGME EM requirements while maximizing the resources and educational opportunities at our institution. To accommodate residents interested in fellowships, our Program Director (PD), Dr. Suau has implemented a flexible elective format, allowing elective time to be moved to the second year to enhance applications and opportunities. In addition, the program offers robust support for residents presenting posters at national conferences and those in leadership roles within national organizations. Additionally, the program is committed to supporting residents with military commitments, ensuring they can fulfill their service obligations while continuing their medical training seamlessly. Recognizing the individual goals and aspirations of each resident, the PD conducts quarterly meetings to assess and support these objectives. The Clinical Competency Committee (CCC), consisting of EM residency leadership faculty, convenes quarterly to review resident progress, after which personalized development plans are created and discussed with each resident and faculty mentor. This ensures residents receive tailored guidance and support throughout their educational journey, helping them achieve their full potential.

Our program prioritizes the wellness and growth of each resident by carefully designing the yearly schedule. Our PD, Dr. Suau, and Program Manager, Elizabeth, collaboratively create the yearly scheduling matrix, ensuring rotations are purposefully planned. For instance, the MICU and Neurocritical Care rotations are split into two 2-week blocks instead of one consecutive month, promoting resident wellness and providing a diverse experience throughout the year. Intensive rotations are never scheduled back-to-back, and General Purpose Time (GPT)/vacation requests are highly valued in the schedule creation.

The pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) rotation is longitudinally integrated into the EM2 and EM3 levels, ensuring residents are consistently comfortable with pediatric emergencies. EM2 residents also rotate for one month at the renowned Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, Maryland, focusing on trauma procedures and enhancing their educational journey. To support this valuable experience, the program provides reimbursement for travel expenses, including flight or mileage, along with housing accommodations.

Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans treats medically complex patients daily, including those who are critically ill, have cancer, or suffer from sickle-cell disease. This exposure ensures our residents are well-prepared to handle a wide range of emergencies. At the EM3 level, residents have dedicated intake shifts to manage low-acuity emergencies, complementing their experiences at various partnered community sites around New Orleans and the surrounding areas.

At our main site, residents work 8+1-hour shifts, with scheduling managed by one of our esteemed EM attendings. Feedback on schedules is solicited quarterly and implemented accordingly. Tuesday evenings are reserved for resident wellness, with the third Tuesday dedicated to either Journal Club or PD Hour, allowing all residents not on intensive rotations to participate in community wellness activities.

Quarterly, residents engage in Resident Forum during didactics, led by the Chief Residents. Here, they discuss feedback about their experiences, which is then presented to the residency leadership for implementation. This feedback loop ensures residents are active stakeholders in their education, fostering a collaborative environment.

The Annual Program Evaluation Workshop is another key component, where all residents participate in evaluating the program from the current academic year. Feedback is then provided to rotation experience leaders. This workshop also serves as a retreat and wellness event, allowing residents to interact and bond.

EM PGY-1 Sample Schedule

EM PGY-2 Sample Schedule

EM PGY-3 Sample Schedule

Ochsner’s Emergency Medicine Residency Program is dedicated to the comprehensive education of its residents, offering a diverse array of conferences designed to train exceptional physicians for practice in various settings. Our weekly 5-hour didactic sessions are tailored to the specific level of each resident, concentrating on the learner and the skills they need. Each level of emergency medicine residency follows a distinct, personalized curriculum aimed at preparing residents for the American Board of Emergency Medicine Boards.

Our didactic sessions feature monthly simulation and point-of-care ultrasound days, seamlessly integrated into the regular weekly curriculum. In addition to these focused training days, our didactics include longitudinal curricula that cover a wide range of essential topics. These topics include orthopedic emergencies, administrative skills, CV/Resume support, wellness, operational efficiency, managing sleep deprivation, strategies for residency success, fellowship opportunity education, career development, and more. This multifaceted approach ensures that our residents receive a well-rounded education, equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary to excel in their medical careers.

The Ochsner Clinical Simulation and Patient Safety Center, situated at Ochsner Medical Center’s North Campus on Jefferson Highway, offers our residents extensive supplementary training to elevate their skills and education. From the outset of their journey with the Ochsner Emergency Medicine Residency Program, residents engage in simulation-based learning. Under the expert guidance of Fellowship-trained Simulation Director, Dr. Novotny, our residents benefit from emergency medicine-specific simulations integrated into their training. These simulations are conducted through monthly dedicated didactic sessions and are further reinforced by ongoing simulation exercises incorporated into the weekly didactic curriculum. This comprehensive approach ensures that our residents receive continuous, hands-on experience, enhancing their preparedness and proficiency in emergency medical care.

Research prospects are abundant at Ochsner. Residents in Emergency Medicine are allotted the opportunity to conduct research in any topic within our field. Residents are encouraged to explore subjects that offer them interest and will have a meaningful impact in Emergency Medicine. Residents have the opportunity to present their work in a supportive environment while establishing collaborations and creating academic friendships at Ochsner’s Annual Research Day, held annually in May. This event showcases the biomedical research of investigators within the Ochsner Health while including students of the University of Queensland-Ochsner Clinical School, along with postdoctoral fellows, scientists, clinical residents and fellows, nurses, and pharmacists. It’s a daylong event that includes general assemblies, a noon keynote address, a poster display, and an evening networking session with hor d’oeuvres and cocktails in the Brent House Atrium. In addition, residents have the ability to submit their work for publication to the Ochsner Journal, a quarterly medical journal providing a wide range of peer-reviewed, timely, and practical information.

Residents at Ochsner have access to a vast amount of resources to enhance their clinical and educational experiences. The Medical Library is available for use and provides access to over 1,700 electronic journals and over 250 electronic books, all searchable through high-value databases. In addition, Ochsner’s Research Division, Clinical Simulation and Patient Safety Center, along with various Web Applications and External Organizations suggested by Graduate Medical Education can help residents develop their career further.