Emergency medicine

The Geisinger Medical Center Emergency Medicine student clerkship is a multi-faceted, immersive and feedback-oriented experience for fourth-year medical students on both required and elective experiences from a variety of institutions, as well as Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine third year medical students. The experience offers students the ability to work clinically in an accredited Level 1 trauma center, stroke center, and chest pain center. Students work clinically in all areas of the department, participating in care from triage through admission or discharge. In addition, students experience the clinical care provided by our pediatric emergency medicine specialists. To provide a comprehensive experience, students also spend time at our community-oriented emergency department at Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital which allows students to work one-on-one with attending emergency medicine physicians.

Students generally have about 20 total experiences during their elective month (only four-week rotations are offered for students on elective experiences), which include clinical shifts, procedure labs, didactic sessions, and participation in mock codes and journal clubs. Clinical shifts are generally eight hours in length. Abundant resources are provided to students in order to optimize learning outside of the hospital.

In addition to clinical duties, students observe and participate in weekly didactic experiences along-side our residents and faculty, participate in weekly procedure labs which are customized to students’ collective needs and interests, and get customized and dedicated teaching when working with our teaching resident.

Our emergency department is recently renovated and has more than 40 beds including a three-bed resuscitation bay. The resuscitation bay incorporates plain film radiology and is immediately adjacent to the radiology department and the latest generation CT scanners. Radiology services, including ultrasound and MRI are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Our elective is associated with one of the most established EM residency programs in the country. Founded in 1976, the program is a three-year program with nine allopathic or osteopathic residents per year. Our division of emergency medicine point-of care-ultrasound recently began its fellowship program and will be accepting one fellow per year beginning in 2018. Our residency program’s EMS affiliation is long standing and incorporates both ground and air EMS and encourages residents to actively participate in both elements. For more details on our residency program, visit our residency webpage.

Goals & objectives
A comprehensive resource guide, including logistical details, goals and objectives, and a detailed incorporation of Emergency Medicine Student Milestones, Entrustable Professional Activities and Core Competencies, is provided upon starting the rotation. Additionally, some details are provided here. The student will:

• Develop efficiency and focus in the assessment of common emergency medicine chief complaints, including but not limited to abdominal pain, altered mental status, chest pain, headache, nausea/vomiting, overdose, shock, shortness of breath, and trauma  
• Formulate basic differential diagnoses, including the most serious or life-threatening conditions, the most common etiologies, and the most likely diagnosis for common chief complaints and presentations in the emergency department    
• Become proficient in the presentation of the emergency department H&P, including recognizing the important elements of the case and developing conciseness    
• Participate in the care of critically ill/unstable patients, both medical and traumatic, including airway management, arrhythmia recognition and management, central line placement, appropriate vasopressor selection, and lumbar punctures    
• Improve confidence in formulating basic treatment plans, including lab and imaging work-up, medications, and ultimate dispositions for emergency department patients    
• Provide compassionate care of patients
• Practice interpersonal and communication skills with patients, consultants, and primary care physicians
• Demonstrate proficiency in writing emergency medicine notes
• Exhibit professionalism in all aspects of the rotation, including timeliness, honest, integrity, accountability, and cultural sensitivity
• Be proactive in learning, with independent reading of material pertinent not only to patients in the emergency department but also for common EM chief complaints (e.g., chest pain, dyspnea, abdominal pain, fever, headache)

Apply now
Acceptance into the elective is by application only. All applications must be submitted through the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities™ (VSLO®).

We begin accepting applications for elective experiences in April of each year, and continue to evaluate candidates through the fall and winter, pending availability.