VUSM STUDENTS

Welcome to Emergency Medicine!

We offer multiple experiences and courses across all years of medical school to help you learn more about the specialty of emergency medicine as well as to acquire the knowledge and skills to manage common emergencies regardless of specialties!

EM Experiences & Courses

Foundations of Medical Knowledge (FMK) Phase

Observational Experiences:

Interested VUSM medical students should contact Auda Hutto (auda.hutto@vumc.org) to learn more.

Medical Photography:

Visit https://www.vanderbiltem.com/med-photo to learn more.

Exploration Into Emergency Medicine (NEW):

This course is offered to MS1s at VUSM and MMC interested in exploring the speciality of Emergency Medicine through observational shifts in the VUAH ED, case based learning on high yield topics, procedural skills lab, and an EM faculty Q&A. Offered January-May. Sign up via Medical Student Affairs.

Foundations of Clinical Care (FCC) Phase

All EM courses in the FCC phase are two weeks in length and offered at various times throughout the academic year.

EM Elective: This course will introduce you to Emergency Medicine as a specialty and help you explore the different subspecialties within emergency medicine. There are didactic sessions, simulation, and clinical experiences in the ED.

Prehospital Elective: This course will introduce you to prehospital and disaster medicine. There are didactic sessions, visits to call centers, and EMS duty car ride alongs.

Ultrasound Elective: This course will introduce you to point of care ultrasound and offer hands on opportunities for practice.

Immersion Phase

EM Advanced Clinical Elective (EM ACE): This course fulfills the acute care requirement and is offered in April, May, June, July, August, and September. The EM ACE will introduce you to emergency medicine and the initial management strategies for common life-threatening emergencies. You will develop an approach to common undifferentiated patient complaints and a practical skill set in basic airway management, electrocardiogram interpretation, and resuscitation. During the course there are didactic sessions as well as procedure labs and high-fidelity simulations. Clinical shifts are spread across a variety of practice settings (adult and pediatrics) and offer a broad exposure to emergency care. On shift, you will work closely with emergency medicine faculty and residents to identify sick patients and develop differential diagnoses and management plans.

Emergency Care Integrated Science Course (ISC): This course fulfills the acute care requirement and is offered in October, January, February, and March. The goal of the course is to teach the foundational sciences of clinical medicine and it focuses on anatomy, toxicology, ultrasound, systems of care, teamwork, and communication. During the week, there are daily didactic sessions as well as procedure labs and high-fidelity simulation. There are also multiple scanning shifts to enhance point of care ultrasound skills. Clinical shifts are available in multiple ED settings.

Enhanced Emergency Medicine ACE (TripleEM): Course director approval is required to register for this course. Approval is only granted for students who are deeply interested in EM or pursuing careers in EM and there is a need for additional EM experience (e.g., returning from a year out to pursue a secondary degree and need EM experience prior to doing an away rotation). Completion of the EM ACE is a prerequisite to the Enhanced ACE. You will work full 8-hour shifts and have a workload similar to that of an intern.

Why Emergency Medicine?

Whether your contribution to medicine will be made in Emergency Medicine or another specialty, emergencies occur in all specialties and in life (e.g., “Is there a doctor on the plane?”). Thus, it is vitally important for you to have the tools to deal with common emergencies that you are likely to encounter during your residency or even in life.