Curriculum

Progressive Responsibility Model

Residents are not defined by their PGY year, but by their readiness and engagement.
Autonomy is earned through participation, not withheld by hierarchy.

“You are the doctor. We’re right next to you.”

PGY-1

Emergency Medicine: 20 weeks at SJH ER. 4 weeks at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital ER.

Anesthesia & Ultrasound: 4 weeks SJH & GSUH.

ICU: 4 weeks at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital.

PEM: 8 weeks at GSUH.

OB: 2 weeks at St. Charles Hospital.

Toxicology: 4 weeks with NYC Poison Control.

PGY-2

Emergency Medicine: 24 weeks at SJH ER. 4 weeks at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital ER.

ICU: 4 weeks at SJH. 4 weeks at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital.

EMS: 2 weeks with FDNY.

PEM: 4 weeks at GSUH.

PICU: 4 weeks at GSUH.

Trauma: 4 weeks at GSUH.

Elective: 4 weeks in specialty of your choice.

PGY-3

Emergency Medicine: 20 weeks at SJH ER. 4 weeks at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital ER.

EM Teach: 8 weeks at SJH

ICU: 4 weeks at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital.

PEM: 4 weeks at GSUH.

CDU/Observation: 4 weeks at SJH.

Trauma: 4 weeks at GSUH.

Elective: 4 weeks in specialty of your choice.

St. Joseph Hospital serves as the program's institutional home, where residents complete the majority of their emergency medicine training over three years. As a 203-bed community hospital with 35,000 annual ED visits, SJH provides residents with comprehensive exposure to the full spectrum of emergency medicine in a community setting. The department is certified as both a Chest Pain Center and Primary Stroke Center by the New York State Joint Commission, offering residents extensive experience in time-sensitive cardiovascular and neurological emergencies. With on-site cardiac catheterization capabilities, residents gain valuable experience in the acute management and disposition of cardiac patients. These rotations, distributed throughout residency training, allow residents to develop strong clinical acumen, procedural proficiency, and the ability to efficiently manage high patient volumes while maintaining quality care. Residents work alongside dedicated emergency medicine faculty who provide mentorship in both clinical practice and the development of systems-based practice skills essential for community emergency medicine.

St. Catherine of Siena Hospital offers residents a distinct community emergency medicine experience with 24,000 annual ED visits across 35 beds and a 31.4% admission rate. Like SJH, St. Catherine's is certified as both a Chest Pain Center and Primary Stroke Center by the New York State Joint Commission, providing parallel training opportunities in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular emergencies. The department's on-site cardiac catheterization lab ensures residents gain comprehensive experience in the acute management of STEMI and other cardiac emergencies. Rotations at St. Catherine's expose residents to a different patient demographic and practice environment, enhancing their adaptability and broadening their clinical perspective. This experience is invaluable in developing well-rounded emergency physicians capable of practicing in diverse community settings. Residents learn to navigate different hospital systems, collaborate with various consultant services, and adapt their practice to different resources and patient populations.

This innovative four-week rotation combines two essential skill sets for the modern emergency physician. Mornings are spent in the operating rooms at St. Joseph Hospital with anesthesia attendings and CRNAs, focusing on pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative anesthesia care with particular emphasis on advanced airway management. Residents refine their intubation techniques using both video-assisted laryngoscopy and direct laryngoscopy in the controlled environment of the OR, building the confidence and technical proficiency necessary for managing airways in the unpredictable ED setting. Afternoons are dedicated to point-of-care ultrasound training at Good Samaritan University Hospital, where residents work alongside ultrasound fellowship-trained attendings and current ultrasound fellows. Residents master essential bedside ultrasound applications including the FAST exam, RUSH exam, cardiac ultrasound, gallbladder studies, aortic studies, DVT studies, and more. This dual-focused rotation ensures residents develop competency in two procedural domains that are fundamental to contemporary emergency medicine practice.

Residents complete two dedicated trauma rotations at Good Samaritan University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center serving as a major referral center for critically injured trauma patients. During these rotations, residents play an active role on the trauma service, responding to all trauma activations, performing trauma consultations, and participating in daily trauma service rounds. Residents gain extensive experience in the initial assessment and resuscitation of trauma patients, following ATLS protocols and learning to rapidly identify and manage life-threatening injuries. The high-volume trauma center provides exposure to penetrating trauma, blunt multi-system trauma, traumatic brain injury, and complex orthopedic injuries. Residents develop proficiency in trauma-specific procedures including chest tube placement, fracture reduction, and wound management. Working alongside trauma surgeons, residents learn the principles of damage control resuscitation, indications for operative intervention, and trauma systems of care. This rotation ensures residents are well-prepared to manage severely injured patients in the emergency department, make appropriate trauma activation decisions, and communicate effectively with trauma teams.

Residents complete critical care rotations at both St. Joseph Hospital's 28-bed ICU and St. Catherine of Siena Hospital's 23-bed ICU, each functioning as combined units encompassing CCU, MICU, SICU, and Neuro ICU patient populations. Residents complete four ICU rotations over three years: three blocks at St. Catherine's ICU (one each in PGY-1, PGY-2, and PGY-3) and one block at St. Joseph Hospital's ICU during PGY-2. These multidisciplinary critical care environments provide comprehensive exposure to a diverse range of critically ill patients, from acute coronary syndromes and heart failure to severe sepsis, respiratory failure, traumatic injuries, and neurological catastrophes. Residents function as integral members of the intensive care team, gaining proficiency in ventilator management, hemodynamic monitoring, vasopressor and inotrope titration, central line placement, and other critical care procedures. These ICU’s help residents develop advanced skills in critical care decision-making, including ventilator weaning strategies, renal replacement therapy indications, goals-of-care discussions, and disposition planning. Daily rounds with intensivists and subspecialty consultants provide rich learning opportunities and expose residents to the longitudinal management of complex, critically ill patients. This dual-site experience strengthens residents' ability to recognize and stabilize critically ill patients in the emergency department, make informed decisions regarding ICU-level care, and communicate effectively with intensivists at different facilities.

Residents spend four weeks in Good Samaritan University Hospital’s 8-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, managing critically ill children with complex medical and surgical conditions. The PICU experience exposes residents to severe respiratory distress, septic shock, traumatic injuries, post-operative complications, diabetic ketoacidosis, status epilepticus, and other life-threatening pediatric emergencies. Residents gain advanced procedural experience in pediatric patients, including central line placement, arterial line placement, intubation, and lumbar puncture. Working closely with pediatric intensivists and subspecialty consultants, residents develop expertise in pediatric ventilator management, pediatric pharmacology, fluid resuscitation in children, and family-centered care. The rotation emphasizes the physiologic differences between children and adults and how these differences impact critical care management. This experience complements the Pediatric ED rotation and ensures residents can confidently stabilize critically ill children in the emergency department and communicate effectively with pediatric intensivists during transfers and consultations.

Residents complete dedicated pediatric emergency medicine training at Good Samaritan University Hospital's Pediatric Emergency Department, a designated Level II Pediatric Trauma Center with a PEM fellowship program and 22,000 annual pediatric visits. Working in a dedicated pediatric ED alongside fellowship-trained pediatric emergency medicine attendings and fellows, residents gain comprehensive experience in the assessment and management of critically ill and injured children. The high-volume, high-acuity environment provides exposure to pediatric medical emergencies, traumatic injuries, and time-sensitive conditions requiring advanced procedural skills. Residents learn pediatric-specific resuscitation algorithms, advanced airway management in children, pediatric sedation, and the nuances of communicating with families during stressful situations. This rotation ensures residents develop the confidence and competence necessary to provide excellent emergency care to children of all ages, from neonates to adolescents.

This two-week rotation at St. Charles Hospital's high-volume Labor and Delivery unit provides residents with essential training in obstetric emergencies and normal deliveries. Residents are exposed to both high-risk and uncomplicated deliveries, learning to manage active labor, perform deliveries, and recognize obstetric emergencies including postpartum hemorrhage, eclampsia, shoulder dystocia, and umbilical cord prolapse. Working alongside obstetricians, residents gain hands-on experience with obstetric procedures and develop comfort in managing pregnant patients. The rotation emphasizes recognition of maternal warning signs, fetal monitoring interpretation, and when to call for immediate obstetric consultation. This experience is invaluable for emergency physicians, who must be prepared to manage unexpected deliveries and obstetric emergencies that present to the ED. Residents leave the rotation with improved confidence in assessing and managing pregnant patients and the skills necessary to safely deliver a baby when time does not permit transfer to Labor and Delivery.

During this four-week rotation, residents serve as consultants for toxicology cases throughout New York State by providing phone consultations to hospitals via the New York City Poison Control Center. Working under the supervision of board-certified toxicologists and toxicology fellows, residents develop expertise in the assessment and management of poisonings, overdoses, envenomations, and toxic exposures. Residents learn systematic approaches to the unknown ingestion, specific antidote therapy, enhanced elimination techniques, and supportive care principles for toxicologic emergencies. The rotation includes toxicology attending- and fellow-led lectures covering essential topics in clinical toxicology, from specific toxidromes and common overdoses to rare poisonings and emerging drugs of abuse. Residents participate in weekly Toxicology Journal Club, reviewing current literature and evidence-based approaches to toxicologic management. This rotation provides residents with the knowledge and confidence to manage poisoned patients in the emergency department and understand when to consult toxicology for complex cases. The experience is invaluable in developing a systematic, evidence-based approach to toxicologic emergencies.

This two-week rotation provides comprehensive exposure to New York City's emergency medical services system through the Fire Department of New York (FDNY). Residents begin with meetings at FDNY Headquarters with EMS leadership and medical directors to understand the structure, protocols, and challenges of urban EMS. The rotation includes ride-alongs with Basic Life Support crews, Advanced Cardiac Life Support crews, and FDNY Lieutenants, allowing residents to experience pre-hospital emergency care from multiple perspectives. Residents observe the decision-making processes of pre-hospital providers, learn about EMS protocols and procedures, and gain insight into the challenges of delivering care in uncontrolled environments. A particularly valuable component is a day spent at Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) with medical directors, where residents listen to medical dispatch calls from all five boroughs of New York City. This rotation deepens residents' understanding of the EMS system, improves their ability to communicate with pre-hospital providers, and enhances their appreciation for the challenges faced by emergency medical technicians and paramedics in the field.

This rotation provides dedicated training in the management of patients requiring observation-level care at St. Joseph Hospital's Clinical Decision Unit. Residents learn to manage conditions that require extended monitoring or treatment beyond a standard ED visit but may not necessitate full inpatient admission, including chest pain undergoing rule-out protocols, asthma exacerbations requiring serial treatments, cardiac monitoring and observation for anaphylactic rebound in patients who received epinephrine for anaphylaxis, congestive heart failure requiring diuresis, syncope requiring monitoring and evaluation, mild dehydration requiring IV rehydration, and infections requiring extended IV antibiotic therapy. The rotation emphasizes risk stratification, appropriate patient selection for observation status, development of observation care plans, and disposition decision-making. Residents learn to apply clinical decision rules, utilize observation protocols, and understand the administrative and financial aspects of observation medicine. This experience is increasingly valuable as emergency departments nationwide expand observation services to reduce unnecessary admissions while ensuring patient safety. Residents develop the skills necessary to efficiently and safely manage observation patients and make evidence-based decisions about which patients can be safely discharged after a period of observation.

Residents complete four-week elective rotations during both PGY-2 and PGY-3 years, providing opportunities to explore specific interests within emergency medicine or investigate complementary specialties. Leadership will with you to help you pursue elective choices, residents have pursued diverse experiences ranging from advanced subspecialty training to electives internationally in global health. Popular electives include ultrasound, EMS, toxicology, pediatric emergency medicine, trauma surgery, emergency medicine administration, research and international emergency medicine. Electives may be completed at program-affiliated hospitals, other academic medical centers, or approved outside institutions. Some residents use elective time to develop research projects, quality improvement initiatives, or medical education curricula. Others pursue clinical experiences that align with their post-residency career goals, whether that be academic medicine, community practice, urgent care, or fellowship training. The elective structure allows residents to customize their training and develop expertise in areas of personal and professional interest, while also providing time for scholarly activities and career development.

Explore Where You Will Work

Shift Break Down

During EM blocks at SJH, St. Catherine of Siena Hospital, and PEM blocks at GSUH PEM shifts are 12 hours. Off-service rotations have hours ranging from 8-12 hours.

Curriculum

Progressive Responsibility Model

Residents are not defined by their PGY year, but by their readiness and engagement. Autonomy is earned through participation, not withheld by hierarchy. “You are the doctor. We’re right next to you.”

PGY-1

PGY-2

PGY-3

Explore Where You Will Work

Shift Break Down

Residents are not defined by their PGY year, but by their readiness and engagement.
Autonomy is earned through participation, not withheld by hierarchy.

“You are the doctor. We’re right next to you.”