Emergency Medicine

 

 

Since 1980, the affiliated emergency medicine residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine has been training physicians to excel in any emergency medicine environment in the country. The program is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education; it is one of the few programs in the country with this dual accreditation.

 

"We think this is one of the best, if not the best, osteopathic training programs in emergency medicine in the country," says John W. Becher, D.O., Department Chairman,  "Many of our former residents now hold director positions in emergency departments in various hospitals throughout the country. Because of that strong track record, the majority of our candidates come to us because they have been so impressed when working with 'Doctor so-and-so' and figure, 'If I can be half the doctor he or she is, I have to come here for my training.'"

 

The residency is a three-year program. An intern specialty track in emergency medicine is available and recommended and the training is based at Albert Einstein Medical Center's Level 1 trauma center, which provides more than 50,000 emergency department patient visits per year with a high acuity level and a good diversification of medical, surgical and pediatric cases.

 

Other rotations include the Lehigh Valley Hospital Center, another Level 1 trauma center with Pennsylvania's largest patient volume and an extensive helicopter transport service for blunt trauma patients;  the Pegional Burn Center for Philadelphia; Temple University Hospital Burn Center; Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), one of the most respected pediatric training centers in the country; and the adjacent Delaware Valley Regional Poison Control Center, which handles more than 150,000 calls annually.

 

"Einstein is one of the medical command base station hospitals for Philadelphia's emergency medical service system so we give command to emergency medical personnel on the street," says Dr. Becher. The training also involves accompanying municipal, volunteer and private ambulances, as well as helicopter aeromedical transport, in order to treat emergency victims in transit.

 

Rotations at various sites include emergency department, medicine, trauma, burns, cardiology, critical care, pediatrics, orthopedics, anesthesia, neurology and neurosurgery, emergency psychiatry, gynecology, radiology, ENT and ophthalmology.

 

Many of the faculty, such as those at CHOP who wrote the leading text book on pediatric emergency medicine, have national reputations, and most are board certified in emergency medicine. "The faculty develops close relationships with the residents," says Dr. Becher. "For example, there is a mentor program in which junior residents are mentored by both an assigned faculty member and a senior resident. Residents are given progressive responsibilities, both in terms of procedures and in their involvement with critical care patients, as they advance through the program."

 

Of the rapildy evolving field, Dr. Becher adds, "Emergency medicine provides physicians with the opportunity to have significant gratification from participating in the resuscitation and treatment of acute patients on a regular basis. With the diversity of patient presentations, it continually challenges the individual physician's knowledge in all areas of medicine."

 

John W. Becher, DO
Professor and Chairman, Emergency Medicine
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

 

Specialty
Emergency Medicine

 

Education/Training

 

 

Certifications/Memberships

 

Awards/Honors

 

Research Interests
Emergency medical services and patient demographics, efficiency in providing emergency care

 

 

Emergency Medicine

 

 

Salary
Commensurate with training level

 

 

Note: PCOM does not provide living quarters for residents.

 

Academics
The research curriculum requires residents during the first year of their residency to identify a research project, initiate a literature search and design the project. During the second year the project is continued with significant faculty involvement and guidance; and during the final year the project is completed. A scientific paper is then developed and an abstract is usually submitted to the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

 

In addition to daily morning conferences, there are five hours of lectures each week, including a journal club, grand rounds, morbidity and mortality review, formal lectures and case presentations by faculty and residents and visiting lecturers. Three emergency procedural labs are also conducted each year.

 

Educational Resources
Residents have access to PCOM's 60,000-volume medical library, on-line access to the Medline database and on-line access to every medical library in Pennsylvania, and computer and computer-assisted learning capabilities.

 

Applications are through the Electronic Residency Application Services (ERAS)
 
 Apply for Residency