Emergency Medicine Residency Program

A Welcome from the Program Director

The Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV emergency medicine residency was developed from the ground up by a dedicated faculty, hailing from both community and academic backgrounds, with a shared common vision of a model program — one which would embody the next generation of emergency medical education. Preparation to confidently manage ‘any patient in any situation’ is the bare minimum that should be expected from a residency program, as success in the ‘real world’ after residency is predicated on a multitude of factors beyond raw medical knowledge and procedural skills.

Present-day emergency departments demand physicians with a mastery of departmental patient flow, clinical productivity, documentation, patient satisfaction, communication skills, team leadership, and the delivery of safe, high-quality patient care. Purely academic residency programs may fail to provide adequate preparation in one or more of these essential skills, while community programs may lack the academic rigor or diversity of population that many seek. The design of our residency program combines the academic and operational training necessary to flourish in the complex environment of today’s emergency departments, with the stimulating hands-on clinical experience found in the setting of a high-acuity county facility.

The clinical and didactic curricula of a residency program should not be static – instead, the leadership of our residency recognizes that the ability to provide the highest quality care on the front lines of medicine requires training that remains ahead of the curve. Our residency program encourages and responds to the feedback from its residents, takes the time for self-reflection, and strives to continually evolve by refining our curricula. We set the bar high for ourselves, as do our residents, on our path to becoming one of the premiere programs in the country.

I encourage you to explore our website to gain some insight into the residency experience and sense of camaraderie offered at our program. Life should not be put on ‘pause’ during residency – come share the next phase of your medical training with a dynamic group of colleagues who epitomize the concept of leading balanced lives while remaining engaged in education and community involvement, and embarking on a path to leadership.

— Ross P. Berkeley, MD, FACEP, FAAEM
Residency Program Director
Vice Chair for Quality & Education

Contact

901 Rancho Lane, Ste 135
Las Vegas, NV 89106

Please contact us about questions you may have regarding your application to the program and interview.

Phone: 702-383-7885
Fax: 702-366-8545

Contact Us

About the Program

The Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV emergency medicine residency was developed from the ground up by a dedicated faculty, hailing from community and academic backgrounds, with a shared vision of a model program - one which would embody the next generation of emergency medical education. Preparation to confidently manage ‘any patient in any situation’ is the bare minimum that should be expected from a residency program, as success in the ‘real world’ after residency is predicated on a multitude of factors beyond raw medical knowledge and procedural skills. Present-day emergency departments demand physicians with a mastery of departmental patient flow, clinical productivity, documentation, patient satisfaction, communication skills, team leadership, and the delivery of safe, high-quality patient care. Purely academic residency programs may fail to provide adequate preparation in one or more of these essential skills, while community programs may lack the academic rigor or diversity of population that many seek. The design of our residency program combines the academic and operational training necessary to flourish in the complex environment of today’s emergency departments, with the stimulating hands-on clinical experience found in the setting of a high-acuity county facility.

The clinical and didactic curricula of a residency program should not be static – instead, the leadership of our residency recognizes that the ability to provide the highest quality care on the front lines of medicine requires training that remains ahead of the curve. Our residency program encourages and responds to the feedback from its residents, takes the time for self-reflection, and strives to continually evolve by refining our curricula. We set the bar high for ourselves, as do our residents, on our path to becoming one of the premiere programs in the country.

Curriculum

We are proud of the residency training we provide and continually strive to improve the education we offer. Resident feedback is taken seriously by the program leadership and has been integral in refining our didactic and clinical curriculae in order to ensure that our training program stays ahead of the curve. The clinical environment in which we work provides an incredible hands-on experience for residents, with an unparalleled variety and severity of pathology, and is augmented by our innovative didactic education.

We are one of the few three-year residencies to offer a four-week elective rotation during the PGY-2 year, in addition to a second elective in the PGY-3 year, to allow residents an opportunity to gain exposure to areas of interest earlier in their training, so they can make a more informed decision regarding potential fellowship choices.

Take some time to explore both aspects of the curriculae below:

PGY-1

Your first year in Vegas throws you right into the action. Our first-year residents are afforded the opportunity to evaluate patients of any acuity level, including the critically ill, and spend 21 weeks in the emergency department. Other areas of focus include four weeks of trauma surgery (spent at the only Level I Trauma Center in the state), as well as eight weeks on critical care services. The year also includes two weeks each of ENT, neurosurgery and obstetrics and gynecology, as well as 1 week of anesthesia and 1 week of ED ultrasound. Our PGY-1 residents receive a very well-rounded experience, and many complete the year having logged enough procedures to fulfill residency graduation requirements.

PGY-2

The second year in Vegas sees more emphasis placed on emergency medicine, with 25 weeks spent in the emergency department. Our curriculum stays ahead of the curve with eight more weeks of critical care training. The trauma ICU, which is consistently rated as one of the best rotations, permits significant resident autonomy and affords a high number of procedures. PGY-2s also get to travel to Denver for four weeks to rotate at the Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Center, one of the premier toxicology sites in the nation. It is in the second year that our residents really hit their stride as emergency physicians.

PGY-3

Our senior residents are amongst the best in the country. By the end of training, our residents are capable of landing fellowships, academic positions, or highly competitive jobs in a community setting. The final year of training truly sets all Vegas residents up for this success. The majority of the year is spent in the ED (33 weeks total) with an additional four weeks of trauma surgery and four weeks of pediatric ICU - continuing the emphasis on critical care. While in the ED, senior residents run the department, focusing on teaching junior residents and rotating medical students.

Emergency Medicine, Grand Rounds

Emergency Medicine Grand Rounds are held weekly on Wednesday mornings in our departmental conference room, which was recently expanded and outfitted with an updated AV system. Faculty, residents, and departmental staff are invited, and this is protected time (no clinical duties) for the emergency medicine residents. Our conference is constantly evolving in order to remain at the cutting-edge of education and provide the highest-yield learning for our residents. This time is fun and collaborative, and often leads to lively discussions. Regular features include:

ACES: boards-style quizzes and review
Case Conference Series
Core Content Lectures
Radiology Rounds
EKG Rounds
Morbidity and Mortality Conference
Ultrasound Lectures and Skills Labs
Research Methodologies Series
Guest Lectures via Videoconference

Mock Oral Boards

One of the many goals of residency training in emergency medicine is preparation for passage of the ABEM (American Board of Emergency Medicine) certification examinations. To this end, our residents participate in Mock Oral Boards once per quarter during Wednesday Grand Rounds. Under the direction of Dr. Berkeley, the cases are designed to challenge the residents, as well as develop consistent and effective test-taking habits via regular practice. Many of the emergency medicine faculty, including Drs. Baydoun, Berkeley, Cleveland and Young, serve as instructors at the national AAEM Oral Boards Review Course.

It is our expectation that all graduating residents will be fully prepared to take the ABEM Oral Boards Examination and will feel confident in their test-taking abilities.

Simulation Lab

The Nevada System of Higher Education recently opened a multi-disciplinary, multi-institution Simulation Center clinical skills laboratory, which is used on a regular basis by the Emergency Medicine residency. Simulation days occur quarterly and are usually in conjunction with emergency ultrasound skills labs. Jordana Haber, MD, our simulation director, has developed a comprehensive battery of challenging and engaging scenarios. This is not about the adoption of technology for its own sake, but rather the enhancement of training by providing an opportunity for residents to develop resuscitation leadership skills and master the management of high-risk ED scenarios.

The 31,000 square-foot facility houses a fully integrated space for high fidelity simulation, standardized patient instruction, and procedural skills development. There are separate debriefing rooms that also allow remote viewing of simulations in action, classrooms for instruction sessions, as well as a lecture hall. The simulation facility is also used by other residents and medical students from the University of Nevada School of Medicine, as well as nursing students from the University of Nevada Las Vegas and Nevada State College.

Journal Club

Held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the home of one of our faculty or at a local park, Emergency Medicine (EM) Journal Club provides an opportunity for faculty, residents, and students to get together in a relaxed and informal environment to discuss pertinent EM literature and topics. Journal Club is led by David Slattery, MD, the departmental research director, and helps residents put into practice the critical appraisal skills taught in the research lecture series. Lively debate regarding evidence-based medicine is the norm, as the group critically reviews the recent scientific literature in order to determine its applicability to clinical practice in the ED.

Training Sites

The Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV utilizes the University Medical Center (UMC) of Southern Nevada, the premier academic and tertiary care hospital in the state, as its major teaching hospital. With the only Level I Trauma Center in Nevada, UMC also offers extensive specialist coverage, including pulmonary and surgical critical care, HIV-medicine, gastroenterology, nephrology and transplant nephrology, hematology/oncology, cardiology, neurology, interventional radiology, general surgery, pediatric surgery, trauma surgery, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, urology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, and, psychiatry. Last year, UMC provided outstanding emergency care and service to over 125,000 patients, including 33,000 pediatric and 11,000 trauma patients.

Emergency Medicine Department Initiatives at UMC

How to Apply

We participate in the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Hard copy applications cannot be considered. We currently have no unexpected vacancies in the residency and all of our applicant positions are committed through ERAS and the National Residency Match Program (NRMP) only.

All correspondence regarding the status of your application is conducted by email. Therefore, applicants should have a reliable email address that is checked in a timely manner. If you have additional questions, please call 702-383-7885, or send us an email at emergencymedicine.residency@medicine.unlv.edu.

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