Here at Upstate, we are strong believers in our residents being “Emergency Physicians Plus”, meaning that not only do we love our clinical shifts in the department, but that we, in addition, pursue our other passions within the medical community. Our residents have the unique opportunities to take advantage of during their time here, whether it be traveling across the oceans to provide medical care in other countries, or taking action and helping out with legislation that affects emergency medicine physicians and our colleagues in the medical field.

​

​

 

National, Statewide, and Local Conferences

The American College of Emergency Physicians is one of the main professional organizations that EM doctors are a part of.  Each year ACEP holds an annual assembly which our EM-3s and many faculty attend. World renowned emergency physicians give various lectures and presentations on the newest research and recent hot topics. It is also a great place to network with other EM physicians and healthcare systems as our residents transition out of their last year as residents and into their first jobs as attendings or fellows.

 

Similar to the national conference held by ACEP, the state-run NYACEP holds an annual conference in July which our EM-2s and faculty attend. This is held at Lake George in New York, where we attend lectures presented by many of our colleagues and emergency physicians from our neighboring programs around New York State and participate in the annual residency volleyball tournament.

​

Upstate also hosts multiple conferences specific to the Upstate region, including an annual Toxicology Conference, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Conference, and Contemporary Issues in Emergency Medicine Conference. Attended by residents, faculty, nurses, prehospital providers, pharmacists and students, these conferences are filled with lectures from our own faculty and provides our residents even more education and training to take into their clinical practice.

​

Our residents have also attended conferences such as FEMinEM in NYC and other conferences where they have presented their research. If your work is accepted for presentation at a conference, the department may provide funds for you to attend!

 

EM-STAT

 

We believe that practice makes perfect, so our residents have access to the best simulation technology, all located in our Emergency Medicine Simulation Technology and Training Center (EM-STAT). Running through high fidelity simulations helps keep our residents level-headed when a true emergency presents in the emergency department, where the stakes are much higher. At EM-STAT, we have an ‘extended family’ of programmable mannequins that can speak, cry, blink, bleed and react to medical interventions our residents practice on them. Our residents also take part in creating simulations for each other throughout their years here, and for medical students rotating through their Emergency Medicine clerkships.

 

Certifications

 

Not only are our residents certified in ACLS, PALS, and ATLS, we also have the opportunity to become certified instructors for each of these classes as well. We regularly teach ACLS and PALS classes for our nurses, medical students, fellow residents, and other providers in our community.

​

International Rotations

 

Our residents have recently completed international rotations in Kisumu, Kenya and at the base camp at Mount Everest. We also have the opportunity to participate in electives in Haiti, Honduras, India, China, Ghana, and St. Lucia.

​

Patient Safety and Quality

​

Residents engage in the process of improving patient safety and quality through multiple avenues. Patient Safety and Quality (PSQ) conferences occur monthly and patient cases where safety and quality of provided care can be improved are discussed during weekly didactics. Further, residents have the opportunity to become a quality representative to the departmental quality team and contribute resident perspectives. Finally, in 2022, Upstate Medical University has been awarded one of four VA Emergency Medicine Chief Residents in Quality and Safety (CRQS) positions across the nation. This serves as a chief year post-residency aimed a developing physician leaders in quality improvement and patient safety through a mix of didactic and experiential learning.

​

Other Clinical Opportunities

 

Our residents participate in providing care to our community, and you can find us working at Syracuse Football and Basketball games (Go Orange!), the annual New York State Fair, and also at various events with mass gatherings such as concerts that occur at the JMA Dome.

​

During the COVID19 pandemic, members of our faculty and staff volunteered to work in NYC. Our nurses volunteered at Stony Brook, our attending Dr. Chris Tanski was appointed the medical director of the field hospital at the Javit's Center, and our resident Dr. Emily Stratton volunteered to work alongside him.

​

Women in Residency Life (WiRL)

 

Women in Residency Life (WiRL) is an all-inclusive residency run group designed to promote women's success across all specialties to learn from each other, network and advance women in medicine. The purpose of WiRL is to support professional development and career advancement of women in residency through education, advocacy, community, mentorship and service.

 

WiRL has 4 branches: Community Service, Education and Professional Development, Mentoring and Networking, and Life and Wellness. We have teamed up with the Vera House, The Samaritan Center, and the Spanish action league here in Syracuse. We have created and hosted donation drives and events to raise awareness and collect products to donate to our surrounding community (such as tampon drive, warm clothing drive etc.) For Education and Professional Development, we have hosted workshops on Understanding the Contract, Dual Physician Family, U-Turn, Women Interested in Fellowship with many more planned for the future. Additionally, we have recently started a mentoring program with Syracuse University pre-medical students. 

 

If you are interested in learning more about WiRL please send an email to Upstatewirl@gmail.com and follow WiRL on instagram @upstate_wirl.