MS-IV

Visiting students and Washington University medical students interested in completing a rotation in Emergency Medicine may use the following links to make arrangements.

Visiting Student Links

• Web Page: Curriculum Office
• Application Service (VSAS): Visiting Student Application

Enrollment limit per period: 6
Valid start weeks for 4-week blocks are: Weeks 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 33, 37, and 41.

This rotation offers practical experience in the evaluation and management of acutely sick and injured patients. Students will function as subinterns, initially evaluating their assigned patients and developing a plan for further diagnostic studies and therapy. They will report to a senior level resident or an attending physician. The student can expect to get an opportunity to perform a wide variety of procedural skills such as suturing, splinting, peripheral and central venous access, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Shifts will be eight hours and students will rotate between day, evening and night shifts, including weekend shifts, in order to gain maximum exposure to all types of emergencies. Students desiring a letter of recommendation from any EM attending should take this WUSM IV Emergency Medicine rotation.

Please be advised that there is a limit of 3 to 5 days off the rotation during interview season; otherwise, students should arrange to take the elective at a different time during the year. Days off during the rest of the year will conform to university policy. Days off should be requested through the course coordinator, Sarah Pruett one month prior to the beginning of the rotation for scheduling purposes. Students will also be scheduled for required weekend and overnight shifts and changes will not be allowed to the schedule unless approved prior to the start of the rotation by the course coordinator.

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Workload:

When you report for your first shift, you should find the senior resident or the attending to discuss your plan for picking up and presenting patients. You should see approximately one patient every two hours, understanding that this may increase or decrease due to the flow of patients through the department. You will be expected to be the primary provider for your patient while in the Emergency Department and follow up on labs, radiographic studies, and progress of your patient as well as taking the lead on admission/discharge planning, and discussions with consultants and primary physicians.

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Shifts:

Your shifts will mimic those of the third year rotation (8 hour shifts, 7-3, 3-11, 11-7), but your schedule will rotate between the Emergent I area and the Trauma/Critical Care section.  Interdisciplinary shifts. The last two weeks of your rotation, you will be working 1:1 shifts with an individual attending, allowing a closer evaluation of your progress and abilities for use in writing a letter of recommendation for those students who will be applying for a residency in Emergency Medicine.