Emergency Medicine

Mission Statement of the Clerkship

The Emergency Medicine clerkship is a 4-week immersive experience designed to prepare students to evaluate and manage undifferentiated patients across the spectrum of acute, urgent, and critical illness. Under the supervision of Emergency Medicine faculty, students develop clinical reasoning, presentation skills, and real-time medical decision making while caring for patients of all ages in the Emergency Department.

Through a combination of clinical experiences, didactics, simulation, labs, and web-based learning, students strengthen their use of evidence-based medicine, procedural skills, and reflective, self-directed learning. The clerkship emphasizes professionalism, teamwork, and effective communication in high-pressure environments, as well as patient and family education and appropriate use of community resources. Our mission is to provide a rigorous, supportive, and transformative Emergency Medicine learning experience.

Goals of the Clerkship

As a required Phase 2 clerkship, this Emergency Medicine clerkship is designed to build on prior clinical experiences while supporting the transition toward greater clinical responsibility. Faculty focus on advancing students’ ability to recognize emergent and high-risk conditions, prioritize diagnostic and treatment decisions, manage interdisciplinary teams, and determine appropriate patient disposition.

By the end of the clerkship, students should demonstrate increased confidence in assessing patients with potentially dangerous conditions and greater autonomy in clinical decision making within a supervised environment. The goal is for students to consolidate and extend their clinical skills, develop sound judgment in acute care settings, and continue progressing along the trajectory toward independent practice. We are committed to supporting each student’s growth and helping them achieve their fullest potential within Emergency Medicine.