Medical College of Wisconsin Emergency Medicine Residency Program

Froedtert Hospital, our primary adult hospital, is the only Level 1 trauma center in southeastern Wisconsin. This means all significant blunt and penetrating traumas come to our emergency department. As the former county hospital for Milwaukee, it serves a diverse urban and suburban patient population.

Froedtert is located in Wauwatosa, a safe, beautiful suburb of Milwaukee located less than 15 minutes from downtown. Milwaukee is vibrant city located on the Lake Michigan shoreline, offering great restaurants, a thriving park system, and a number of unique neighborhoods for our residents to chose to live. Known as the “City of Festivals”, Milwaukee is home to Summerfest, the largest music festival in the world, as well as a number of additional music and ethnic festivals throughout the year.

Southeast Wisconsin is an outdoor paradise, offering access to hiking, biking, camping, and other outdoor activities.

We have an extremely close relationship with the Trauma Critical Care Service. Monthly interdisciplinary trauma conferences give us a strong understanding of managing the critically ill patient. We are an integral part of the trauma team throughout our residency.

• First-year residents do a one-month trauma rotation with numerous procedures and a chance to participate in all ED trauma resuscitations.
• Second-year residents complete a four-week rotation in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. This includes critical care and a wide variety of invasive procedures, in addition to resuscitation of the sickest patients in the hospital.
• Our residents rotate on a weekly basis with the trauma team between captain and primary assessing physician for all trauma activations. In addition, our residents manage all trauma airways in the ED. This experience begins as early as intern year.
• We see pediatric trauma from all of Southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

• We can proudly say we are training at one of the top-ranked Pediatric Emergency Departments in the United States - Children's Wisconsin - located right next door to Froedtert Hospital.
  
  
• 60,000+ children per year seen at Children's Wisconsin which allows for substantial emergency pediatric training.
  
  
• Board-certified Pediatric Emergency Medicine physicians provide training for pediatric procedures and critical emergency care. These physicians actively involve residents in the care of the sickest children.
  
  
• First-year residents do one month in the pediatric ICU and one dedicated month in the Pediatric Emergency Department.
  
  
• Second- and third-year residents work several shifts every month in the Pediatric Emergency Department providing the opportunity to see the seasonal variety of childhood illness.
  
  
• Second-year residents also spend two weeks in a dedicated pediatric anesthesia rotation to become comfortable intubating our smallest patients.
  
  
• During high volume months, additional moonlighting in the Pediatric Emergency Department may be available.

A longitudinal rotation in Emergency Medical Services if offered to all residents in the emergency medicine residency.

• During July, incoming residents ride along with Milwaukee County EMS units to get a firsthand experience of that it is like to be an Emergency Medical Technician.
  
  
• Over the course of the three years, four subject areas are covered and learners will evolve from being an engaged learner, to active participant, to leader in the system.
  
  
• Through ambulance ride-alongs, special events, disaster drills, online medical control and EMS QI, the emergency medicine will gain knowledge of the challenges of providing care in the prehospital setting.
  
  
• Department faculty serve as medical control for Milwaukee County EMS, Milwaukee Fire Department, SWAT, and Flight for Life (FFL). These medical directors are responsible for EMS policy and protocols, providing a wealth of prehospital experience for resident education.
  
  
• If additional EMS experience is desired, residents are welcome to use elective time in the third year to accomplish this.
  
  
• The Department of Emergency Medicine offers a one-year accredited EMS fellowship highlighting our commitment to cutting-edge out-of-hospital care.

A longitudinal Flight Critical Care experience is offered as an option for residents interested in training as a flight physician with the Flight For Life air-medical service.

• Our program has an extensive history with FFL, the area's helicopter EMS provider, who operate three helicopters and have an outstanding safety record.
  
  
• Second- and third-year residents may work as a crew member with a flight nurse and paramedic doing all critical care and trauma prehospital transports.
  
  
• Flight physicians gain prehospital critical care experience, field intubations, and other procedures in a unique environment dealing with the sickest patients.
  
  
• Faculty physicians serve as medical direction for FFL.

• Point-of-care ultrasound is integrated into clinical care in all of our emergency departments. We have enough machines and probes to ensure ultrasound is always available for our patients. Ultrasound is routinely used in the care of both medical and trauma patients with a wide range of acuity as it has been shown to improve safety, quality and efficiency. 
  
  
• Our residency program has an ultrasound division with multiple ultrasound fellowship-trained faculty dedicated to resident education. Residents start their ultrasound education early in residency during their orientation month, have two separate ultrasound rotations, and receive longitudinal education throughout residency. 
  
  
• Residents receive dedicated scanning time with ultrasound faculty at Froedtert Hospital and the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center during their ultrasound rotations. We also have weekly ultrasound image review, a monthly ultrasound journal club, and a curriculum designed to ensure our residents are confident in their emergency medicine point-of-care ultrasound skills.

Second-year residents receive a strong community experience while rotating at Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital. This site is located less than 20 minutes away from the main Froedtert Hospital campus. Residents continue to work longitudinal shifts at this site during their third year for continued community EM exposure.

• Our residents care for the veterans of southeast Wisconsin at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center Emergency Department. Today's Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) originated during the Civil War as the first federal hospitals and domiciliaries ever established for the nation's volunteer military forces.
  
  
• EM1 and EM3 residents have dedicated one-month Emergency Medicine rotation which is paired with Ultrasound.
  
  
• EM2 and EM3 residents work several shifts every month in the VA emergency department providing the opportunity to see a variety of veteran illness.

Resident scholarly activity projects are flexible enough to accommodate high-powered submissions to leading journals or allow for innovative ideas aimed at any number of cutting-edge areas.

Learn more about scholarly activities

• Five hours of weekly conference is rigorously protected, even on non-emergency rotations.
  
  
• The Medical College of Wisconsin boasts leading experts in toxicology, cardiology, pulmonary/critical care and multiple other disciplines who visit on a regular basis.
  
  
• Residents participate in monthly simulation sessions in one of our 3 simulation locations (Froedtert Hospital, the VA, and Children’s Wisconsin). These sessions include high-fidelity mannequins and procedures as well as live-action simulation.
  
  
• Specific skill labs in airway technique, splinting, central line placement, trauma procedures, chest tubes, lumbar puncture and pediatric emergency medicine occur annually.
  
  
• Resident presentations build speaking skills through all three years.
  
  

• Incoming residents participate in various orientation sessions throughout the month of July to help ease transition into residency and acclimate new residents to the hospital system.

• The emergency medicine wellness program focuses on exploring methods, strategies and mindsets that enhance both personal and professional wholeness. It is organized around the American Medical Association's six pillars of wellness: nutrition, fitness, emotional health, preventative care, financial health and mindset. Throughout each month various discussions and activities take place under the direction of the Department's wellness committee.
  
  
• Three (3) confidential mental health visits per year are available free of charge to all residents as well as their spouses.