The Department of Emergency Medicine strongly encourages applications from minority candidates who are under-represented in our specialty, including women, racial and ethnic minorities, and LGBTQ students. |
Educational Opportunities | Residency Rotations by Year | Research and Publications | Seminars in Professional Development | Simulation Technology
Educational Opportunities
Northwestern’s training program possesses several unique features that help contribute to our status as a premier Emergency Medicine residency.
Our residents spend a total of 9.5 months in the intensive care unit. This valuable exposure to critical care occurs in a variety of settings, including: Surgical (SICU), Medical (MICU), Cardiac (CCU), Cardio-thoracic (CTICU), Neo-natal (NICU), Pediatric (PICU) at Children’s Memorial Hospital, and Trauma ICU at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. Over a third of these rotations are spent as senior residents, supervising medical students and junior residents in several specialties. The overall amount of critical care exposure, senior-level decision making, diversity of units, and patient complexity to which residents are exposed all combine to make Northwestern graduates highly skilled at caring for the most gravely ill patients.
Efforts continue to improve the academic and clinical environment for the residents. Twelve thousand square feet of newly built office space are dedicated to educational and research endeavors. Multiple computer workstations, a well-appointed residency lounge, a dedicated office for the Chief Residents, as well as Northwestern’s state-of-the-art library facilities all support and enrich the residents’ overall training experience.
The first formal, residency-based leadership skills program in Emergency Medicine was developed at Northwestern in 2004. Called the Academic Colleges, this program represents three separate focus areas for residents to pursue: Research, Administration, and Education. Residents select one of the three Colleges in order to establish a niche based on scholarly interests and future career goals. The goals of each College are to provide structured, faculty mentorship to help residents design and execute scholarly projects and produce publishable manuscripts.
Residency Rotations by Year
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*All residents spend 2-5 shifts at Children's Memorial Hospital (CMH) during NMH ED blocks after an initial 2 week rotation in the CMH ED
Research and Publications
Our residents have contributed substantially to the tremendous growth in research and scholarly activity over the past several years in the Emergency Department at Northwestern University.
Resident Scholarly Activity 2004-2008 
Seminars in Professional Development
Our residents participate in a four-year, class-specific curriculum of workships and didactics designed to enrich their professional development.
Simulation Technology
The Emergency Medicine Residency partners with the Center for Simulation Technology and Immersive Learning at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine to enhance both clinical training and teaching skills. Dr. John Vozenilek leads this Center and his Emergency Medicine training allows him and his team to tailor educational experiences to the needs of our residents. The Center is has recently undergone a 10,000-square foot expansion. Details about the Center are available at http://simulation.northwestern.edu/.
Dr. Vozenilek and several Northwestern Emergency Medicine Residents were featured in an article in the November 25, 2009, issue of JAMA about the use of simulation in medical education. View the full article here .
