Resident Life

Residents At Work

We strive to make learning fun, not just in the emergency department but also during resident conferences. Our most highly rated conferences are procedural/skills days, simulation conferences and our multi-week cadaver lab. We strive to emphasize simulation and small group sessions during conference time. Group sessions include splitting classes up for separate activities to target level appropriate learning . Our wellness conference is another fan favorite; it is held on every fifth Thursday where residents gather to learn and practice fundamentals of wellness alongside our faculty and staff. Residents also enjoy evening journal clubs hosted in attending homes throughout the year and fun and engaging sessions to prepare for the yearly In-Training Exam via Jeopardy, Kahoot! , charades, etc.

We focus on graduated responsibility, allowing residents to build their clinical and leadership skills over time. PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents run their own “pod” which involves overseeing 11-12 rooms. Pods are not acuity based. PGY-3s have additional administrative responsibilities, such as taking transfer calls, signing EKGs, and running all medical resuscitations and trauma activations. PGY-1s begin the year by acclimating to the ED and seeing patients across the department; they transition gradually to running a “half pod” and then to running their own pod by the end of the year. To allow ample time for life outside of work, documentation, sleep, and other activities, shifts are 8 hours. Typical shift numbers in a four-week block: PGY-1: 16-18, PGY-2: 19-21, PGY-3: 17-19.

Our senior residents embrace their role as departmental teachers and mentors. Residents advocated for the implementation of a resident teaching/swing shift. As a teaching/swing shift resident, our PGY-3s work closely with interns and students, with an emphasis on learning, as opposed to moving large patient volumes. During the teaching/swing shift, the PGY-3 is not running a pod, rather “floating” and picking up patients throughout the department, allowing them to pick up good learning cases for the students working with them, but also helps ease the patient load for the residents running their own pods. Our residents are very involved with medical student education as all UMKC medical students rotate in our ED. The emergency medicine interest group (EMIG) is the largest interest group at UMKC School of Medicine. Our residents regularly give lectures and host workshops for the interest group.

Residents Outside of Work

We feel strongly that residents should be able to have a life outside of work and strive to keep schedules reasonable. When not working, our residents enjoy spending time together.

Our favorite activities include:

• Attending sporting events (Royals, Chiefs, Sporting KC or KC Current games)
• Trying new restaurants and breweries together or hitting up local bars
• Gathering up our four-legged friends and meeting at local dog parks
• Participating in recreational sports leagues like kickball, volleyball, and soccer
• Regularly planned gatherings, including an annual intern welcome party and welcome week activities; “Guys night” and “Ladies night” where the males and females (respectively) of the program plan an activity to hang out together, annual post In-Service Training Exam party, , and farewell party for the PGY-3s

While these formal gatherings are planned throughout the year, many informal gatherings are peppered in that provide great opportunities to spend time withco-residents and faculty outside of work.