We are pleased to announce that the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Residency will become a 4-year program starting in July of 2008. The new program format will allow for significant augmentation of academic and specialized experiences increasingly required by the maturity and development of our specialty. The current 3-year program will not be affected as the first two years of the 4-year program are substantially the same and thus do not affect those in current program at any point of their training. In fact, the transition is so smooth, that those currently in the 3-year program can convert to the new format seamlessly should they wish.
The Johns Hopkins 4-year program is unique in the country in that the first year of a traditional subspecialty fellowship, termed Focused Advanced Specialty Training (FAST) will be incorporated into the program. Many of these programs include the ability to obtain a degree (e.g. MPH, MHSc, MBHSc, MBA) while in the residency program. Others allow work toward doctorate degrees. Since many fellowships are two years in duration, a further major advantage to the new program is that the FAST chosen will be considered equivalent to the completion of an entire year of a fellowship (similar to advanced placement) at Johns Hopkins. Thus, further subspecialty fellowship training in the area chosen, should it be pursued, would be one year less than the standard program.
Currently Johns Hopkins has developed 11 formally approved fellowships and thus, 11 FAST programs (Chief Resident/Assistant Chief of Service, Pediatric EM, Observation Medicine, Critical Care, Research, EMS, Tactical EM, Disaster EM, International EM, Ultrasound, Administration, Legal Medicine). A 12th fellowship in Toxicology is being developed this year. The research track itself has multiple tracks (translational research in infectious diseases; disaster research, health services research, patient safety ED operations). Declaration of the FAST program chosen by individual residents can occur as late as the 3rd year, allowing each resident to fully explore the possibilities before committing to an area of focus.
Gabor D. Kelen, M.D.
Professor and Chair
Arjun Chanmugam, M.D.
Residency Director
