Senior Resident

As you become more comfortable in your role as an emergency medicine (EM) physician, now is the time to really begin to bolster your educational credentials. Work with your mentor to establish a plan to help set you up for future success. Below are some tips to help increase your chances of landing the dream education opportunity.

• Networking: Continue to network by attending regional and national conferences. The Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD) is an excellent way to meet residency program administrators. In addition, most other conferences have educational committees you can sit in on.
• Continue Working/Become Involved in an Education Project: Continue expanding your educational experiences. Again, this doesn't have to be extensive. You could lead a repeating journal club, teach at your monthly educational conference, or even establish a simulation to correlate with a quality improvement project. Work with your mentor and the program staff to identify opportunities.
• Educational Research: Continue to work with your mentor to identify and complete educational research projects. It would be especially beneficial to tie one of these research projects into your own educational project to show you have complete understanding of the entire process.
• Become an Effective Teacher/Mentor to Your Junior Residents and Medical Students: You can find resources through the Emergency Medicine Residents' Association (EMRA) or other large professional societies, as well as peer-reviewed journals in medical education. See the Resources section for a full list of recommendations.

You can also consider pursuing one or more of the following opportunities:

• The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Resident's Teaching Fellowship: This course allows residents the opportunity to explore a career in academic EM or determine if education is right for them. It provides participants skills and tools to enhance one's academic career as well as serves as a great mentoring/networking opportunity.
• Medical Education Research Certificate (MERC) Program: Offered by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), this program requires your participation in six workshops held on a rotating basis regionally, allowing the certificate to be obtained over an extended period of time. The program focuses on educational research and allows residents to demonstrate their interest and dedication to a career in education. No application is needed.
• The Teaching Course: This course is focused on revolutionizing medical education including reimagining the use of powerpoints and discussing the use of podcasts as an education venue. The course offerings vary as do the location, but further information can be found on their website.
• Harvard Macy's Program for Post-Graduate Trainees: This three-day intensive program for residents and fellows is built around the applicant's individual project, so you must apply with a project in mind and the support of a faculty member. The course focuses on two major themes - skills in teaching and learning as well as developing scholarship in medical education. Completion of this course holds wide regard within the field.
• Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM) Chief Resident Incubator: This program for chief residents provides a year-long leadership and career development curriculum. It offers many opportunities for mentorship from some of the leaders in EM education.
• ACEP Teaching Fellowship: This fellowship consists of an 11-day training course split between the spring and fall. It is designed for faculty of residency programs to improve their skills, however, residents interested in an academic career are eligible to attend. The lectures are often taught by leaders in the field of academic EM, making it a great networking opportunity.