Junior Resident

Although it's important to focus on succeeding and achieving the competencies required in residency, setting a career goal early on will aid you during residency and jump-start your career. You are required to do a residency quality improvement project, a scholarly project, and an education presentation.

• Most if not all residencies have resources available for you as a resident, so learn about the geriatric emergency medicine (GEM) resources available at your institution. Connect with potential mentors early to discuss your career aspirations and develop a plan during residency.
• A residency quality improvement project could be something as simple as reviewing the weekly conference topics to assess if all the geriatric topics are covered during your training, or working with your social workers and case managers to develop packets of information for caregivers of patients with dementia.
• If you do not have sufficient resources or mentorship at your institution, consider getting involved in SAEM's Academy of Geriatric Emergency Medicine (AGEM) or the American College of Emergency Physician's (ACEP) geriatric emergency medicine section (GEMS). These groups have fantastic resources and members are eager to help!
• When given the opportunity to present a topic during didactics in residency, consider choosing a topic that incorporates older adults.
• Apply for the AGEM resident member scholarship and the medical student and resident position on the AGEM executive board.
• If your residency schedule allows, consider attending or even presenting research at SAEM or ACEP. This will also give you the opportunity to attend the AGEM and/or GEMS meeting and meet national leaders in GEM.
• As you become involved in GEM, think about what you want your career to look like. Do you want to be a GEM researcher, the director of a geriatric emergency department, both, or something else? Talk with your mentors early as preparing your curriculum vitae (CV) for your next application should be tailored to this goal. It will also help you decide which fellowship is right for you.