Areas of Focus

Mount Sinai has long been known as a leader in critical care, and the clinical training experience is a large reason for this. The emergency departments at both the Mount Sinai Hospital and Elmhurst Hospital have emergency medicine (EM)/critical care trained faculty, a large volume of high-acuity patients, and designated critical care areas. Starting the PGY-2 year, residents have shifts managing these critical areas in both EDs. Those who select the critical care specialty track gain further experience during their PGY4 year by supervising PGY2s and 3s on their “resuscitation” shifts.

A number of emergency physicians at the Mount Sinai Hospital have appointments in both the ED and ICUs, facilitating both knowledge translation and continuity of care and smooth transitions for critical patients. Dr. Scott Weingart continues to host his annual critical care conference at Mount Sinai, attended by hundreds of residents from all over the city. Many of our graduates have gone on to critical care fellowships for board certification at the leading programs across the country.

The Global Health track starts in the PGY-3 year. This allows residents to start projects during their PGY-3 elective month at one of the global health sites, then continue the project during their electives and/or senior track months PGY-4 year.  The project-based curriculum is augmented by journal clubs and other activities. The program emphasizes creating sustainable care systems in under-resourced countries. Most recently residents have participated in projects in countries including Liberia, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Laos.

Ever since the Mount Sinai Department of Emergency Medicine became the first in New York City to go paperless with an electronic health record, several informatics trained faculty have led Mount Sinai to national prominence in informatics. The Mount Sinai Department of Emergency Medicine has a tailored build of its electronic health records, which is continuously being updated for our needs. Our residents have opportunities to be involved in informatics projects at the department, hospital and national levels. Recently this has included working on ACEP’s Clinical Emergency Data Registry.

Our pediatrics curriculum is led by seven knowledgeable and highly experienced, fellowship-trained pediatric emergency medicine faculty. They teach, supervise, and provide our residents with well-rounded exposure to pediatric care and to patients of all ages. Residents do dedicated rotations in the Pediatric ED and, during later years of training, PEM shifts distributed throughout their ED blocks. Residents also spend time in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital.

The Mount Sinai Department of Emergency Medicine is known as a leader in research, and is consistently one of the top-funded departments of emergency medicine. Our department is one of a small number of sites chosen for a K-12 grant training program which consistently successfully launches junior faculty into funded careers.

All residents have a mentored research experience during their 2nd year research rotation, and most incorporate research into their main specialty track project. The department has a wealth of research-related resources which facilitate resident projects, from IRB submission to data collection to completion. We have an impressive number of research faculty and all mentor residents. A number of residents have gone on to the Clinical Scholars Program and other research fellowships.

There are numerous opportunities for residents to be involved in teaching medical students and others, even during intern year. The medical education specialty track adds to these opportunities with journal clubs, curriculum development, and involvement in simulation and mentorship in medical education research. We have also supported many of our residents who have been accepted to the Harvard Macy medical education fellowship. A number of graduates of this specialty track have found Assistant Program Director or Clerkship Director roles straight from residency, and those opting to pursue fellowships place at the top of their list.

Our simulation program is robust, with faculty at all three sites involved. Both the Mount Sinai Hospital and Elmhurst Hospital have state-of-the-art simulation centers. A number of our faculty including several APDs have post-residency training in simulation, and we have a full-time coordinator of simulation at Mount Sinai. Residents who have chosen to focus on simulation as part of the medical education track have completed projects and designed curricula that have been presented and disseminated nationally.

Our program offers countless opportunities for learning and participating in administration and quality improvement. Residents are welcome to participate in meetings regarding ED operations, both at the ED level at all three sites and at the hospital system level. Residents have been involved in most major operations projects, from providing feedback on architectural design for renovations, to contributing to trauma protocols, and helping optimize the triage of critical patients. All residents participate in the resident-run Clinical Quality Review which informs the departmental QI process. QI-interested PGY-4 residents run the program. A number of those choosing this specialty track have been hired directly from residency into administrative leadership roles in community and academic centers.

The emergency department provides a unique window into the function, and at times dysfunction, of the healthcare system. Consistent with the Mount Sinai Department of Emergency Medicine’s overall ethos of engaging nationally in all aspects of emergency medicine, a number of Mount Sinai faculty use the vantage point of emergency medicine to perform health policy work in various forms including research. The residency has a health policy interest group and supports residents who are involved in national organizations. (As of 2019, the EMRA president, the EMRA liaison to the AMA and more than 10 Chairs/Vice-Chairs of committees are our residents.)

The specialty track offers an opportunity to perform a deeper exploration of a single issue while learning about the pathways to creating change. Our graduates have gone on the Clinical Scholars Program (formerly Robert Wood Johnson) and other policy fellowships on their way to policy-focused careers.

With multiple toxicologists at both Mount Sinai Hospital and Elmhurst Hospital, including grant-funded toxicology researcher Alex Manini, MD, residents have ample opportunity to explore this field. A number of residents have presented their toxicology work at national and international meetings, and those who have sought toxicology fellowships have been very happy with their placement.

We have integrated ultrasound into the clinical and didactic aspects of residency training through all four years. An introductory course during orientation and two-week dedicated ultrasound rotation during the intern year build the foundation for practice. Didactics and hands-on experience further ensure that every resident is comfortable with the technology. Mount Sinai Hospital employs four ultrasound machines and Elmhurst has three, and all are continuously available for bedside diagnosis and procedure guidance.

Ultrasound is among the most popular Senior Specialty Tracks. Several residents each year take advantage of additional clinical exposure to ultrasound and the opportunity to teach medical students, residents, and faculty, and to become involved in ultrasound research projects.