For more than a century, ChristianaCare has been a top-rated destination for graduate medical education. Our curriculum is in the spirit of that tradition, and offers a rigorous and rewarding mix of formal education, hands-on learning, and research, giving you the tools you need to succeed as a physician.
Our residents get an unmatched clinical learning experience. We’re 22nd in the nation in emergency visits and are Delaware’s only Level I trauma center that treats adults and children – the only center of its kind between Philadelphia and Baltimore. In our emergency department, hands-on learning could mean a gunshot wound, a farming accident, and septic shock all on the same shift. That kind of exposure prepares you to practice anywhere.
Intern Orientation
Residency starts with a several-week-long intern orientation, during which our incoming class gets their ACLS, ATLS, and PALS certifications, goes through a crash course of high-yield content review, and gets their feet wet with their first shifts in the ED. Not only does this orientation allow interns to hit the ground running, but it provides plenty of opportunities for class bonding – forming a strong support network that you will lean on during your training.
Clinical Schedule
We operate on an annual schedule of 13 four-week blocks. Intern year is primarily divided between the emergency department, ICUs, and core EM skills such as anesthesia, OBGYN, and trauma surgery. Second year the number of EM blocks increases, and residents round out their critical care training with a month in the surgical and pediatric ICUs. Third year is spent almost entirely in the department, with some time set aside for elective, teaching, and administration.
Overall the focus of intern year is on delivering high-quality care to every patient and building a strong foundation. During the second year, residents become proficient in caring for the critically ill patient. Lastly, third year residents are able draw on all of these learning opportunities to hone their efficiency without sacrificing quality or acuity.
Sample schedule
Sample block schedule for ChristianaCare Emergency Medicine Residency Program
Electives
We are fortunate in that our faculty have a wide variety of passions, including wilderness/ austere medicine, ultrasound, medical education, EMS and many more. Our range in electives reflects this, with recent rotations including aerospace medicine at NASA and international emergency medicine in the Gaza strip, among dozens of others.