From Drs. Devjani Das, Lauren Curato, and Lauren Titone: EM Clerkship Commencing

Med students have arrived at Columbia! Here are some updates to be aware of:

• These are “third year” Columbia Medical students that rotate with us for two weeks. Many of these students have never rotated or shadowed in the ED (or ANY clinical area) before. 

• They are expected to work directly with the attending (or PGY4 if working in Area Blue) and see patients independently (about 2-3 per shift). This is not a shadowing experience. Please encourage them to observe and get involved in resuscitations, codes, intubations etc but otherwise they should be seeing their own patients and presenting directly to the attending or PGY4 if in Area Blue. If any issues arise regarding staffing of the MCY students please reach out to us directly.

• Medical students SHOULD NOT see patients with confirmed COVID-19 or symptoms concerning for active infection (as much as is reasonably possible). This is a firm request from the medical school. 

• Please encourage students to be in proper PPE (N95 + Eye Protection) at all times. If you notice a student does not have the appropriate PPE or theirs is broken/soiled please reach out to the nurse managers to get them a new properly fitting mask, eye shield etc.

• You will encounter students on shift on most Tuesdays and Thursdays-Sundays. They should not be told to go to a different area in the ER during their shift. We are limiting the schedule to one student per clinical area. If you have a basic procedure (I&D, lac repair, etc), please encourage the students to participate in that procedure.

• PGY4s: These students will be presenting to you, as any junior resident would, in Area Blue. You will follow these patients and write a note. At the end of every shift, the student will hand you a feedback card with a QR code. Scan the QR code with your smartphone and it will take you to a 4 question Qualtrics survey. Please, please, please fill these out in real time. Then sign the card and hand back to the student. Please also provide as much verbal and direct feedback as possible throughout their shift. 

• PGY3s: The students will be shadowing you during your critical care shifts from 3p-8p. They will not be seeing these patients primarily so should not be writing notes on them, they are only shadowing you. Please encourage and involve them in the resuscitation process for patients that you see. This will be the most exciting part for them! At the end of their shift, the student will hand you a feedback card with a QR code. Scan the QR code with your smartphone and it will take you to a 2 question Qualtrics survey. Please, please, please fill these out in real time. Then sign the card and hand back to the student. Please also provide as much verbal and direct feedback as possible throughout their shift. 

• PGY1s/PGY2s: The students should not be presenting to you directly on any patients. However, please feel free to involve them in any case, imaging study, procedure, etc. that you think may be interesting to them. Remember, a lot of these students have never been in the clinical area so everything is new and exciting for them!

We thank you in advance for the time and effort you put into Medical Student Education. This clerkship has been approved and supported by the medical school due to your dedication, hard work and to the valuable learning experience they see in our department! Here is a link to a great resource that your colleagues have put together on tips for teaching medical students (thanks Vineet, Jess and Taylor!). These students will see and listen to everything you do and say, so please show them how great it is to be an EM physician!