We are tremendously excited about Emergency Medicine education. We believe that Emergency Medicine is the most exciting, dynamic, and interesting specialty in medicine. We are proud to be called Emergency Physicians and feel a great responsibility to further the stature of the specialty in the house of medicine. To that end, we recruit exceptionally talented young physician colleagues.

The use of the word "colleague" is not accidental. The caliber of residents in our program is outstanding. In every sense of the word: leadership qualities, interpersonal skills, intellectual curiosity and prowess, the residents at UC Irvine are the equal of the faculty. The only piece that is missing, which we provide in abundance, is the clinical experience and judgment to become an outstanding clinician and leader in our specialty.

The clinical material at UCI Medical Center is excellent and the acuity is high. As a former county hospital, we continue to care for the indigent, the neglected, the noncompliant, and the self-destructive. However, mixed in with these patients are private patients of the university faculty, so this aspect of emergency medicine practice is emphasized as well. We have a very unique combination of county-hospital type patients with university faculty teaching at the bedside, and university hospital resources to care for them. Ancillary and nursing services are very good, so that you can spend your time learning how to be a doctor, not a technician or orderly.

As the associate program director, I help guide the curriculum and decide what and how to teach. I hold the degree of Master in Health Professions Education, and have received formal training in adult learning, curriculum design, resident evaluation, and large and small group teaching sessions. Because of the small size of the residency, conferences are interactive and dynamic. The ratio of discussion sessions to formal lectures is approximately 3:1. We cover the core material in emergency medicine in a redundant fashion, so that each resident is exposed to important concepts in at least two different formats. This facilitates learning for different types of adult students.

The University of California, Irvine, Emergency Medicine Residency is a three-year training program with a PGY I, II, III configuration. The program was approved by the Residency Review Committee for Emergency Medicine in February 1989, and fully re-accredited in 1992 and 1996. In 1999, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has granted full accreditation for the maximum term of 5 years to the UC Irvine Emergency Medicine Residency. The program accepts six residents per year; we receive approximately 450 applications.

Our graduates have begun careers in academics, administration, and clinical practice in some of the most desirable groups and locations. Our graduates have been universally successful in pursuing post-graduate fellowships in Administration, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Critical Care, Clinical Epidemiology, Hyperbaric Medicine, Medical Informatics, Ultrasound, and Sports Medicine. Other graduates have completed or are pursuing advanced degrees such as MBA or MPH. If we are fortunate to match with each other, you will receive excellent training in an ideal location. I look forward to meeting with you, and good luck with your selection process.