What does your program offer that residents can’t get anywhere else?

Our residents are proud to be at a community-based hospital that truly values what it means to be a part of a community. Most recently, our community was struck by one of the largest and strongest hurricanes to affect the State of Florida. Our area was hit particularly hard and we had the opportunity to see our staff, residents, and our entire hospital system step up and reach out to help. Our PGY-3 residents voluntarily stayed behind—missing out on ACEP22 in San Francisco—in order to work at the hospital during the storm and then to help in the aftermath. They spent weeks helping with hurricane clean-up, taking extra shifts to manage the huge influx of patients, and organizing food and fund drives to support our staff and EMS services. The love and self-sacrifice they showed exemplifies the culture of our entire hospital system.

Probably the most important asset to our residents is our faculty. Both our core and clinical faculty consistently provide supportive feedback, encouragement, and oversight that is unparalleled. Every day, each faculty member demonstrates that they want their residents to graduate with the best education possible and with all the experience they need to be successful. Faculty care about our residents personally and spend time getting to know each one.

Besides the community culture of our program, the diverse population and wide coverage footprint ensures that our residents are aptly trained in all areas of emergency medicine. Our hospital system primarily serves patients from Sarasota, Manatee, De Soto, and Charlotte counties, and we frequently receive transfers from other areas, which add to our already large catchment area. The hospital houses an exceptionally credentialed team including two board-certified toxicologists, as well as board-certified ultrasound, pediatric, and EMS physicians on faculty. Due to our exposure to an older population, we see and treat many high-acuity cases with multiple comorbid conditions. We see over 100,000 patients per year at our main hospital alone, giving us a high volume of diverse experience. We see over 30,000 pediatric patients per year and are grateful for our partnership with the local pediatric hospital, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, where our residents rotate.

What is the work-life balance like?

Our residency work-life balance is of utmost importance in our program. Our hours decrease each year in our program to ensure that we have time to get more involved in outside activities, join hospital committees, or moonlight. Some of the other qualityof-life offerings include competitive salary, bonuses based on local cost of living, a generous moving stipend, and a yearly educational stipend. To enhance work-life balance and promote wellness, we do not require our intern class to work any night shifts in the emergency department, though they have the opportunity if they would like to. All residents have access to Dragon dictation to help with documentation efficiency. We also offer monthly wellness and social outings for residents and free food on shift in hospital cafés. Of course, we live on the Gulf Coast of Florida, which means we have the ocean available to us at all times! Many of our residents kayak, go on beach trips, scuba dive, deep sea fish, and do other aquatic sports! Our program director also invites all residents to a skiing getaway each spring. This past year, some of our attendings brought our residents on a boating trip in the Gulf, where we spent hours swimming and hanging out on the sandbar!

How should potential applicants learn more about your program?

Please visit our Instagram @EM_FSU for more information! Feel free to message us there with any questions and we’ll be happy to respond as soon as possible!