Location:
Kalamazoo, Michigan

Year founded:
1993 

Number of residents:
48 per class, three-year program

Secret weapons (medical)

• We feature two large tertiary trauma centers encompassing more than 150,000 ED visits a year and nearly 100 emergency medicine faculty members.
• Residents get incredible critical care training, with up to eight months of ICU rotations. We have an unusual staffing model where almost all residents on the ICU service in a given month are emergency medicine residents at all levels.
• Our academic department now oversees the EMS system at Yellowstone National Park and provides real-time medical control of EMS incidents. We have an elective in which residents provide on-site training to Yellowstone personnel and do wilderness medicine. 
• Another unusual feature is our “medical support unit,” a specially equipped medical response vehicle staffed 24-7 by senior emergency medicine residents to respond to high-yield EMS calls such as cardiac arrests, major traumatic incidents, and disaster scenes. We also work closely with our colleagues at West Michigan Air Care to provide extensive air medical experience.
• Our medical school has a 25,000-square-foot state-of-the-art simulation center, which includes a 13-bed virtual hospital to learn and practice emergency medicine skills. 

Secret weapons (nonmedical)

• Large class sizes (16 residents per class) allow for flexibility and work-life balance. When you need to switch out of a shift to go on a trip, there is likely someone able to make a trade. When you have a day off, so do some of your co-residents.
• The 2019 Cost of Living Index, which is based on a study examining 255 urban areas, ranked Kalamazoo the third least expensive place to live.
• Western Michigan has a plethora of nature to offer, including the Al Sabo Preserve (741 acres of marsh, forest, streams, and rolling hills) and the Kal-Haven Trail (a 34-mile trail linking Kalamazoo to Lake Michigan).
• Residents take advantage of the proximity to Lake Michigan, fitting in days at one of the many beaches or fishing trips out on the lake. 
• NerdWallet named Kalamazoo a Top 10 Best City for Work-Life Balance.

Recent publications of note:  

• Van Dyne EA, Neaterour P, Rivera A, et al. Incidence and outcome of severe and nonsevere thrombocytopenia associated with Zika virus infection-Puerto Rico, 2016. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2018;6(1):ofy325. 
• Hoyle JD Jr, Ekblad G, Hover T, et al. Dosing errors made by paramedics during pediatric patient simulations after implementation of a state-wide pediatric drug dosing reference. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2020;24(2):204-213.

—Philip Pazderka, MD, program director