jaepea

@ LESH: He is indeed overseeing the whole PA post-grad training program at the County, though the EMPA residency falls w/in the purview of the department of emergency medicine and I have not seen Mr. West since I interviewed with him. @EmedPA: The PA residents are remunerated on par w/ the interns so ~43K and full benefits.

Hello. I am currently a resident along with one other PA at Cook County Hospital in their new (our class is the first class) EMPA residency. I think it is a fantastic program and I just wanted to put the name out there so that people can start to apply. CCH (aka J.H. Stroger Hospital) has been using PA's in the ED for many years, and they work in all parts of the ED. http://ccparesidency.com/index.html In broad strokes: As a PA resident you are folded into the incoming intern physician class, doing orientation with them, ACLS/PALS, Lectures etc... The year is divided up into 13 blocks each of which amounts to a little less than a month: 1 block of orientation, 5 ER blocks w/ community ER month, 1 trauma block, 1 of emergency ortho, 1 in thepeds ER, 1 toxicology block, 2 electives and 1 block of vacation. Lectures are every wednesday morning, journal club is a possibility if one is so inclined. Additionally, the PA residency director does a solid amount of mentoring w/ monthly meetings, and a curriculum of required reading. Shifts are done throughout the ED and one gets exposed to everything from Fast Track to critically ill patients. PA's are not used much in resuscitation, though one gets exposure to that as well (especially during the trauma month). Primarily, the didactics come from physicians and all shifts are done w/ an attending physician. You work alongside the PA's but oversight is always by physicians. The physician-educators and the PA's that work in the ED at Cook County are all great. It has been a fantastic 5 months for me, and I have learned a whole lot. If you are interested, I would recommend that you contact the program at the above website. Best!