A fellowship is subspecialty training following residency training. The PEM fellowship may be undertaken after completing an Emergency Medicine (EM) residency or general Pediatrics (PEDS) residency. If a candidate has completed an EM residency, the PEM fellowship is a two-year program. Graduates are then eligible to sit for both the EM boards and PEM boards, but not the PEDS boards. Thus, they are not able to seek employment which requires certification in general Pediatrics by the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP). If a candidate has completed a PEDS residency, the PEM fellowship is a three-year program. Graduates are then eligible for both the PEDS boards and the PEM boards, but not the EM boards. Thus, these persons are not able to seek employment which requires certification in Emergency Medicine by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. The combined EM/PEDS residency is a five-year residency program whose graduates are eligible for the EM boards and the general pediatrics boards, but not the PEM boards.
While it's always useful to rotate through a residency program for personal experience, not rotating with us as a student will not hurt your chances of matching here. In fact, many of our current combined residents never rotated here.
Absolutely! After completion of our program, graduates are eligible to take both the EM and PEDS boards. There are many career options after completion of the program. Many graduates practice emergency medicine, either in a community ED treating both adults and children or splitting their time between two ED's to treat adults and children separtely. Although not a common choice, it is possible to pursue a career in both EM and PEDS. Options include working as a pediatric hospitalist, working in a general pediatrics clinic, or pursuing more training by completing a pediatric subspecialty fellowship. The advantage of a combined program over the fellowhip is the greater options for your career. Our program allows you to practice adult EM, pediatric EM, general pediatrics, or a combination of these fields.
Those individuals who completed training in the combined EM/PEDS residency prior to January 1, 1999, were and are allowed to sit for the PEM Boards. Those who graduated after that date are no longer allowed to take the PEM Boards.
We know that you are going to also be applying to either Emergency Medicine or Pediatrics as well as the combined program. For the combined application, you should have between 1-2 SLOEs. Generally, if you are also applying to pediatrics, 1 SLOE is sufficient. If also applying to Emergency Medicine, you should have 2 SLOEs. Leadership also understands that you may not be able to get 2 SLOEs prior to September.
In addition to your SLOEs, the only other letter required is one showing your interest in pediatrics. Ideally this is from an inpatient pediatric rotation outside of your required rotation. We do like to see all 4 of your letter spots used. Other ideas for letters include one from an ICU rotation (adult or pediatrics) or a letter from a long term mentor. Letters are another way that reviewers can see your abilities and interest in the combined program!