Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine

The Academy Concept & CDEM

The “Academy” structure provides a venue for SAEM members with a special interest or expertise to join together to promote a forum for the exchange of information between members in line with SAEM’s mission to advance education and research in Emergency Medicine (EM). The Academy structure was developed by the CDEM Executive Committee to provide the SAEM Board of Directors with the ability to utilize the expertise of an identifiable group, to provide a forum for members to speak as a unified voice within our specialty as well as to other national organizations, to provide a forum for members to network, collaborate on educational initiatives, develop policy, perform research, and to promote faculty development. In 2008, CDEM became the first academy within SAEM.

Bringing Together EM Medical Student Educators

Across the country there are over 150 medical schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education or the American Osteopathic Association, and more than 170 Allopathic and Osteopathic EM residency training programs. Within these institutions and training programs, there are perhaps thousands of medical student educators, charged with the task of developing and implementing an EM curriculum at the undergraduate level. CDEM plays a leading role in providing these educators with educational resources, and opportunities for faculty development and networking. By developing a forum to communicate and share ideas we will be better able to generate solutions to the common problems that we face as medical student educators. CDEM is also working to foster the professional growth and development of undergraduate medical educators within our specialty.

Alliance for Clinical Education

In 2008, Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine (CDEM) was inducted as a full voting member of the Alliance for Clinical Education (ACE). ACE is a high-profile, multidisciplinary group formed to enhance clinical education of medical students (www.allianceforclinicaleducation.org). The Academy of CDEM is the first and only non-founding member group to apply to become a member of ACE. In addition to CDEM, ACE is comprised of the national organizations:

• Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry (ADMSEP)
• Association of Professors in Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO)
• Assocation for Surgical Education (ASE)
• Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine (CDIM)
• Consortium of Neurology Clerkship Directors (CNCD)
• Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP)
• Society of Teaching of Family Medicine (STFM)