Socks for Cold Feet: Insights From Emergency Medicine-Bound Medical Students Who Ultimately Chose Another Path (CDEM and RAMS Sponsored)

The 2023 SAEM Workforce Committee spearheaded a qualitative study investigating reasons why some medical students chose, or ultimately not chose, a career in EM. This study, entitled “Cold Feet,” explored the views of graduating medical students from across the country who self-identified as having seriously considered EM but ultimately chose another specialty. Results from this qualitative study were eye-opening, and included insights on the benefits of an EM career that initially attracted these students as well as the perceived negatives of an EM career that swayed these students to choose another specialty. In this didactic, we plan to briefly present qualitative data from this study, followed by a panel discussion with study investigators and GME and UME leaders on lessons learned and on actionable strategies to encourage student interest in and applications to EM. We will specifically discuss major themes that emerged from the study, including students’ perceptions of the 2021 Workforce Report, burnout, and how the healthcare system values EM as a specialty. The goal of this didactic is to use insights from this unique cohort of students “lost” to other specialties to have a broader discussion about how EM can enhance future recruitment. Active audience participation and debate will be sought, and we anticipate this didactic will be of high interest to stakeholders in UME, GME, and academic EM.

 

Presenters:

  • Dave W. Lu, MD, MS, MBE
  • Arvin R. Akhavan, MD, MPA
  • Bryan G. Kane, Professor of Medicine, USF MCOM
  • Joseph B. House, MD,
  • Stephanie Balint, MSN,
  • Haley Egan, MD
Authors

  • Dave W. Lu, MD, MS, MBE

    University of Washington

    Dave Lu MD, MSCI, MBE is Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA), Director of Faculty Wellness and Professional Fulfillment, and Associate Medical Director of Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at the UW Medical Center – Northwest Emergency Department. Dr. Lu studies issues related to the healthcare workforce, including clinician burnout, well-being, attrition, and diversity. His research focuses on understanding how clinicians' work experiences may impact patient safety and quality of care. He completed residency training at Northwestern University and also has advanced training in clinical investigation (MSCI, Northwestern) and bioethics (MBE, University of Pennsylvania).

  • Arvin R. Akhavan, MD, MPA

    Harborview Medical Center/University of Washington

    Dr. Akhavan is an emergency medicine faculty physician at Harborview Medical Center/University of Washington in Seattle, WA. He serves as the ED Medical Director at Harborview as well as on several hospital-wide leadership committees. Academically, he is interested in operations, the ED workforce, and wellness issues. Initially from Texas, he obtained his medical degree from Northwestern University, completed his emergency medicine residency at Harborview/UW, and pursued additional fellowship training in healthcare leadership and operations at New York University.

  • Bryan G. Kane, MD, FACEP

    Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network

    Bryan Kane, MD is a Professor of Medicine with the University of South Florida. His teaching and research abilities were recognized with induction to the University's Academy of Distinguished Educators and to the Robert A. Good Honor Society. At Lehigh Valley Health Network, he is the Associate Program Director (Research) for the Emergency Medicine Residency. Currently the President of the Medical Staff, he has previously served on the Institutional Review Board as the Vice-Chair. A past Chair of SAEM's Evidence Based Healthcare Improvement IG, he led a consensus effort to evaluate the resident Scholarly Requirement. He currently serves on SAEM's Workforce Taskforce. He is active in CORD, having served as the Research Track Chair and on the COVID Taskforce. Within ACEP, he has authored textbook chapters, is on the PACEP Research Committee, and was named "PACEP Physician of the Year". He received his undergraduate degree at Yale, completed medical school at UPenn, and trained in Emergency Medicine at Yale. His educational passions are around Evidence Based Medicine, where he has designed a Journal Club tied to a validated EBM metric.
  • Joseph House

    Joseph B. House, MD

    Director of Medical Student Education

    University of Michigan Department of Emergency Medicine

    Joseph House, MD, completed his undergraduate work at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He attended medical school at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan. He completed an Emergency Medicine Residency at Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He then returned to Michigan and completed Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship at University of Michigan, after which he joined the faculty in 2010. Currently he is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics and Communicable Disease. He currently serves as the Director of Medical Student Education for the Department of Emergency Medicine. 

  • Stephanie Balint, MSN

    Quinnipiac University

    Stephanie Balint is an M4 at Quinnipiac University who has served as RAMS Medical Student Representative, RAMS liaison to the Workforce Committee, and Wellness Committee member for the past three years.

  • Haley Egan, MD

    University of Washington Emergency Medicine

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