Impact of emergency medicine residency program on rotators' emergency medicine education.

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To assess the perceived impact of emergency medicine residency programs on other program directors' perceptions of emergency medicine as a distinct service and educational entity.

DESIGN

Self-administered questionnaire.

TYPE OF PARTICIPANTS

Residency directors in medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology at sites containing emergency medicine residency programs.

RESULTS

Two hundred twenty-four of 372 questionnaires (60.1%) were returned completed, with equal distributions among all specialties. Respondents stated that the presence of the emergency medicine training program has positively influenced their attitude toward emergency medicine as a specialty (61% agree, 26% neutral), improved their residents' training in emergency medicine (47% agree, 31% neutral), and improved emergency care at their institution (65% agree, 26% neutral). Fifty-seven percent think emergency physicians should teach emergency medicine (27% were neutral). There were statistically significant associations between age of the emergency medicine program and perceived improvement in rotating residents' education and institutional delivery of emergency care.

CONCLUSION

Residency directors in other specialties have a generally positive view of emergency medicine as a specialty and as an important component of their residents' education. The presence of an emergency medicine training program appears to have positively influenced their attitudes, improved their residents' education, and improved emergency care. Older programs have positively influenced attitudes to a greater degree than have newer programs.