EMIG: What You Need to Maximize Potential

1. EMIG: What You Need to Maximize Potential Jonathan S. Jones, MD FAAEM FACEP Program Director Assistant Professor Department of Emergency Medicine University of Mississippi Medical Center

2. Conflicts of Interest • None…but am actively looking • All pictures are either from public domain websites or with patient consent • Email me: jsjones3@umc.edu

3. Objectives • Learn strategies to increase interest in Emergency Medicine • Identify those students truly interested in EM (as opposed to just interested in free pizza) • Successfully recruit the best students • Manage students who are not a good fit for EM

4. Not-Objectives • Distribute an exhaustive list of components necessary for a successful EMIG • Tell you how you should organize your EMIG • Pretend that our EMIG is perfect

5. EMIG Funding • No dues! • Departmental funding • Fundraisers • T-shirts • Races • Food

6. Increase Interest in EM • Effort: 2 • Effectiveness: 5 • Evaluated on a multi-cultural, language non-specific, visual-analog, Likert-scale using the polytomousRasch model

7. Increase Interest in EM • Who is the audience • Undergraduates • M1 • M2

8. Increase Interest in EM • Pre-med students

9. Increase Interest in EM • Undergraduates • Is this too early to start? • Very impressionable and excitable • Many will not actually attend medical school • Much time to rethink specialty • Great job for a resident

10. Increase Interest in EM • M1/M2 • Very impressionable and excitable • What aspects of medicine are “cool” • Wilderness, disaster, toxicology • Trauma • Procedures • Riding in a helicopter • Foreign bodies

11. Increase Interest in EM • M1/M2 • Must focus on this group • Why • What do M3 students learn?

12. Increase Interest in EM • M1/M2 • Lectures in regular curriculum • ICM or equivalent • Large EMIG meetings (invite the whole class) • Residents are best ambassadors • Volunteering/shadowing in the ED • Must have interested and dedicated faculty/residents • Have a formal system • Consider goals/checklists/recognition/awards • Research in the ED • Get their name on an abstract/manuscript

13. Increase Interest in EM • M3 • When do students rotate in the ED? • Is M3 year appropriate for an EM elective? • Maybe • Are there other options? • BLS/ACLS/PALS/ATLS • Simulation • Other

14. Increase Interest in EM • M4 • More appropriate time for a core EM clerkship? • The M4 year is not too late to get students interested in EM • Other EM related electives • Typical EM Sub-specialties • But don’t limit the options to these • Don’t be afraid to “step on some toes” • EKG, ultrasound, research, sports medicine

15. Increase Interest in EM • Social Media • Effort: 5 • Effectiveness: 1 • Not really that useful • Too much out there/overload • Who does this appeal to and would we want that person

16. Identify those truly interested • Effort: 5 • Effectiveness: 8

17. Identify those truly interested • EMIG Membership • Be approachable (free, friendly, and open to everyone) but require a little initiative on their part • Keep a list of members • Some events can be open to all medical students • But make sure some are exclusive to EMIG members • A reason to commit • Keep a role of who attends meetings • Consider recognition

18. Identify those truly interested • Does attending meetings or being an EMIG officer mean the student is committed to EM? • Maybe • Does spending time in the ED mean the student is committed to EM? • Yes

19. Identify those truly interested • Mentors! • Don’t force anyone to be a mentor • The best mentors may be residents • Create a list of mentors and their interests • All students will want to have the PD, CD, Chair as their mentor • Be careful • Standardized expectations • For both mentors and mentees

20. Recruit the best • Effort: 8 • Effectiveness: 10

21. Recruit the best • The EMIG Meeting • Need separate meetings for M1/2 and M3/4 • The M3/4 meetings are really for recruiting

22. Recruit the best • Sample EMIG M3/4 meeting schedule • March/April: Planning for the M4 year, externships? • May: Welcome/going away party • June: How to be an M4 • July: Residency application basics and LORs • August: Personal statements • September/October: Mock interviews • January: Rank list

23. Recruit the best • Awards • National, Regional, Institution • Research • Travel • Let them teach

24. Recruit the best • Most everything used to get students interested is also great to use for recruiting • The most important thing you can do to recruit a great student:

25. Recruit the best • Personal attention • Why should they be interested in us if we aren't interested in them • Honesty

26. What about students you don’t want • Effort: 12 • Effectiveness: 12 • Evaluated on the “fibromyalgia-acting-up-allergic-to-everything-but-demerol” scale

27. What about students you don’t want • Are they not a good fit for EM, or are there other issues involved? • Remember what EMIG stands for • Ideally we can help all members of EMIG, even those we don’t want as residents • It’s good for them and for us

28. What about students you don’t want • Demand specifics • Be honest • A reality check now is better than on match day • Should you interview all of your own students? • Should you interview everyone who did an externship with you?

29. Take Home Point #1 • EMIG is not just about meetings • Don’t let EMIG be totally student run – Take control of it • Expand the scope to include all recruiting efforts • Clinical experiences, research, curriculum changes • Be organized, keep records, track student involvement

30. Take Home Point #2 • Start early • The earlier the better (and easier) • Get residents involved (heavily) • Get senior students involved • Remember why you chose EM • Shock and awe

31. Take Home Point #3 • Mentors! • Faculty and residents • Will backfire if mentor isn’t interested/dedicated • This is how you keep your best