Emergency Medicine

We understand how stressful the first year of training in any residency can feel. At RCH we want our first-year residents to work hard and grow, but to do so in a very supportive environment with help easily available when they need it. Our entire class of PGY1s begin their residency together by all rotating in the ED in the month of July. During this ED Orientation rotation, our PGY1 residents are given the tools to become familiar with our ED, build basic knowledge and develop confidence. Our residents also have rotations in emergency orthopedics, peds emergency medicine, rapid care, and EM administration. Off-service rotations (anesthesia, cardiology, intensive care medicine, trauma, OB/GYN) are interspersed between these EM blocks. Our residents end their first year with a week of advanced training which prepares them to make the transition to PGY2s.

Absolutely. HCA is one of the largest healthcare organizations nationwide and owns over 184 hospitals and numerous outpatient settings. Vituity staffs the emergency department at RCH and is a leading provider of acute care management with over 250 practices throughout the United States. We would be delighted to have qualified residents continue with HCA and Vituity after graduation.

Riverside Community Hospital sees over 20,000 pediatric patients a year, including critically-ill and injured children. A busy NICU provides on-site neonatology attendings to assist with our littlest patients when needed. Residents train with our core faculty, including Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Pediatric Intensive Care boarded attending physicians. Our residents rotate through the EDs at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and at Children's Hospital Orange County (CHOC). During their second year, our residents rotate at the Pediatric ICU at Riverside University Health Systems Medical Center.

With over 100,000 patients a year coming through our ED we have an abundance of procedures from simple laceration repair to joint and fracture reduction, procedural sedation, central line placement, intubation, transvenous pacer placement, chest tube placement, and ED thoracotomy.

Community hospitals clearly differ from university hospitals in many ways that we believe benefit the residents during their training.

First, at Riverside Community Hospital our 100,000+ ED patients benefit from impressive efficiencies not often found in other settings. Patients are seen by a physician or advanced provider in an average of 15 minutes from check-in. Radiology and laboratory studies are usually completed and resulted within 90 minutes. Our length of stay for discharged patients is usually under 3 hours and low acuity patients are discharged in under 90 minutes. Residents can see more patients during a shift and better learn from any one case because the data needed for decisions returns rapidly. Residents will also benefit from learning how to run an efficient emergency department.

Second, community hospitals also tend to be more collegial with less academic hierarchy and adversarial interactions. Our ED physicians are highly regarded at our hospital. Emergency physician attendings have held important position such as chief of staff, chair of the medical staff QI review committee, and president of the hospital board. You will find consultants that are generally happy to help and appreciate the emergency department physicians taking care of their patients.

Third, the vast majority of emergency physicians will graduate residency and work in community hospitals. Understanding the community hospital's operations, policies, and protocols will allow for a smoother transition after graduation.

ED Ultrasound is used extensively at Riverside Community Hospital and residents use ultrasound from the first month of residency. Our fellowship-trained ED ultrasound directors guide residents through the program from basic to advanced ultrasound skills. Those wishing to obtain an RDMS designation have ample opportunity to obtain the required number of studies. Ultrasound simulation and online education help develop a robust understanding of this critical ED skill.

Residents rotate through the simulation center on a routine basis. We are in the final stages of completing the construction of a building dedicated to GME with over 20,000 square feet dedicated solely to GME with an auditorium, simulation lab, sleep rooms, and team rooms.

No. While opportunities abound to partake in our region’s aeromedicine programs, residents are not required to fly.

Yes, with the residency program director’s written permission.