Welcome to the UCCOM MS3 Emergency Medicine Clerkship

Thank you for your interest in the Emergency Medicine Clerkship! This is an elective course that is offered several times throughout the academic year for third-year medical students. The course is two weeks in length and comprises 7 clinical shifts in our main Emergency Department at the University of Cincinnati, as well as attendance at weekly Emergency Medicine Grand Rounds as the clinical schedule allows. Whether you are interested in Emergency Medicine as a career, wish to gain experience with undifferentiated patients, or want to gain experience in acute care, this elective offers something for everyone, regardless of your future specialty. 

Rotation Requirements

Our rotation requirements, for your reference and to plan your time with us, are:

1. Seven clinical shifts in the University of Cincinnati Emergency Medicine Department, including two overnight shifts
2. Complete two EM-style patient write ups
3. Complete a case-based, oral boards-style exam on the last day of the exam, based on content from the reading
4. Attend weekly Grand Rounds on Wednesdays, as work hour rules permit
5. Attend daily morning report, as discussed in orientation, and as work hour rules permit
6. All of this, and more, will be discussed at the in-person orientation on the first day of your rotation

Logistics

See below for the 2026-2027 Session Dates

Please complete and evaluation of your Preceptor Evaluation with every shift.

Before You Start

1. Why consider a career in Emergency Medicine? While every specialty has its pros and cons, naturally we are biased and believe that Emergency Medicine is the best specialty! No other care environment gives you the same exposure to undifferentiated and acutely ill and injured patients quite like the Emergency Department. We see patients from all walks of life, from newborns to geriatrics, treat disease processes affecting every organ system, and interact with nearly every other medical specialty. No shift is exactly the same! We encourage you to discuss the specialty with your preceptors on shift to learn more about Emergency Medicine as a career to help decide if it aligns with your own interests.
2. Procedures are common in the Emergency Department, and during this rotation we want you to gain exposure to wound management, specifically lacerations and suture repair. Before our orientation session, we expect you to read this article on wound management and watch videos #1-2, 4-7, and 10-12 for an introduction to wound closure techniques.
3. See below for required reading to serve as a primer before starting the elective.

Additional optional resources to consider before you start:

1. How to Get the Most Out of Your Emergency Medicine Clerkship
2. Emergency Medicine Clerkship Primer, a free resource published by the Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine (CDEM) Academy
3. M3 Curriculum, published by CDEM/SAEM. This resource serves as a fantastic background and introduction to Emergency Medicine, covering the "must know" topics, organized by chief complaint, that every student should understand as well as additional supplemental topics within the field of Emergency Medicine that interested students "should and can" know
4. More Suturing Videos
   • Simple Interrupted Sutures and Common Errors
   • Vertical Mattress
   • Horizonal Mattress
   • Even More Suturing!

Required Reading

NOTE: read all topics with a red asterisk (*) before the rotation starts!

1. Approach to the Undifferentiated Patient
2. Undifferentiated and differentiated patients  *
3. Stabilization of the Acutely Ill Patient
4. Approach to Shock
5. Developing your Plan of Action *
6. Chest pain
7. Abdominal Pain
8. Shortness of breath
9. Altered Mental Status
10. Headache
11. Ischemic stroke
12. Pelvic Pain and Vaginal Bleeding
13. Toxic ingestion
14. Performing a Complaint-Directed History and Physical Examination  *
15. Data-Gathering Skills  *
16. Developing a Case-Specific Differential Diagnosis  *
17. Developing Your Plan of Action  *
18. Common lab studies
19. Diagnostic Testing in the Emergency Department  *
20. Cardiac Arrest
21. Basic wound management
22. Procedural Skills *
23. Acute Pain Control
24. Approach to the trauma patient
25. Documentation of EM Encounters
26. Documentation *
27. Disposition of the Emergency Department Patient *
28. Discharge Instructions *
29. Introduction to the Specialty of Emergency Medicine  *
30. Unique Educational Aspects of Emergency Medicine  *
31. Differences Between the Emergency Department, the Office, and the Inpatient Setting  *
32. Interacting With Consultants and Primary Care Physicians
33. How to Get the Most Out of Your Emergency Medicine Clerkship

During Your Rotation

1. The SAEM MS3 Curriculum webpage includes a wealth of information that can be used as "just-in-time" resources to review specific chief complaints. It also includes valuable tips on how to perform an efficient focused ED H&P, talk with consults, and write excellent discharge instructions. We recommend perusing before the start of your rotation and also reviewing these topics if you have downtime on shift.
2. TamingTheSRU is our departmental website that includes our department protocols and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for evaluation and management of a variety of common ED complaints
3. How to write a great EM note. You will receive examples of "good" and "not-so-good" write-ups to reference with the orientation materials you receive at the start of the rotation.
4. See Patient Presentations for tips on how to present a patient to your preceptor in the Emergency Department