The UNM Department Of Emergency Medicine offers a four-week elective in Emergency Medicine Services for UNM and visiting 4th year medical students.  The elective is directed by Jenna White, MD in conjunction with the UNM EMS Consortium, a group of UNM EMS Physicians and fellows which provides medical direction for multiple different local, regional, state, and federal EMS agencies. We provide on-scene and online medical control to Local, County, State and even Federal assets.  In addition to traditional Fire and EMS we are involved in many different specialty units including National Parks, Search & Rescue, Tactical Medicine and Flight Operations.  We oversee all levels of providers from EMT-Basics/Volunteers to Advanced Practice Paramedics and all levels in between.

Please follow the link to the application page for more information on applying for the rotation.

The student elective is made up of two basic components:

Clinical:4-6 ride-along shifts with field crews in a variety of EMS environments

• 4 dedicated ride-alongs with current EMS Fellows and Attending physicians
• Participation in prehospital trauma and medical resuscitations as dispatched
• The possibility for exposure to other special operations: Tactical EMS, Flight Operations, Search & Rescue.

Didactic:

• UNM EMS Fellowship/Consortium Meeting every Monday 0900-1200
• One Journal Club Monthly
• One “Capstone” project on final Monday ( Case report or ~ 10min PP presentation)
• Various Local and State level meetings as available
• Education Materials provided based on weekly didactics
• Additional Readings as appropriate

The Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of New Mexico offers a 4 week elective in emergency medicine for 4th year medical students. We are a level I trauma center, university based teaching hospital and referral center and serve a diverse population of 1.5 million people. We are home to a nationally known residency program in emergency medicine and have active research programs in the areas of injury prevention, toxicology, international and disaster medicine, and infectious diseases.

The student elective is made up of two basic components:

Clinical

• 14-16, 8 hour shifts in our emergency department
• Primary patient care responsibilities for a wide variety of patients in the ED
• Participation in trauma and medical resuscitations
• One to one student/attending ratio
• Dedicated teaching by 3rd year EM residents

Didactic

• Student Conference on Mondays and Wednesday from 8 am - 10 am
  • Two hours of lecture
• Optional Resident Conference on Wednesday from 10 am – 3 pm
  • Lectures
  • Skills labs
  • Interesting Patient Case presentations
• Skills Labs: We offer hands on ED lab every month
  • Splinting and Suturing lab
  • Ultrasound Lab
  • Central Line Lab
• Educational Material:
  • Textbook (Emergency Medicine a Comprehensive Study Guide: Tintinalli)
  • Power-point Lectures on a Variety of EM Topics
  • Suggested Reading List
  • Weekly Case Based Tutorial
  • Additional Articles and Readings

This course is designed as an introduction to Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS), to be performed in the clinical setting of the Emergency Department and beyond. The rotation is a combination of online lectures, hands-on ultrasound scanning on models and live patients, ultrasound image review and bedside teaching by ultrasound trained faculty.

Course Requirements:

• Medical students, MD or DO, have completed an Emergency Medicine rotation either at the University of New Mexico or their home institution prior to enrollment in this class. For medical students that plan to match in a specialty other than Emergency Medicine, this requirement can be waived on an individual basis.
• Medical students must be in their 4^th year of medical school.

Course Goals

This course is designed to provide the learner with a strong foundation in the basic core applications of bedside ultrasound. Medical students who complete this course will be able to:

• Perform basic POCUS in dynamic clinical settings
• Interpret basic POCUS, identifying both normal and abnormal exams
• Incorporate their interpretation of the ultrasound into the care of patients

Course Expectations:

• The learner will be present for all Scanning Sessions during their 4-week rotation
• The learner will be present for the 4 Clip Review Sessions
• The learner will complete all the assigned SonoSim Modules and achieve a 70% or greater on all SonoSim quizzes. The quizzes can be taken as many times as needed to achieve this grade.
• Ultrasound Worksheets will be completed within 24 hours for all ultrasounds performed
• The learner will perform and submit 25 ultrasounds during their 4-week rotation
• The learner will actively seek out ultrasounds to be performed while on their scanning shifts. They will always conduct themselves in a professional matter when interacting with other staff, other learners and patients
• The learner will present a journal club article to the cohort at the last Clip Review session

The Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine supports the University of New Mexico Medical School by offering month long rotations for its 4th year students. Students work closely with our PEM fellows and attendings to build competency in performing targeted history and physicals, developing broad differential diagnoses, implementing patient management plans, and improving procedural skills.

For more information please click here for the University of New Mexico Medical School site. Medical students from other institutions interested in applying for a 4th year visiting rotation at UNM.

The ​International Mountain Medicine Center hosts the annual  Wilderness & Austere Medicine Elective is as month-long course for physicians, residents and medical students. This month of immersion in wilderness and mountain medicine introduces students to the management of a wide range of medical pathologies from the perspective of resource limited and environmentally challenging settings.

This course is held in Albuquerque with field sessions across the southwestern states. Field sessions allow for hands on application of content in real-world conditions including high altitude mountains of Colorado, the desert vistas of Northern New Mexico, and the steep cliff faces of the Sandia Mountains.

We offer personal and on-line didactic training with case-based and scenario-based wilderness and austere medical training, which meet the highest academic standards possible. Many participants work in emergency health care, rural health care, and other medical disciplines. We are centrally located to areas where winter and summer activities can be had in a single day. Our department hosts one of the most highly sought-after emergency medicine residency programs, and our internationally renowned faculty have extensive experience in wilderness and limited resource healthcare domestically and internationally.

Every Monday and Wednesday for 2 hours at varying times the students meet with members of the faculty for their core educational conference.

Topics include:  Radiology Pearls, EKG didactic, Interesting Case Presentations, EM Bread and Butter cases

The students are encouraged to bring X-rays, ECG's and other materials to enhance the sessions. The faculty moderator helps to guide the discussion, bring up teaching points and answer questions.

The students are encouraged to attend the resident’s core conference on Tuesday mornings. This conference is the centerpiece of the resident’s formal curriculum. Attending this conference is a great way to meet faculty, residents and to learn about the program as well as learn some great emergency medicine! Feel free to attend all or part of the conferences while you are rotating in the ED.

The conference is divided up into three main parts:

The conference from 11:00 to 12:00 features a rotating set of topics. The first week each month, EKG reading is taught. The next Tuesday is devoted to a research and statistics conference, where this subject is taught by analyzing the emergency medicine literature. The third week will be devoted to a variety of topics, including EMS, ultrasound, administration, use of the laboratory, emergency psychiatry, communication skills, etc. The last week is devoted to reading X-rays brought in by a faculty radiologist.

The conference from 2:00 to 4:00 is the core conference. The emergency medicine curriculum is divided into 3 hour blocks, presented each week and extending over 18 months. The conferences are problem based and focus on actual ED patient presentations. Expert guest lecturers from other departments are often asked to participate. The conferences may include labs, such a suturing, and use of ED equipment, airway management, and ballistics.

A noon conference, during which lunch is served is the weekly opportunity for EM faculty, residents and community physicians to meet and discuss interesting and illustrative cases. Each case is presented as an unknown and a participant works through the case with the aid of his or her colleagues. The ensuing general discussion about the case and management options often becomes quite heated! This is clearly the best part of the conference!

We offer a variety of skills labs during the four week rotation including a Sim Lab and ED Ultrasound Lab. These are specifically designed for upper level students with a variety of prior experience.

This lab features a brief didactic presentation on the principles of US, and its use in the ED. Then, we practice and focus on the EFAST on normal volunteers followed by a trip through the ED looking for patients with positive US findings. This new addition to our skills labs is fast becoming the most popular!

During this hands on skills lab, students learn the basics of sterile procedure and practice placing IJ central lines on specialized procedure manikins.

During this hands on skills lab, students learn some of the most commonly used orthopedic splints for common fractures we care for in the ED.  They also learn proper suturing technique and wound care pearls.

The student educational program is made up of the clinical portion plus four key didactic portions as described above. This page provides a list of suggested reading material. 

Suggested Readings

The following readings out of Tintinalli are your core material for the month. These chapters cover many of the main topics of importance in emergency medicine.
Each week there will be three cases with study questions for you to review. The cases will be discussed at the Wednesday student conference and through these cases we will cover the core material for the month.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

 "Tintinalli" refers to Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide 5th Ed
The student educational program is made up of the clinical portion plus four key didactic portions as described above. This page provides a list of suggested reading material.