Residency Tracks

Residency tracks were created in the 2023-2024 academic year in order to give residents more exposure to the subspecialty areas in emergency medicine and help them decide if they may want to pursue fellowship or a career in a particular subspecialty area.  Residents may apply to a track at the end of the PGY1 and have the opportunity to pursue more in-depth experiences and are provided with expert mentorship in their area of interest during the PGY2 and PGY3 years.  Residents enrolling in a track will complete their scholarly project in the track area with the support and mentorship of track faculty.

Enrolling in a track is entirely optional, but all residents will have some exposure to the track areas via our quarterly Track Thursday conference sessions.  During those sessions, leaders from each of the subspecialty areas lead small group breakout sessions providing core content and a glimpse into what a potential career would look like in that subspecialty area.

Rural Track
The WVU EM rural track capitalizes on WVU EM’s unique location and attending staffing relationship with multiple EDs throughout the West Virginia University Health System to prepare interested residents for a career in rural, resource limited settings.  This track provides enrolled residents with electives where they work clinically in multiple rural EDs as part of the rural emergency medicine institute, as well as longitudinal exposure to the rural environment via 1-2 clinical shifts per EM month.  The track also provides directed mentorship from rural medicine leaders in the WVU Rural Emergency Medicine Institute designed to help the interested resident be prepared to lead a rural ED following graduation.

Medical Education
The medical education track at WVU EM is aims to introduce interested residents to the basics of medial education and prepare the for fellowship or a career in academic leadership.  The track allows for increased exposure to the residency interview and selection process, dedicated teaching shifts supervising medical students and junior residents, and for the residents to provide support to the MS4 elective emergency medicine clerkship.  Mentorship in this track is provided by faculty members from the Division of Education and Training and can be tailored to specific areas of interest (UME, GME, sim, medical education research).

Ultrasound
The ultrasound track aims to prepare interested residents not only for ultrasound fellowship but also to help position them as ultrasound leaders at their future practice site.  This track provides exposure to additional image review sessions, ultrasound didactics, and ultrasound shifts both longitudinally and as part of the resident’s elective time.  Track residents will gain educational experience, serving as preceptors for WVU medical students as part of the 4 year longitudinal ultrasound curriculum offered at the WVU School of Medicine. 

Sports Medicine
The WVU EM Sports Medicine Track leverages the long-standing relationship between the Division of Sports Medicine, housed in the WVU Department of Emergency Medicine, and WVU Intercollegiate Athletics to provide interested residents without outstanding educational, clinical, and research opportunities in a Power 5, Big 12 athletic program.  Residents enrolling in this track will help in providing sideline coverage for WVU (and other local colleges and high schools) athletic events, receive additional exposure to sports medicine outpatient clinics, and complete their electives and scholarly activity with the Division of Sports Medicine.