The Transition From Emergency Medicine Resident to Critical Care Fellow: A Road Map

Abstract

Emergency medicine (EM) residents now have a number of opportunities for fellowship training in critical care medicine (CCM). The aim of this review is to help EM residents navigate the application process, transition to fellowship, and start planning their careers beyond fellowship. Pathways to advanced training in CCM available for EM residents include internal medicine-CCM, anesthesiology-CCM, surgical critical care, and neurocritical care. Each has unique prerequisites, application timelines, and training requirements. EM residency graduates generally already have well-developed crisis management and team leadership skills and excel with procedures such as airway management, vascular access, and bedside ultrasound. Potential areas for growth for EM trainees include critical care physiology, end-of-life care, longitudinal inpatient care, and perioperative medicine. Career opportunities for physicians trained in EM and CCM are diverse and include options in community or academic settings. Some choose EM or CCM exclusively or engage in a mix of both. Academic positions with joint opportunities in EM and CCM are desirable, but can be challenging to negotiate. Many EM-CCM physicians serve as topic experts in their respective groups for clinical care, quality improvement, education, or research involving the interface between the ED and intensive care unit. As career paths in critical care continue to grow in popularity, EM residents, as well as CCM faculty and program directors, should be aware of the available fellowship options, as well as training and career development needs specific to EM residents.