Objectives : The primary goal of this study was to determine if a mandatory emergency medicine (EM) clerkship increases the number of applicants to EM residencies. Secondary goals were to quantify the number of emergency medicine interest groups (EMIGs) and to compare the strength of EM exposure in allopathic and osteopathic education models.
Methods : The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC’s) online curriculum directory was accessed to determine which allopathic schools have mandatory EM clerkships. Each school was then contacted to determine the year the clerkship became mandatory. Finally, the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) was provided with a list of allopathic schools with known start dates for their clerkship. The NRMP anonymously provided the number of students who matched into EM from each individual school before and after the clerkship was introduced. EMIG data were collected from the Emergency Medicine Residency Association’s (EMRA’s) EMIG catalogue website. Osteopathic data were collected from the curriculum section of each website.
Results : Of 148 allopathic medical schools, 53 (35%) had required EM clerkships. Of the 53 schools requiring EM, we were able to identify the year the clerkship became mandatory in 26 (49%). The average number of students matching into EM for 7 years before the clerkship became mandatory was 6.8. This increased to an average of 8.6 for the 7 years after the clerkship became mandatory. The majority of these schools mandated 4 weeks of EM to be taken during the fourth year. Of 32 osteopathic schools, 32 (100%) required 4 weeks of mandatory EM; however, we were unable to accurately identify the year their clerkships became mandatory. There are 130 allopathic EMIGs and 27 osteopathic EMIGs representing 88% and 84% of schools, respectively. Twenty-four international EMIGs in seven countries were identified.
Conclusion : Requiring medical students to take an EM clerkship raises the rates of students matching into EM. All osteopathic medical schools require EM clerkships, while only one-third of allopathic schools do.