Here at Upstate, we are strong believers in our residents being “Emergency Physicians Plus”, meaning that not only do we love our clinical shifts in the department, but that we, in addition, pursue our other passions within the medical community. Our residents have the unique opportunities to take advantage of during their time here, whether it be traveling across the oceans to provide medical care in other countries, providing medical care at events here in our community or taking action and helping out with legislation that affects emergency medicine physicians and our colleagues in the medical field. Whatever your interests or passions are, here at Upstate you will be supported and encouraged to pursue those passions.

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International & Travel Rotations

 

There are multiple opportunities available for international travel. Past residents have completed rotations at the base camp at Mount Everest, Haiti, Honduras, China, Ghana and St. Lucia.

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Upstate has an established international medicine fellowship that is affiliated with the Jaramogi Ogainga Odinga teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu, Kenya. During their time here, residents have the opportunity to travel to Africa and participate in clinical and educational exchange on a 4 week rotation. This rotation allows residents to gain exposure to tropical medicine, explore global health issues, understand different models of practice and health systems, enhance teaching skills and collaboration across cultures.

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Residents have also completed electives in Chennai, India at the SRM Medical College Hospital. This rotation allowed for exposure to presentations and management of rare medical pathology not frequently exposed to such as tuberculosis, yellow fever, dengue and others. It also allowed for exposure of different hospital practices globally and interacting with international practitioners.

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We recently began an affiliation with Castle Medical Center and Wahiawa General Hospitals in the Hawaiian Islands and have the opportunity to rotate with them as senior residents. This is a 4-week rotation with a focus on tropical and marine medicine. A travel and housing stipend is provided.  Hawaii boasts a unique educational environment that is influenced by geography, culture, and the presence of disease entities endemic to the islands not seen in the continental United States as well as illness brought by the native populations of the pacific islands and Asia which allow for unique educational opportunities.

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Sports and Event Medicine Opportunities

 

Our residents participate in providing care to our community through various events. The Upstate Emergency Department staffs the infirmary at the the New York State Fair each year. Spanning 13 days and with an attendance of over 800,000 it is one of the largest state fairs in the US. Residents are provided with the opportunity to work a shift in the infirmary where you can expect to see heat related complaints and falls - we have even had STEMIs at the fair that were sent to the Cath lab!

 

Upstate also has an affiliation with the JMA Wireless Dome and you can find us working in the infirmary at Syracuse Football and Basketball games (Go Orange!). Residents have also had the opportunity to work at various concerts at the JMA Dome such as Elton John and Bruce Springsteen.

 

The Upstate Sports Medicine group are currently the team doctors for all sports at Colgate University, Men’s and Women’s basketball at LeMoyne College and The Syracuse Mets. Residents can join Upstate physicians at games and events and have the opportunity to do electives in the sports medicine clinic.

 

Upstate New York is also home to Watkins Glen International Raceway which is a part of the NASCAR Cup Series. Upstate residents have the unique opportunity to go to NASCAR and other races and work in Race Med. Racetrack medicine is a unique aspect of pre-hospital and event medicine that with this experience you have the opportunity to experience. We were given a breakdown of the full neurologic exam done by NASCAR neurologist and the NASCAR concussion protocol. You also get the opportunity to go to pit row and get a close view of all the race cars.

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National, Statewide and Local Conferences

The American College of Emergency Physicians is one of the main professional organizations that EM doctors are a part of.  Each year ACEP holds an annual assembly which our EM-3s and many faculty attend. World renowned emergency physicians give various lectures and presentations on the newest research and recent hot topics. It is also a great place to network with other EM physicians and healthcare systems as our residents transition out of their last year as residents and into their first jobs as attendings or fellows.

 

Similar to the national conference held by ACEP, the state-run NYACEP holds an annual conference in July which our EM-2s and faculty attend. This is held at Lake George in New York, where we attend lectures presented by many of our colleagues and emergency physicians from our neighboring programs around New York State and participate in the annual residency volleyball tournament.

 

Upstate also hosts multiple conferences specific to the Upstate region, including an annual Toxicology Conference, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Conference, and Contemporary Issues in Emergency Medicine Conference. Attended by residents, faculty, nurses, prehospital providers, pharmacists and students, these conferences are filled with lectures from our own faculty and provides our residents even more education and training to take into their clinical practice.

 

Our residents have also attended conferences such as FEMinEM in NYC and other conferences where they have presented their research. If your work is accepted for presentation at a conference, the department may provide funds for you to attend!

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Women in Residency Life (WiRL)

 

Women in Residency Life (WiRL) is an all-inclusive residency run group designed to promote women's success across all specialties to learn from each other, network and advance women in medicine. The purpose of WiRL is to support professional development and career advancement of women in residency through education, advocacy, community, mentorship and service.

 

WiRL has 4 branches: Community Service, Education and Professional Development, Mentoring and Networking, and Life and Wellness. We have teamed up with the Vera House, The Samaritan Center, and the Spanish action league here in Syracuse. We have created and hosted donation drives and events to raise awareness and collect products to donate to our surrounding community (such as tampon drive, warm clothing drive etc.) For Education and Professional Development, we have hosted workshops on Understanding the Contract, Dual Physician Family, U-Turn, Women Interested in Fellowship with many more planned for the future. Additionally, we have recently started a mentoring program with Syracuse University pre-medical students. 

 

If you are interested in learning more about WiRL please send an email to Upstatewirl@gmail.com and follow WiRL on instagram @upstate_wirl.