Applying to EM Residency

We consider all applications submitted through ERAS, including those from International Medical Graduates.

There is no minimum USMLE score required to be considered for a residency spot at Highland.

We consider all applications submitted through ERAS, including those from DO medical schools.

Residents who do well at Highland tend to be kind, considerate, self-starters, team players, but most importantly they are passionate about serving a county patient population, those most medically vulnerable in our society.

The academic year is split into 13 blocks, each block is 4 weeks. There are 5 ED blocks during intern year, 7 ED blocks during R2 year, 8 ED blocks during R3 year, and 7 ED blocks during R4 year

EM residents are prioritized for all major procedures occurring in the ED, such as intubations, central lines, arterial lines, lumbar punctures. Procedures which occur during a trauma resuscitation, such as chest tubes or central lines, are performed by a member of the trauma team, which may be a surgery resident or EM resident. Chest tubes which need to be placed outside of a trauma resuscitation are split equally between surgery residents and EM residents depending on the half of the month. Most closed reductions for fractures and dislocations are performed by EM residents. Special procedures in the ED such as pericardiocentesis, transvenous pacing, and lateral canthotomy may be performed by EM residents depending on the circumstance.

Highland values and prioritizes diversity, particularly amongst its residents. We believe that in order to provide the best medical care for our patients, we must aim to represent our community’s racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic identities.

Click here to visit our Diversity page.

Wellness is a big priority at Highland. We consider wellness to be about more than just days off and group get-togethers, although we do love days off and group get-togethers. One of the biggest factors in resident wellness is having autonomy over your work schedule. The Highland ED schedule is created each month by the chief residents with much thought and care. After it is made, for example, it is reviewed to ensure an equitable distribution of requested days off and preferences for night shifts. We just initiated an innovative wellness curriculum for our interns focusing on the unique experiences and challenges that come with intern year. The chief residents host quarterly wellness check-ins with each class to get real-time feedback on pressing issues, regarding burnout, mental health, off-service rotations etc. It is important to us that mental health services are within reach 24/7 and our faculty are incredibly receptive to assisting with issues which may arise during a resident’s personal or professional life. We also dedicate one conference day per quarter to a wellness event as an entire residency community.