I thought getting a MD degree was a big achievement... until I see all these physicians with dual training in EM/IM and those with various advanced degrees, such as RDMS (ultrasound certification), Masters in Education, MPHs, and PhDs. I feel so plain.
A friend and colleague of mine Dr. Chad Kessler (Associate Program Director at the EM/IM Residency program at University of Illinois-Chicago) recently published about career outcomes and job satisfaction for those who did a combined residency in EM and Internal Medicine. (Kessler CK, Stallings LA, Gonzalez AA, Templeman TA. Acad Emerg Med 2009; 16:894–9.)
(click to enlarge abstract)Chad and I are starting to brainstorm about how we could determine how many U.S. academic emergency physicians have advanced degrees. I get a sense that more and more EM residents and faculty have advanced degrees. What are people doing with these degrees (besides having an alphabet soup after their name on a hospital badge)?
We will be starting to scour the department and residency websites to start our initial database. If you are from an EM department or residency, please feel free to email me the advanced training info on your faculty. Any help would be much appreciated!
