Get Ready for Residency Boot Camp

Course Director
Adam Tobias, MD, MPH
Associate Professor
Department of Emergency Medicine
tobiasa@upmc.edu

Course Description

This required course is an intensive preparation for students who are about to enter residency and fulfills the medical school boot camp requirement. Students will be provided with a combination of general and specialty-specific, clinically relevant content in a variety of modalities. The focus will be on content that will prepare the student to function at the starting level of an intern (and meet the expected intern-level milestones) after graduation. The majority of the course content will be relevant to all students, regardless of specialty.

For the specialty-specific workshops, students will be placed in one of the following tracks: Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, OBGYN, Anesthesia, Surgery, or Psychiatry.

Students who have matched in a specialty other than one of those offered will be placed in the most relevant track or have the opportunity to be in a “hybrid” track with permission from the course director(s). Students pursuing non-traditional pathways or graduating off-cycle are welcome in the Get Ready for Residency Boot Camp but may also instead consider registering for the Alternative Boot Camp pathway (MED 5760) to fulfill this graduation requirement (requires permission from the course director(s) and the Dean of Student Affairs.

Course Objectives

1. To integrate clinical skills and knowledge in preparation for internship.
2. To integrate knowledge obtained throughout the four years of medical school and translate it into treatment of complex patients with multi-system issues.
3. To interpret disease processes on chest x-rays, abdominal films, and CT scans.
4. To learn the proper way to communicate with patients, parents of patients, and other health care providers.
5. To manage (through simulation) a variety of urgent patient situations the student may encounter while on call in the hospital.
6. To help students develop essential and durable approaches to personal and financial wellness.
7. To become familiar with engaging consultants in patient care.
8. To become familiar with responding to on-call phone calls from nurses and other health professionals.

Course Topics for the Entire Group (tentative list-in addition to specialty-specific track content)*

Acute Care Skills Sessions

1. Certification in Basic Life Support (BLS)/Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
2. High-fidelity simulation of multiple acute patient scenarios (e.g. cardiac arrest, acute respiratory failure, stroke, tachyarrhythmias, death pronouncement, etc.) 
3. A basic skills workshop using simulated techniques for common issues including obtaining IV & IO access, drawing peripheral blood, and performing ABG’s.
4. A framework for providing acute pain management, using both opioid and non-opioid treatments.

Communication Skills Sessions

1. Eliciting a patient’s goals of care and code status
2. Obtaining Informed consent and assessing decision making-capacity
3. Delivering bad news to patients
4. Disclosing medical errors to patients
5. Communicating with consultants
6. Transitions of care
7. Team dynamics and communication

Professional Development Skills Sessions

1. Introductory teaching skills
2. Finding meaning in medicine
3. Healthy sleep habits
4. Maintaining wellness in residency
5. Financial planning and wellness

Educational Methods

• Small group sessions
• Case discussions
• Lectures
• Video presentations
• Panel discussions
• Standardized patient sessions
• Simulation sessions
• Procedural workshops

Evaluation

Grading is Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory and is based on attendance, participation, and professionalism.