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Letter from the Residency Program Director

Welcome to Emergency Medicine at Maricopa Medical Center! Choosing the location for your specialty training is one of the most difficult decisions you will undertake, with an endless list of variables to consider. We are confident that you will find that all the tools required to teach and learn Emergency Medicine are found at Maricopa Medical Center.

So why should you choose to look at Maricopa?

Simply put, our goal is to train you to be “the doctor you want to be.” Your personal goal in emergency medicine will likely involve a type of practice, geographic location, skill set and CV that is unique to you. We do not try to be a “cookie cutter” program. We want you to try on different styles of emergency medicine and find what fits you best. It is our responsibility to train you to fit that mold, and to get the job that best fits your goals.

So how do we do that?

  1. A heterogeneously trained faculty that includes many nationally recognized leaders in Emergency Medicine. The faculty is committed to a work environment that is challenging, yet is supportive and fun.
  2. A patient population that will allow you to learn all aspects of Emergency Medicine. Maricopa Medical Center is a Level One Trauma Center, and is the only Level One Burn Unit in Arizona. We are the “county” hospital for Phoenix and the surrounding area, with roughly 60,000 ED visits annually (20,000 of these are pediatric).
  3. Variety of patient types through a mix of ED experiences. Each ED rotation offers a new patient population and demographic experience. We take advantage of being the only hospital in a very large city and rotate through three adult and three pediatric ED’s – and you will learn a different type of EM at each one.
  4. A mix of eight and ten hour shifts. We believe that you should have personal time after a shift for family, a workout, or personal time, and still have energy to read and study. 12-hour shifts have been shown to increase burnout in faculty and we see no reason to expose you to that toxicity.
  5. Strong Emergency Medicine attending physician presence. The faculty is a dedicated group who chose Maricopa because of the residency and the opportunity to work with a strong group of residents. They will see every patient with you, without compromising your autonomy.
  6. Outstanding trauma experience. Every day you work in the ED, you will be a part of the trauma team. Trauma Captain and Procedures alternates between Emergency Medicine and Surgery on a strict, rotating basis. Emergency Medicine residents, under the supervision of EM attending physicians, are responsible for all trauma airways.
  7. A continual search for the best off-service rotations possible. In the last three years we have added standing rotations in toxicology, cardiology, ultrasound and radiology, and did it while increasing the amount of elective time. Our partnership with the Banner network has provided us the schedule flexibility to concentrate on your education rather than needing a body to fill a shift.
  8. An emphasis on Intensive Care Unit rotations. Residents are given high degrees of autonomy and responsibility for large numbers of critically ill and unstable patients in 4 ICU’s.
  9. Opportunities to participate in relevant research, academics and medical writing. A full staff of research nurses and assistants are available to assist with projects. We have multiple NIH grants and Drs. Lovecchio and Bobrow head one of the most productive research divisions in the country.
  10. One of the country’s leading ultrasound teachers in Dr. Teresa Wu
  11. Superb EMS exposure to both ground and aeromedical teams.
  12. Living in the Southwest! Phoenix is now the fifth largest city in the country, and Maricopa County is the one of the fastest growing counties in the U.S. All professional athletics are represented, as are shows, the Phoenix Symphony, theater troupes, art walks through the Scottsdale galleries, Arizona State University and all the amenities associated with a PAC 10 university, several community colleges, the Heard Museum (world renowned Native American artifacts), and so on. The state of Arizona is an almost overwhelming geographic array. The Sonoran Desert, alpine peaks over 10,000 feet, the high plateau of the Mogollon Rim with its mountain lakes and trout streams, the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, the red rocks of Sedona and the turbulent Colorado and Salt Rivers are only the most well known examples of the vast and varying topography. If you enjoy any type of outdoor activity, you will be attracted to Arizona.

The residents, faculty, and I are exceptionally proud of our program, but do not rest on our laurels. We continually strive to improve. Thank you for your interest in our program, and good luck with your residency selection process!

Sincerely,

Eric Katz

Eric D. Katz, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Program Director, Emergency Medicine Residency
Vice-Chair for Education
Maricopa Medical Center
Phoenix, Arizona