In September of 1999, the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Emergency Medicine have approved a six-year training program that, upon completion, will provide physicians the option for triple certification in Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Medicine. Given that this institution already had a five-year EM/IM program, the adoption of this six-year program is a logical progression. During recent years there has been a growing interest in this integrated discipline as well as an increased need for critical care physicians.

The objectives of this program are to prepare physicians for practice and academic careers, addressing the spectrum of illness and injury from entry into the hospital until discharge. I firmly believe that critical care begins in the emergency department and continues throughout hospitalization. Residents of this program will be able to establish strong relationships with almost every department in this hospital. They will serve as liaisons, which will foster a camaraderie that already exists in the internal medicine and emergency departments. Graduates of this combined training will likely function as hospital-based acute care specialists in practice or academic environments.

Ideally, at least two residents would be enrolled in each year. However, entry into this program is optional and will be made available to the combined residents upon completion of their first year.
 

Barbara Barnett, MD, FACEP, FAAEM Program Director, Combined EM/IM and Critical Care Residency Program Assistant Professor, Emergency/Internal Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine