We are pleased to offer an Acting Internship in Emergency Medicine for visiting students in their final clinical year of training. Students function as the primary physician for their patients and coordinate all aspects of their care under the direct supervision of the emergency medicine faculty and senior EM residents.

Students are required to work approximately 15 eight-hour shifts during a 28-day period. Shifts will take place in the adult and pediatric emergency departments at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the adult emergency department at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital, a community hospital in nearby Greensboro, NC. They are assigned to work primarily with faculty members and are expected to take complete ownership of the patient’s care from initial evaluation to disposition. Students also participate in our regularly scheduled conferences, a trauma simulation lab and an EMS ride-along.  Unless clinically working, students are expected to attend weekly EM resident conferences. Additional requirements of the course include an end-of-rotation examination, oral board cases, online EM cases and a clinical case presentation (in PowerPoint format).

Fourth Year Acting Internship Objectives

Patient Care

  • Interviewing Techniques
  • Directed Physical Examination
  • Developing a differential diagnosis
  • Initiate resuscitation and stabilization
  • Procedural and wound care
  • Proper disposition and follow-up

Medical Knowledge

  • Identification of acutely ill patient
  • Developing an evaluation plan
  • Test Interpretation
  • Developing a therapeutic plan
  • Treatment of common acute problems 

Practice-Based Learning and Improvement

  • Self-directed Learning Project
  • Use of information technology
  • Evaluation of literature

Interpersonal and Communication Skills

  • Establishing Rapport
  • Effective presentation
  • Interaction with consultants

Professionalism

  • Respect
  • Ethical behavior
  • Sensitivity to cultural issues

Systems-Based Practice

  • Assessment of Undifferentiated Patient
  • Appropriate referral
  • Primary Care for the uninsured and those without PCPs
  • Understanding of emergency procedures