Developing a Curriculum for Emergency Medicine Residency Orientation Programs

BackgroundNew residents enter emergency medicine (EM) residency programs with varying EM experiences, which makes residency orientation programs challenging to design. There is a paucity of literature to support best practices.ObjectiveWe report on a curriculum development project for EM residency orientation using the Kern Model.CurriculumComponents of the revised curriculum include administrative inculcation into the program; delivering skills and knowledge training to ensure an entering level of competence; setting expectations for learning in the overall residency curriculum; performing an introductory performance evaluation; and socialization into the program.ResultsPost-implementation resident surveys found the new curriculum to be helpful in preparing them for the first year of training.ConclusionsThe Kern Model was a relevant and useful method for redesigning a new-resident orientation curriculum.