Service Versus Education: Finding the Right Balance: A Consensus Statement from the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors 2009 Academic Assembly “Question 19” Working Group

Abstract

Many emergency medicine (EM) residency programs have recently received citations for their residents' responses to Question 19 of the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education annual survey, which asks residents to rate their program's emphasis on clinical education over service obligations. To the best of our knowledge, no prior investigations or consensus statements exist that specifically address the appropriate balance between educational activity and clinical service in EM residency training. The objective of this project was to create a consensus statement based on the shared insights of academic faculty and educators in EM, with specific recommendations to improve the integration of education with clinical service in EM residency training programs. More than 80 EM program directors (PDs), associate and assistant PDs, and other academic EM faculty attending an annual conference of EM educators met to address this issue in a discussion session and working group. Participants examined the current literature on resident service and education and shared with the conference at large their collective insight and experience and possible solutions to this challenge. A consensus statement of specific recommendations and effective educational techniques aimed at balancing service and education requirements was created, based on the contributions of a diverse group of academic emergency physicians. Recommendations included identifying the teachable moment in all clinical service; promoting resident understanding of program goals and expectations from the beginning; educating residents about the ACGME resident survey; and engaging hospitals, institutional graduate medical education departments, and residents in finding solutions.