“The Department of Emergency Medicine is comprised of the physicians, physician-assistants and staff dedicated to the delivery of emergency medical services for HCMC. Emergency Medicine Faculty physicians provide emergency medical care, teach students of many types, and conduct research leading to innovation of emergency care.
We care for 100,000 patients per year in the busiest emergency department in the state of Minnesota. Our physicians are Medical Directors of component services include the HCMC Ambulance service (>73,000 annual ambulance runs), EMS education, Urgent Care Services, Hyperbaric Medicine, Occupational Medicine and the Hennepin Poison Center. Educational activities are wide-ranging including education of resident physicians in Emergency Medicine and other specialties, medical students from the University of Minnesota and from schools throughout the nation who travel to HCMC for the experience. We teach paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), practicing physicians and nurses.
Our Residency Program in Emergency Medicine is described in detail in the accompanying pages. The program, its residents and graduates are a source of great pride for our Department.
It began in 1972 with two residents, years before recognition of the discipline of Emergency Medicine as a medical specialty. It has flourished since thanks to the continued excellent efforts of the residents themselves, dedicated faculty and the outstanding support of our institution and its people. Today we enroll twelve residents per year in our three-year program. These residents come to us from the top of their classes in outstanding schools throughout the country. They are the substance and the legacy of our program. Their success as emergency physicians is our prime educational objective and the major outcome by which we judge our efforts.
Our educational efforts occur in an environment conducive to inquiry. The Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation is an integral part of our institution. Clinical and basic research are ongoing activities in our institution. Most Medical Center’s departments are engage in clinical research. Emergency Medicine is an active participant. Several projects are ongoing, being planned and reported upon in our department at any given time. Many of them are described in subsequent pages. The breadth of our practice provides virtually unlimited opportunity to answer important clinical questions. We do so through projects unique to emergency medicine as well as through collaboration with other departments and institutions. The result is a stimulating environment where the next innovation is eagerly anticipated to improve patient care.
Our department is actively engaged in discussion of the issues of the day. Improved operational efficiency, communication and service are ongoing objectives. Continuous quality improvement efforts of the department and institution provide steady gains in these areas. Our members are actively involved in institutional, community, state and national organizations seeking better solutions to a wide range of challenges. Issues addressed include practice patterns, legislative, scientific, specialty and profession specific. We are compelled to participate in these debates to protect our ability to deliver the best care to emergency patients now and in the future.”
Jim Miner M.D.
Chief of Emergency Medicine