Medical College of Wisconsin Emergency Medicine Residency Program

Froedtert Hospital, our primary adult hospital, is the only Level 1 trauma center in southeastern Wisconsin. This means all significant blunt and penetrating traumas come to our emergency department. As the former county hospital for Milwaukee, it serves a diverse urban and suburban patient population.

Froedtert is located in Wauwatosa, a safe, beautiful suburb of Milwaukee located less than 15 minutes from downtown. Milwaukee is vibrant city located on the Lake Michigan shoreline, offering great restaurants, a thriving park system, and a number of unique neighborhoods for our residents to chose to live. Known as the “City of Festivals”, Milwaukee is home to Summerfest, the largest music festival in the world, as well as a number of additional music and ethnic festivals throughout the year.

Southeast Wisconsin is an outdoor paradise, offering access to hiking, biking, camping, and other outdoor activities.

We have an extremely close relationship with the Trauma Critical Care Service. Monthly interdisciplinary trauma conferences give us a strong understanding of managing the critically ill patient. We are an integral part of the trauma team throughout our residency.

• First-year residents do a one-month trauma rotation with numerous procedures and a chance to participate in all ED trauma resuscitations.
• Second-year residents complete a one-month rotation in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. This includes critical care and a wide variety of invasive procedures, in addition to resuscitation of the sickest patients in the hospital.
• Our residents rotate on a weekly basis with the trauma team between captain and primary assessing physician for all trauma activations. In addition, our residents manage all trauma airways in the ED. This experience begins as early as intern year.

• We can proudly say we are training at one of the top-ranked Pediatric Emergency Departments in the United States – Children's Wisconsin – located right next door to Froedtert Hospital.
  
  
• 60,000+ children per year seen at Children's Wisconsin which allows for substantial emergency pediatric training.
  
  
• Children’s Wisconsin is the only Level 1 trauma center in the region, serving patients from all over southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. EM residents play an active role in trauma activations.
  
  
• Board-certified Pediatric Emergency Medicine physicians provide training for pediatric procedures and critical emergency care. These physicians actively involve residents in the care of the sickest children.
  
  
• First-year residents do one month in the pediatric ICU and one dedicated month in the Pediatric Emergency Department.
  
  
• Second- and third-year residents work several shifts every month in the Pediatric Emergency Department providing the opportunity to see the seasonal variety of childhood illness.
  
  
• Second-year residents also spend two weeks in a dedicated pediatric anesthesia rotation to become comfortable intubating our smallest patients.
  
  
• During high volume months, additional moonlighting in the Pediatric Emergency Department may be available.

EMS

All residents at MCW participate in a comprehensive, three-year longitudinal Emergency Medical Services rotation designed to build expertise in prehospital care. Residents evolve from active field participants into confident leaders within the EMS system. This hands-on, longitudinal experience ensures residents are well-prepared to manage the complexities of prehospital emergency medicine and collaborate effectively with first responders.

• In July, incoming residents complete ride-alongs with Milwaukee County EMS units, gaining firsthand experience in prehospital care and the critical role of Emergency Medical Technicians.
  
  
• Through ambulance ride-alongs, disaster drills, special event coverage, EMS quality improvement, and real-time online medical control, Emergency Medicine residents gain critical, hands-on experience in delivering lifesaving care in the dynamic prehospital environment.
  
  
• Department faculty serve as medical control for Milwaukee County EMS, Milwaukee Fire Department, SWAT, and Flight for Life (FFL). These medical directors are responsible for EMS policy and protocols, providing a wealth of prehospital experience for resident education.
  
  
• Residents seeking advanced EMS training can pursue a dedicated scholarly track, offering expanded hands-on experience, focused leadership development, and personalized mentorship from EMS faculty.
  
  
• The Department of Emergency Medicine offers a one-year accredited EMS fellowship highlighting our commitment to cutting-edge out-of-hospital care.

Flight For Life

A longitudinal Flight Critical Care experience is offered as an option for residents interested in training as a flight physician with the Flight For Life air-medical service.

• Our program has an extensive history with FFL, the area's helicopter EMS provider, who operate three helicopters and have an outstanding safety record.
  
  
• During second and third years, residents have the opportunity to serve as flight physicians alongside a flight nurse and paramedic, managing critical care and trauma transports. This high-acuity experience offers exposure to advanced procedures including field intubations and needle decompressions, as well as the opportunity to provide lifesaving care to critically ill and injured patients in a high-stakes environment.
  
  
• Faculty physicians serve as medical direction for FFL.

• Our department includes a dedicated ultrasound division led by fellowship-trained faculty who provide comprehensive, hands-on education starting during intern orientation. Residents complete two focused ultrasound rotations during first and third years as well as longitudinal instruction over the course of their training. With dedicated scanning time at Froedtert Hospital and the VA Medical Center, weekly image reviews, and a monthly journal club, our curriculum ensures residents graduate confident and skilled in point-of-care ultrasound for emergency medicine.
  
  
• Residents interested in advanced ultrasound training can pursue a dedicated scholarly track, with additional hands-on scanning exposure and mentorship from fellowship-trained faculty.

Second and third-year residents gain high-quality community emergency medicine experience at Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital, a Level III Trauma, Stroke, and Chest Pain Center located just 20 minutes from the Froedtert main campus. Serving 29,000 patients annually and ranked #8 in community acuity by the 2023 AAAEM Complexity Index, FMF offers residents valuable exposure to high-acuity cases in a community setting.

• Our residents proudly serve the veterans of southeast Wisconsin in the Emergency Department at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center. The VA ED provides care to over 25,000 patients annually and offers full PCI and thrombolytic capabilities.
  
  
• The VA is also the home of our anesthesia and emergency dental rotations.

Resident scholarly activity projects are flexible enough to accommodate high-powered submissions to leading journals or allow for innovative ideas aimed at any number of cutting-edge areas.

Learn more about scholarly activities

• Five hours of weekly conference is rigorously protected, even on non-emergency rotations.
  
  
• The Medical College of Wisconsin boasts leading experts in toxicology, cardiology, pulmonary/critical care and multiple other disciplines who visit on a regular basis.
  
  
• Residents participate in monthly simulation sessions in one of our 3 simulation locations (Froedtert Hospital, the VA, and Children’s Wisconsin). These sessions include high-fidelity mannequins and procedures as well as live-action simulation.
  
  
• Specific skill labs in airway technique, splinting, central line placement, trauma procedures, chest tubes, lumbar puncture and pediatric emergency medicine occur annually.
  
  
• Resident presentations build speaking skills through all three years.
  
  

Incoming residents participate in various orientation sessions throughout the month of July to help ease transition into residency and acclimate new residents to the hospital system.

• The emergency medicine wellness program focuses on exploring methods, strategies and mindsets that enhance both personal and professional wholeness. It is organized around the American Medical Association's six pillars of wellness: nutrition, fitness, emotional health, preventative care, financial health and mindset. Throughout each month various discussions and activities take place under the direction of the Department's wellness committee.
  
  
• Three (3) confidential mental health visits per year are available free of charge to all residents as well as their spouses.