Fall 2024: Broward Health Emergency Medicine

The Broward Health Emergency Medicine Residency Program is a three-year ACGME-accredited post-graduate training program based at Broward Health, one of the 10 largest public health systems in the country. In addition to its unwavering commitment to providing exceptional patient care to the people of Broward County, Broward Health is strongly invested in educating the next generation of medical specialists by providing clinical learning environments where residents and fellows can develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that will serve as the foundation for competent and compassionate clinical practice, scholarly inquiry, and ongoing service to the community.

To that end, in 2021, Broward Health established its first Emergency Medicine Residency Program. Directed by Kevin Boehm, DO, the program’s inaugural class consisted of 13 residents. Since its inception, resident rotation sites have included Broward Health North, a 409-bed hospital in Deerfield Beach; Broward Health Medical Center, Broward County’s largest hospital (716 beds), located in Ft. Lauderdale; and Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital, also in Ft. Lauderdale. At Broward Health North, EM residents rotate through the Emergency Department (seeing over 60,000 patients per year), Trauma Team, MICU, and Anesthesia. At Broward Health Medical Center, a Level I Trauma Center, residents rotate through the Emergency Department (receiving over 125,000 patients per year), Trauma Team, Orthopedic Trauma Team, CVICU, and Obstetrics. Clinical rotations at the Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital include rotations through their Level I Trauma Center, the Pediatric Emergency Department (seeing over 25,000 pediatric patients per year), the PICU, and the NICU. New this academic year, our PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents now also rotate at Imperial Point Hospital, where they gain added exposure and experience in a smaller community hospital setting, with an emphasis on geriatric and psychiatric emergency care.

From its inception, the program’s mission has been to produce well-trained resuscitationists prepared for the diverse challenges of emergency medicine. Guided by a holistic approach to resident training, the program combines cutting-edge medical training with an emphasis on professional development, wellness, and leadership. Highlights of the program’s robust curriculum and clinical opportunities include state-of-the-art facilities with 24-hour catheterization labs for PPCI at both Broward Health North and Broward Health Medical Center; certified stroke centers at both hospitals; advanced airway equipment and labs; dedicated in-depth ultrasound education led by a fellowship-trained ultrasound director; a commitment to #FOAMed (including the program’s own weekly case-cast); and diverse faculty interests, including EMS, international medicine, technology, administration, medical education, and advocacy. Significant resources are available for individualized and specialized resident training and medical education. Additionally, residents have the opportunity to serve a diverse patient population within one of the largest public health systems in the country. The program also offers a robust mentorship component, where each resident is paired with a faculty mentor who provides guidance on clinical practice and career development, ensuring that every resident develops the clinical skills, leadership abilities, and ethical foundation necessary for a successful career in emergency medicine.

Under the steadfast leadership of Dr. Boehm, Broward’s Emergency Medicine Residency Program has flourished, graduating its first class of 13 residents in 2024. The program has since welcomed its newest class of 15 PGY-1 residents, adding to the 13 PGY-2s and 13 PGY-3s, who are slated to graduate in June 2025. Growing interest in the program has led to incremental increases in the size of each entering class. A newly forged partnership with Florida Atlantic University (FAU), where Broward Health serves as the teaching hospital for FAU’s Emergency Medicine Residency Program, has further expanded the program. Broward Health began welcoming FAU’s M3 students this academic year. Additionally, there has been a marked increase in interest and participation in the program’s emergency medicine audition rotations, with a record number of medical students auditioning this year.

Building on this momentum, we look forward with great anticipation to the upcoming interview season as we continue to expand the program, welcoming another class of 15 residents for the incoming class of 2026. As a result of the dedicated efforts of Dr. Boehm, attending and faculty physicians, EM residents, and staff, Broward Health has broadened its reach and enhanced its ability to positively impact the delivery of quality patient care, improving the health and well-being of individuals and communities.