After much anticipation, our residency is finally at full capacity. It has been amazing to see our program grow to a full complement of residents and core faculty. As with any change, there is an initial resistance; however, now the ED staff sees us as an integral part of the team.

Now that we have third-year residents, it is exciting to introduce our first Chief Residents, Drs. Corey Cole and Christopher Megargel. Our new vice chiefs, Drs. Arun Malhotra and Juan-Diego Rodriguez, have also been chosen from the junior class. The residents have been adjusting well to having a full complement with the seniors taking on a supervisory role, managing the juniors and our newest interns, and the interns adjusting to life in residency.

The ED seems to be recovering after a brief reprieve from the COVID-19 pandemic keeping most people home. We anticipate a busy snow bird season and will use the slower months to get the interns ready for the “in-season” volume. As things start back up, the construction on the new ED will be resuming soon. Though having parts of the ED shut down will create some challenges, the expansion will bring much needed space.

Recently, some of our residents participated in the HCA Poster Presentation Competition and their posters will be published in the HCA Scholarly Commons. Due to the pandemic, they were not able to present in person but look forward to having the opportunity another year. Many conferences as of late have been cancelled or changed to virtual only. Hopefully in the near future, these events will resume, allowing our residents to participate at the national level and build their networking.

With under a year left until graduation, our seniors will be the first graduating class of the program. Some are getting ready for fellowship interview season while others are being interviewed for attending positions at emergency departments across the nation. ■