The best emergency medicine residency programs in the United States include the Harvard Affiliated program (HAEMR), Stanford, UCSF, Emory, Cincinnati, Michigan, Indiana, UChicago, Johns Hopkins, Penn, NYU Langone, the University of Washington, Mayo Clinic and Mount Sinai. We picked them for national reputation, training environment, patient volume and fellowship depth.
Every profile was checked against the program’s own website in October 2026 for program length, residents per year, training sites, tracks and fellowships.
The 14 Programs at a Glance
Program length and class size are the two facts applicants ask about most, so here they are side by side. Class sizes are taken from each program’s published approved positions or, where a program does not state a number, from its current resident roster.
| Program | Length | Residents per year | Main training sites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard Affiliated (HAEMR) | 4 years (PGY1-4) | About 15 | Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women’s |
| Stanford | 4 years (PGY1-4) | About 15 | Stanford, Kaiser Santa Clara, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center |
| UCSF | 4 years (PGY1-4) | 15 | UCSF Health, Zuckerberg San Francisco General |
| Emory | 3 years (PGY1-3) | 20 | Grady Memorial, Emory University Hospital |
| University of Cincinnati | 4 years (PGY1-4) | 14 | UC Medical Center, Cincinnati Children’s |
| University of Michigan | 4 years (PGY1-4) | 16 | Michigan Medicine, Trinity Health Ann Arbor, Hurley Medical Center |
| Indiana University | 3 years (PGY1-3) | 21 | IU Health Methodist, Eskenazi, Riley Children’s |
| University of Chicago | 3 years (PGY1-3) | About 18 | UChicago Medicine, Comer Children’s, Endeavor Health Evanston |
| Johns Hopkins | 4 years (PGY1-4) | Not published | Johns Hopkins Hospital, Bayview, Howard County |
| University of Pennsylvania | 4 years (PGY1-4) | 12 | HUP, Penn Presbyterian |
| NYU Langone | 4 years (PGY1-4) | 18 | Bellevue, Tisch/Kimmel, NYU Langone Brooklyn |
| University of Washington | 4 years (PGY1-4) | 18 | Harborview, UW Medical Center, Seattle Children’s |
| Mayo Clinic (Rochester) | 4 years (PGY1-4) | 9 | Mayo Clinic Hospital, Saint Marys Campus |
| Mount Sinai | 4 years (PGY1-4) | 18 | The Mount Sinai Hospital, Elmhurst, Mount Sinai Queens |
Eleven of the 14 run a four-year format, which is a much higher share than the specialty as a whole. Most emergency medicine programs nationally are three years long, a difference explained in the 3-year vs 4-year section.
Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency (HAEMR)
HAEMR is a four-year program sponsored jointly by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. Its current roster lists about 15 residents in each class, 59 in total. Most clinical time is spent in four affiliated emergency departments: Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women’s, Boston Children’s and Newton-Wellesley, combining academic, pediatric and community emergency care.
Simulation remains a signature strength. The STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation sits inside the Department of Emergency Medicine and is used throughout the curriculum. Residents get about 4.5 months of elective time starting in the second year, and interest academies plus a resident journal club give them structured ways to build a niche.
Fellowship depth is hard to match. The program’s fellowship page lists options including emergency ultrasound, emergency critical care, EMS, global emergency medicine, medical simulation, wilderness medicine, geriatric emergency medicine, neurologic emergencies, emergency sports medicine and an MGH space medicine fellowship.
Stanford Emergency Medicine Residency
The program many applicants still call “Stanford/Kaiser” now presents itself as the Stanford Emergency Medicine Residency. Kaiser remains part of training: Stanford is the main clinical site, Kaiser Santa Clara serves as the community site and Santa Clara Valley Medical Center is the county site. The program describes these as three high-volume training sites, including a Level 1 trauma center.
Stanford formalized its four-year curriculum in 2015, and the current resident roster shows about 15 residents per class. The schedule runs in blocks of three to four weeks, so residents focus on one rotation at a time. Electives run through the program’s ACCEL and CREATE options, and residents are paired with a mentor in their chosen area of focus.
The department’s fellowship list reflects its Silicon Valley setting. Alongside critical care, EMS, ultrasound, simulation, pediatric emergency medicine and wilderness medicine, Stanford offers fellowships in informatics, innovation, physician wellness and social emergency medicine and population health.
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Emergency Medicine Residency
UCSF Emergency Medicine runs a four-year, ACGME-accredited program approved for 15 residents each year. Clinical time is divided evenly between UCSF Health and Zuckerberg San Francisco General. Residents also rotate at the San Francisco VA, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland and Kaiser San Francisco.
Every UCSF resident joins an Area of Distinction. The current options are EMS and disaster medicine, global health, medical education, medical toxicology, pediatric emergency medicine, research, social emergency medicine and ultrasound. The department groups its social emergency medicine work under Social Emergency Medicine and Health Equity.
Global health is a long-running strength. Residents can rotate internationally and domestically, and the listed international electives include emergency medicine at Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The department also offers fellowships in global health, EMS and disaster medicine, medical toxicology, ultrasound, research and emergency medicine innovation.
Emory University Emergency Medicine Residency
Emory’s program has been training emergency physicians for more than 50 years and is one of the larger residencies on the list, with 20 residents per year. Its curriculum is organized as EM-1, EM-2 and EM-3 years, making it one of the three-year programs on this list.
Grady Memorial Hospital is the program’s home base. Residents also train at Emory University Hospital, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Hughes Spalding.
Ultrasound training is still a major draw. Emory’s resident pathways include ultrasound, critical care, EMS, global emergency medicine, social emergency medicine and scholarship and innovation. Pathways are open to residents in every year, and completing one earns a Certificate of Distinction. The department’s fellowships include ultrasound, medical toxicology, EMS, administration, observation medicine, health policy, global emergency medicine and hospice and palliative care.
University of Cincinnati Emergency Medicine Residency
The University of Cincinnati program is the oldest emergency medicine residency in the United States, founded in 1970. It is a four-year program approved for 14 residents per year, for 56 residents in total.
Residents train at UC Medical Center, the region’s only Level I trauma center, along with the main and Liberty campuses of Cincinnati Children’s. Community emergency medicine experience comes from two busy suburban hospitals, including West Chester Hospital. Prehospital care is built in early: residents start flying with UC’s Air Care aeromedical service in their first year, and senior residents serve as assistant medical directors for Air Care and Mobile Care.
Cincinnati offers formal Research, Critical Care and Sports Medicine tracks. Its EMS fellowship was among the first ACGME-accredited EMS fellowships, and the department also runs fellowships in ultrasound, neurocritical care and clinical operations and administration. Disaster medicine training is available within the curriculum rather than as a separate track.
University of Michigan Emergency Medicine Residency
Michigan’s program offers 16 categorical positions each year in a four-year, ACGME-accredited format. Residents train at Michigan Medicine’s University Hospital in Ann Arbor, and the department runs the residency in partnership with Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital and Hurley Medical Center in Flint.
Michigan’s Professional Development Tracks are the program’s main way of building a niche. Residents explore options in the second year and officially start a track in the third. Current tracks include climate change and sustainability, clinical simulation, critical care (linked to the department’s EC3 emergency critical care unit), emergency medical services and wilderness medicine.
The wilderness medicine track is built for residents interested in austere and environmental medicine and works toward Fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine. The EMS track pairs residents with a community partner under the Washtenaw/Livingston Medical Control Authority, with options in disaster medicine, search and rescue, aeromedicine and tactical medicine. Michigan’s in-house fellowships include emergency critical care, EMS, medical education, pediatric emergency medicine and advanced emergency ultrasonography.
Indiana University Emergency Medicine Residency
Indiana University’s categorical program in Indianapolis is one of the largest on this list. It accepts 21 residents per year on a 36-month curriculum. IU also runs a five-year combined emergency medicine and pediatrics program.
Training sites include IU Health Methodist Hospital, Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children, plus IU Health North and IU Health West.
IU offers voluntary specialty tracks in academic emergency medicine (covering education, simulation and research), advocacy, clinical practice, community medicine, critical care, EMS, point-of-care ultrasound and sports medicine. The critical care track runs as a two-year experience, and the EMS track introduces residents to EMS medical direction. The department’s fellowships include disaster medicine, EMS, emergency ultrasound, medical simulation, medical toxicology, pediatric emergency medicine and motorsports medicine.
University of Chicago Emergency Medicine Residency
The University of Chicago program is a three-year residency with a 36-month clinical experience designed to give broad exposure to all parts of emergency medicine. Its current rosters show about 18 residents per class.
Residents train in the adult emergency department at the University of Chicago Medical Center, a large inner-city Level I trauma center on the South Side, and in the Comer Children’s Hospital pediatric ED. Community experience comes from the Endeavor Health Evanston and Glenbrook emergency departments.
Areas of focus include administration, EMS, global emergency medicine, medical education, pediatrics, simulation, social emergency medicine, trauma and ultrasound. A formal global emergency medicine track begins in the second year for residents with a strong career interest in the field, and a social emergency medicine track lets residents study how social conditions shape emergency care. The department offers fellowships in administration, EMS, global emergency medicine, medical education, simulation and ultrasound.
Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Residency
The Johns Hopkins program moved from three years to four in July 2008. Residents rotate through three emergency departments: The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore and Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center in Columbia, Maryland. The Johns Hopkins Hospital is a 1,000-bed Level 1 trauma center, and Bayview is a Level 2 trauma center that houses the regional burn center.
The curriculum builds responsibility in stages. Second-year residents spend eight weeks staffing the Bayview critical care bay, and the year includes a shock trauma anesthesia rotation at the University of Maryland. Third-year residents work in both academic and community settings and act as team leaders in the ED.
The fourth year is what sets Hopkins apart. Called Focused Advanced Specialty Training (FAST), it follows the format of a subspecialty fellowship, and residents work 1,080 clinical hours in the ED while building expertise in one area. FAST options include administration and leadership, critical care, disaster medicine, digital health, EMS and tactical medicine, geriatric emergency medicine, global emergency services, medical education, palliative care, pediatric emergency medicine, planetary health, research, social emergency medicine, toxicology and ultrasound. Residents can wait until the third year to choose.
University of Pennsylvania Emergency Medicine Residency
Penn Emergency Medicine runs a four-year curriculum that the program says allows greater breadth and depth of clinical experience. It has twelve categorical positions per year through the Match.
The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) is the home base, and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center is the program’s Level 1 trauma center. Residents also rotate at HUP Cedar, an urban community hospital, at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for pediatric emergency medicine, the PICU and transport, and at Pennsylvania Hospital. The curriculum begins with a four-week ultrasound rotation in the first year.
Penn’s strongest pull for many applicants is its fellowship and research base. The department lists fellowships in education scholarship, administration, EMS, global emergency medicine, hyperbaric medicine, research, ultrasound and addiction medicine, and it is affiliated with the Delaware Valley Toxicology Fellowship and CHOP’s pediatric emergency medicine fellowship. The department accepts ultrasound and hyperbaric medicine fellows every year.
New York University (NYU) Langone Emergency Medicine Residency
The Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine at NYU Langone runs a four-year residency that accepts 18 residents per year. Clinical training spans Tisch Hospital and Kimmel Pavilion, the Ronald O. Perelman Center for Emergency Services, NYU Langone Hospital Brooklyn and NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. Residents also work at a freestanding ED in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.
Simulation training uses the New York Simulation Center for the Health Sciences (NYSIM), a 25,000-square-foot facility at Bellevue. Toxicology is another strength: the New York City Poison Control Center sits across the street from Bellevue, and residents on the toxicology rotation serve as junior toxicology fellows.
NYU’s fellowship list covers clinical informatics, emergency medicine safety and quality, emergency simulation, emergency ultrasound, healthcare leadership and operations, medical education, medical toxicology and pediatric emergency medicine. Residents see public, private academic and borough hospital emergency care in one program.
University of Washington Emergency Medicine Residency
The University of Washington offers a four-year emergency medicine residency and welcomed 18 new interns in its most recent class. Harborview Medical Center anchors the training. Residents also work at UW Medical Center, Seattle Children’s Hospital and Valley Medical Center, a community hospital.
UW has standardized pathways for residents interested in critical care, EMS, global health and ultrasound. The EMS pathway has air medical and ground EMS options, and a population health pathway lets residents focus on social emergency medicine, rural health or global health. Individualized pathways are available in quality improvement and patient safety, education, toxicology, simulation and research. In the third and fourth years, residents design their own career development tracks.
For residents interested in prehospital care, the EMS pathway and EMS fellowship sit in the same department. UW offers five fellowships (advanced emergency ultrasonography, EMS, global emergency medicine and rural health, medical education research and population health research) plus collaborative fellowships in critical care medicine and clinical informatics.
Mayo Clinic Emergency Medicine Residency
The Mayo Clinic Emergency Medicine Residency in Rochester, Minnesota recently changed length. It matriculated the first class of its expanded 48-month curriculum in the summer of 2025 and is approved for nine residents per year. That makes it the smallest program on this list, and residents get close faculty contact as a result.
The main training site is the Saint Marys Campus of Mayo Clinic Hospital, whose emergency department sees more than 85,000 visits a year. Residents also rotate at Mayo Clinic campuses in Florida and Arizona and at Mayo Clinic Health System community sites. Mayo runs a separate emergency medicine residency in Arizona, so check which campus you are applying to.
Specialty tracks began in the 2025-2026 academic year. The program compares them to a college minor: they are offered to every resident but are not required for graduation. Current tracks are clinical innovation and informatics, critical care medicine, education, emergency medical services, global health, pediatric emergency medicine and research, plus a mini track in Indigenous people’s health. The department also offers a one-year EMS fellowship in Minnesota.
Mount Sinai Emergency Medicine Residency
The Mount Sinai Hospital Emergency Medicine Residency in New York uses a PGY-1 to PGY-4 format and offers 18 PGY-1 positions in the Match. Residents train at The Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan and at Elmhurst Hospital Center, a Level I trauma center in Queens, and spend time at Mount Sinai Queens during the third and fourth years.
Scholarly tracks are central to the program, which currently offers about 20 of them. They include administration, critical care, EMS and disaster medicine, global health, health policy, informatics, medical education and simulation, palliative care, pediatrics, quality, research, sports medicine, telemedicine, toxicology, ultrasound, wilderness medicine, women’s studies and wellness. A combined social emergency medicine and diversity and inclusion track is for residents interested in how social determinants of health shape emergency care. Senior residents often treat their tracks as mini-fellowships.
Toxicology training draws on the department’s medical toxicology division, whose faculty mentor senior residents on the toxicology track and help them apply for toxicology fellowships. The division also works with the New York City Poison Control Center on its annual Toxicology for the Emergency Practitioner course. Mount Sinai’s fellowships include simulation and medical education, pediatric emergency medicine, ultrasound, sports medicine and research, and the system also runs a combined emergency medicine and critical care residency.
Strong emergency medicine training also happens at many county, community and academic programs not listed here, and the best fit depends on your goals and where you want to live.
3-Year vs 4-Year Emergency Medicine Residency Programs
Emergency medicine is one of the few specialties where accredited programs come in two lengths. ACGME program requirements state that emergency medicine residencies are configured in 36-month and 48-month formats and must include at least 36 months of clinical education. Both lengths lead to the same place: graduates of an ACGME-accredited emergency medicine program are eligible for board certification through the American Board of Emergency Medicine.
Three-year programs are the national norm. A 2025 analysis of ACGME data counted 232 three-year programs (81%) and 54 four-year programs (19%). By February 2026, ACGME reported 298 accredited emergency medicine programs.
Program length was debated in 2025 and 2026. ACGME proposed in early 2025 that every emergency medicine program move to four years, then deferred the decision. In June 2026 it approved revised requirements, effective July 1, 2028, that keep both the 36-month and 48-month formats. Applicants in the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 cycles will still choose between both lengths.
What a Fourth Year Usually Adds
- Protected time for a niche. Hopkins’ FAST year runs like a fellowship, and Michigan’s tracks run through the third and fourth years.
- Senior supervisory roles. Fourth-year residents often supervise junior residents and students, much as attending physicians do.
- More elective and off-service time for ultrasound, critical care, EMS, administration or research.
- A slower pace for the same core content, which some residents prefer and others see as one more year at resident pay.
What a Three-Year Program Offers
- An earlier start to attending practice and attending salary, which matters to residents carrying medical school debt. Our guide to how much resident doctors make covers how training pay compares.
- Compressed, high-volume training. Emory, Indiana and UChicago all pair the shorter format with large, busy urban EDs.
- Fellowship access after graduation, since three-year graduates apply to the same fellowships as four-year graduates.
On this list, the three-year programs are Emory, Indiana University and the University of Chicago. The four-year programs are HAEMR, Stanford, UCSF, Cincinnati, Michigan, Johns Hopkins, Penn, NYU Langone, the University of Washington, Mayo Clinic and Mount Sinai. If you are deciding between formats, ask each program what its fourth year actually contains. A fourth year spent mostly in the ED is very different from one with protected fellowship-style time.
How to Choose an Emergency Medicine Residency
Reputation builds a shortlist, but residents spend three or four years inside a program’s schedule, culture and patient population. These factors matter most once training starts.
Patient Population and Training Sites
Look at the mix of sites. County and safety-net hospitals such as Grady, Bellevue, Zuckerberg San Francisco General and Harborview bring high acuity, trauma and patients with limited access to care. Community sites teach efficient practice and flow. A dedicated pediatric ED rotation matters because you will see children in almost any emergency medicine job.
Program Length and Structure
Decide whether you want a three-year or four-year format, then compare how the years are built. Block schedules, the timing of ICU months, when residents take on supervisory roles and how much elective time exists all shape daily life.
Tracks and Fellowships
If you already lean toward ultrasound, toxicology, EMS, critical care or global health, check whether the program has a formal track and an in-house fellowship. Having both usually means more mentors and more chances for scholarly work.
Mentorship and Research Support
Ask how residents get matched with mentors, whether there is protected research time and what recent graduates published or presented. Programs with large fellowship lists usually have more faculty doing research, but smaller programs can offer closer attention.
Culture, Wellness and Location
Ask current residents about schedules, backup on hard shifts and how the program handles burnout. Cost of living, distance from family and where you want to practice afterward all count too.
Emergency Medicine Residency Application Timeline for 2026-2027
The most important update: emergency medicine no longer uses ERAS for residency applications. Starting with the 2025-2026 cycle, the specialty moved to ResidencyCAS, and CORD confirmed that every emergency medicine residency program uses it. Emergency medicine applicants still register for the Match but do not need MyERAS unless they also apply to a specialty that uses it. Our ERAS residency application guide covers other specialties and dual applications.
Key Dates for the 2026-2027 Cycle (Residency Starting July 2027)
- June 4, 2026: the ResidencyCAS application cycle opened. The AAMC’s 2027 ERAS season opened the same day for other specialties.
- September 2, 2026: applicants could begin submitting ResidencyCAS applications.
- September 17, 2026: ResidencyCAS application deadline, 11:59 p.m. ET.
- September 23, 2026: programs could begin viewing applications at 9:00 a.m. ET.
- September 2026 through January 2027: typical window for interview offers, with interviews recommended to be virtual and scheduled through ResidencyCAS.
- Late winter 2027: applicants and programs submit rank order lists, and Match results follow in March.
- July 2027: new interns start residency.
Program Signals
Applicants in the 2026-2027 cycle have five program signals each, and CORD advises against signaling programs where you did a core home or away rotation. Use signals on programs where your interest would not otherwise be obvious.
SLOEs and Away Rotations
The Standardized Letter of Evaluation (SLOE) is the core of an emergency medicine application. CORD describes it as a letter of evaluation, not a letter of recommendation, written by emergency medicine faculty at a site with an emergency medicine residency. Specialty guidance strongly recommends having one eSLOE uploaded before applications are released, ideally with a second from a different emergency medicine rotation, along with at least three and no more than four letters in total. It also strongly recommends one or two away rotations in emergency medicine.
Planning Ahead for 2027-2028
If you will apply in the next cycle, start planning visiting rotations early. CORD’s advising committee notes that many visiting rotation spots fill in the spring or early summer, and that applications missing two SLOEs by review time can be marked incomplete. Schedule your home emergency medicine rotation early in the fourth year of medical school, apply for away rotations in the spring and draft your personal statement over the summer. If a particular program is your first choice after interviews, our residency letter of intent guide explains how to tell them, and our overview of medical residency and fellowship shows how the pieces fit together.
International Medical Aid Consultation Program for Medical Residency Seekers
Students seeking a medical residency can get support and guidance through International Medical Aid’s Consultation Program, which helps applicants work through each stage of the residency application process.
Expert Guidance and Mentorship
- Personalized counseling: one-on-one sessions with experienced medical professionals, covering application strategy, personal statement review and feedback, and help with program selection and application materials.
- Mentorship from experienced professionals: guidance from people who have gone through the residency application process themselves, including their own experiences and tips, networking with professionals in several specialties and ongoing support through the cycle.
Application Support
- Resume and personal statement assistance: professional review of your resume for organization and errors, feedback on the content and structure of your personal statement, and suggestions for presenting your experiences.
- Letter of recommendation guidance: help identifying suitable letter writers, tips on requesting letters on time and review of letters so they reflect your qualifications.
- Interview preparation: mock interview sessions with feedback on common questions, clear answers, body language and tone.
Research and Networking Opportunities
- Access to research projects: connections to research opportunities that fit your interests and career goals, working alongside researchers and medical professionals.
- Networking events: chances to meet residency program directors, alumni and fellow applicants and to learn about different programs.
Ongoing Support and Resources
- Online resource library: articles and guides on residency programs, requirements and application strategy.
- Webinars and workshops: interactive sessions on interview skills, resume writing and personal statements, with time for questions.
- Post-match support: help with relocation, housing and financial planning, mentorship during the move from medical school to residency and continued access to resources and networking.
To learn more about the Consultation Program, schedule an appointment with IMA.
Building Toward Emergency Medicine Before Medical School
For pre-med students, the path starts with clinical exposure. Emergency department volunteering, EMT certification, scribing and shadowing an emergency physician all show you the pace of the specialty; our lists of ways to get clinical experience and questions to ask while shadowing a doctor help you plan, and how to become an emergency room doctor maps the full career path. IMA’s pre-med internships abroad place students in teaching hospitals in Mombasa, Kenya and Cusco, Peru, where most interns start in the emergency department and take part in supervised clinical care alongside licensed physicians; see all IMA internships. IMA’s medical school admissions consulting covers strategy sessions, application review, personal statement editing and interview preparation, and more advice is in our medical school guides.
Additional Resources
- American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP): the professional organization for emergency physicians in the United States, with clinical policies, advocacy and resources for residents.
- Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM): focused on emergency medicine research and education, with resources for students and residents considering academic careers.
- Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association (EMRA): the organization for emergency medicine residents and medical students, which publishes current ResidencyCAS updates and application guidance.
- Council of Residency Directors in Emergency Medicine (CORD): the program director organization behind the SLOE and the specialty’s signaling and interview guidance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best emergency medicine residency programs?
Widely respected programs include HAEMR (Harvard), Stanford, UCSF, Emory, Cincinnati, Michigan, Indiana, UChicago, Johns Hopkins, Penn, NYU Langone, the University of Washington, Mayo Clinic and Mount Sinai, chosen for reputation, high-volume sites and fellowship depth. The best fit depends on your goals, preferred length and location.
Is emergency medicine residency 3 or 4 years?
Both. Accredited emergency medicine residencies run in either a 36-month (PGY1-3) or 48-month (PGY1-4) format. Most programs nationally are three years, but many large academic programs, including Harvard, Stanford, UCSF, Hopkins, Penn and Mayo Clinic, are four years. Graduates of either format are eligible for emergency medicine board certification.
Are 4-year emergency medicine programs better than 3-year programs?
Not automatically. A fourth year usually adds protected time for a niche such as ultrasound, critical care, EMS or education, plus more senior supervisory experience. A three-year program gets you to independent practice and attending pay a year sooner. Choose based on how a program uses its extra year and on your career plans, not on length alone.
Do emergency medicine applicants use ERAS?
No. Starting with the 2025-2026 cycle, emergency medicine residency applications moved from ERAS to ResidencyCAS, and every emergency medicine program now uses it. Applicants still register for the Match. You only need MyERAS if you are also applying to a specialty that still uses ERAS.
What is a SLOE in emergency medicine?
A SLOE, or Standardized Letter of Evaluation, is a structured evaluation written by emergency medicine faculty, usually after you complete an emergency medicine rotation at a site with a residency program. Programs weigh it heavily, and specialty guidance recommends having one uploaded before applications are released. Most applicants aim for two SLOEs from different rotations.
When should I start preparing for an emergency medicine residency application?
Serious preparation starts in the third year of medical school, when you plan your home emergency medicine rotation and apply for away rotations, which often fill in the spring or early summer. Applications are submitted in early September of the fourth year, and interviews run from fall into January. Before medical school, steady clinical exposure and emergency department experience build the foundation.
How can pre-med students get emergency medicine experience?
Pre-med students can volunteer in an emergency department, train as an EMT, work as a scribe or shadow an emergency physician. A supervised clinical internship abroad, such as IMA’s pre-med programs in Kenya and Peru, where most interns start in the emergency department, adds hospital experience and exposure to global health.
