Central Iowa Health System Iowa Methodist-Iowa Lutheran Program

Program Identity & Fit

This is a new, community-based emergency medicine residency (six categorical spots/year) built around Iowa Methodist Medical Center, the only Level 1 adult trauma and Level 2 pediatric trauma center in Des Moines, paired with Blank Children's Hospital, Iowa Lutheran's high-acuity psychiatric/medical population, Methodist West's lower-acuity suburban ED, and a single-coverage rural rotation at Grinnell. The curriculum is explicitly designed to produce broadly competent generalists capable of "any environment or fellowship," with structured exposure to HEMS/flight, EMS medical direction, ultrasound, and administration/quality electives rather than a research-first identity; scholarly activity exists through journal club, a longitudinal QI-focused Resident Quality Council, and an EMS/Admin/Research block, but is not positioned as central to the program's mission. As an inaugural ACGME-accredited program with a large hospital-employed faculty group and no procedural competition from other specialties for the same patients, it emphasizes individualized faculty mentorship (assigned day one) and hands-on simulation training. The program appears to value residents who want broad, community-rooted clinical autonomy across trauma, pediatric, psychiatric, and rural settings rather than a narrow academic research trajectory.