Naval Medical Center Portsmouth Program

Program Identity & Fit

Naval Medical Center Portsmouth is a military-sponsored Emergency Medicine residency built specifically to produce operational, deployment-ready physicians rather than generic civilian EM graduates, blending high-acuity trauma and critical care training with combat casualty care skill sets. Residents rotate through a network of Level I-III trauma centers (Sentara Norfolk General, Riverside Regional, Chesapeake Regional), a dedicated pediatric ED at CHKD, a toxicology rotation in Denver, and NMC Camp Lejeune, giving broad exposure to both civilian trauma volume and military-unique presentations like blast and high-velocity gunshot injuries. Research is institutionally distinctive: the Combat Trauma Research Group, housed within the department, is a mission-driven, faculty-embedded research engine producing peer-reviewed publications on hemorrhage control, TCCC guideline development, and battlefield resuscitation, with residents expected to generate scholarly work beyond a pro forma ACGME requirement. The program clearly values operationally-minded physicians who can integrate clinical excellence with military leadership, deployment readiness, and translational battlefield research.