University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center Program

Program Identity & Fit

The University of Iowa Emergency Medicine Residency is a university-based, academic tertiary/quaternary program built around a Level 1 Trauma Center, Stroke Center, and Chest Pain Center, with an integrated pediatric ED and 60,000+ annual patient volume split between UI Health Care's main campus and a partner community hospital in Cedar Rapids for contrast in practice settings. Research is structurally embedded rather than incidental: the department runs a dedicated Physician Scientist Training Pathway (3-year residency plus 1-2 year fellowship with 75% protected research time) alongside a separate two-track Research Fellowship, full-time EM research staff, and 24/7 trial enrollment support, reflecting a department invested in producing independently-funded physician-scientists. Clinical training is broadened through AirCare flight medicine, longitudinal EMS exposure culminating in a dedicated EMS month, event medicine coverage, an optional critical-access hospital rotation in Washington, Iowa, and nine fellowship pathways (EMS, critical care, sports medicine, toxicology, ultrasound, palliative care, medical education, social EM, research). The program's four elective blocks, named pathways, and mentor-mentee infrastructure signal a preference for residents who will actively shape an individualized academic or subspecialty trajectory rather than pursue a generic community EM path.