University of Utah Health Program

Program Identity & Fit

The University of Utah Emergency Medicine Residency is an academic, university-based PGY 1-3 program built on a multi-site tertiary/quaternary model spanning its Level 1 trauma university hospital, the Intermountain Medical Center (a second Level 1 trauma/regional referral center), Primary Children's Medical Center (a high-volume pediatric Level 1 trauma referral center), and the Salt Lake VA, giving residents broad exposure across adult, pediatric, and veteran populations plus AirMed/Life Flight aeromedical systems. The curriculum is structured around a graded autonomy model culminating in PGY-3 supervisory, administrative, and prehospital medical-direction responsibility, supported by longitudinal ultrasound and EMS training, mock oral boards, and a substantial five-hour weekly didactic block. Faculty maintain active research programs in air/ground EMS, toxicology, airway management, ultrasound, and wilderness medicine, and the department houses fellowships in Global Health, Resuscitation Research, Wilderness Medicine, Sports Medicine, Ultrasound, and Medical Education, indicating a program that channels interested residents toward fellowship subspecialization and academic careers while still producing generalist, independent-practice emergency physicians. The program's outdoor/mountain-culture identity (ski patrol faculty, wilderness and rural rotations, Wyoming critical-access site) and its emphasis on faculty diversity of training and camaraderie suggest it values residents who are self-motivated, community-minded, and drawn to both high-acuity tertiary care and outdoor/rural medicine.