Medical students from across Texas gathered in Houston this fall for a day of emergency medicine talks and activities. The Texas EMIG Colloquium, hosted by the Baylor Emergency Medicine Interest Group, was geared toward students interested in EM careers.
Shehni Nadeem, MD, a resident at Baylor College of Medicine, kicked off the colloquium with her keynote address, “Medical Students Are the Secret Weapon.” Her talk highlighted how students can make meaningful contributions to the field early in their careers. Throughout the day, attendees learned more about what drives success in EM. They learned how to strengthen their residency applications from EM clerkship director Navdeep Sekhon, MD, and found out how to develop leadership skills through EMRA from Sara Andrabi, MD. A panel of Baylor and UT-Houston residents also provided answers to essential student questions about life as an emergency physician.
Attendees also had the opportunity to engage in hands-on activities through skills stations and medical simulations. Students started off the morning by suturing lacerations on pigs' feet, performing ultrasounds on live actors, and intubating mannequins. In the afternoon students practiced taking on lead roles in managing patients with everything from benign chest pain to significant trauma. Every student even delivered a baby and learned how to manage medical emergencies on an airplane!
The first Texas EMIG Colloquium was started in 2014 by Vidya Eswaran, MD, a former BCM student who is now a resident at Northwestern. Evan Strobelt and Elias Kassir (current BCM EMIG presidents), led the effort to continue the tradition this year, drawing more than 70 attendees from seven medical schools across Texas. Some students even made the 10-hour drive from El Paso to Houston.
Funding for TEMIG came from EMRA and Baylor College of Medicine. We are also grateful to the Texas College of Emergency Physicians for advertising, to our speakers for devoting their time, and to our 15 volunteers for making this event a success.