Why you should consider the Combined Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics Residency Program

Front of Banner UMC Tucson ED

The Combined Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics training program is a five-year (60-month) training program that is approved by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the American Board of Pediatrics.

The University of Arizona accepts up to three outstanding individuals into the combined training program per year. Each resident spends 30 months of training in each department.

The goal of the combined training program is to train physicians to be fully competent emergency physicians and fully competent pediatricians. In doing this, graduates also become experts in pediatric emergency medicine. Residents complete all the requirements of both categorical emergency medicine and categorical pediatrics training but in 12 months less time. Residents who have completed the five-year training program are eligible for both the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the American Board of Pediatrics certification exams. You can read more about the specific requirements and how we squeeze two 3-year programs into one 5-year program by reviewing the Guidelines for Combined Training in Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics.

We strive to ensure that our combined residents are fully integrated into our categorical programs clincially, educationally and socially. You are a Pediatric resident while on a Pediatric block and an Emergency Medicine resident while on an Emergency Medicine block. Yet our combined residents and faculty still maintain an identity as "EM&Peds" that really makes our program special. We have a committment to diversity within our program that not only aligns with our institution's goals but also the goals of our residents. We strive for our program to be genuine and for our residents to feel at home within our community. Follow the links to learn more about our categorical Pediatric and Emergency Medicine residencies. 

There are three different routes to a career in pediatric emergency medicine. Of these options, we think combined training is the best! You can learn more about these options by reading "A Roadmap for the Student Pursuing a Career in Pediatric Emergency Medicine" or by looking at our FAQs page. You can also click here to listen to an interview on The Undifferentiated Medical Student podcast and here to listen to an interview with Medical School Headquarters.

Please feel free to email me for further information on Combined EM & Peds training. I wish you the best on your pediatric emergency medicine career!

Aaron Leetch, MD
Associate Professor and Program Director
Combined EM & Peds Residency Program
The University of Arizona College of Medicine
aleetch@aemrc.arizona.edu