Basics
How many patients does the Cooper ED see annually?
Approximately 84,000 patients come through our 47 bed ED (with a total of 70+ patient care spaces) each year. Though it depends on the day and shift, our ED averages approximately 230 patients per day.
What is the patient demographic at Cooper?
Located in the heart of Camden, NJ, our patient population is diverse. In addition to caring for the underserved residents of Camden, we also care for patients from across the greater South Jersey region. Our demographic is broad due to our affiliation with MD Anderson Cancer Center and our standing as the only Level 1 Trauma Center in South Jersey.
Which hospitals do your residents rotate at?
We spend the vast majority of our time at The Coop! However, during second and third year we rotate through a community site, Virtua Memorial Mount Holly Hospital. We also spend one month during second year in the Pediatric ICU at St. Christopher’s in North Philly.
Which EMR do you use?
The entire Cooper Health System uses EPIC.
What is your ED’s standing in your hospital?
Our department is well-regarded and well-represented within the hospital. We work alongside some incredible attendings who still work clinically despite their administrative duties and as such are always working to improve our department. Walking through our department you might bump into Cooper’s Co-President/CEO Dr. Anthony Mazzarelli (aka our attending, Mazz) or our Department Chair and member on the Board of Trustees, Dr. Michael Chansky (aka our attending, Chan, or “Boss,” as he is affectionately known). As residents, we also enjoy interacting and learning from a plethora of consulting services.
What is your department like?
Our department really is a family and we’re very proud of that. From the attendings to the residents, nurses, and techs, we are all on a first name (or nickname) basis.
What fellowships does Cooper offer?
Cooper currently offers fellowships in Critical Care (currently includes 2024 grads Erin Kern and Hannah Crowley), EMS, Palliative Care, Ultrasound (currently includes 2024 grad Edward Guo), Addiction Medicine and Medical Education (currently includes 2024 grad Sean Leary).
Clinical Experience
What’s your ED schedule like?
During each 28-day ED block our PGY-1s typically work 21 shifts, PGY-2s work 20 shifts, and PGY-3s work 19 shifts. Most shifts are 9 hours (7am-4pm, 3pm-12am, and 11pm-8am). Our chiefs are pretty awesome about getting our schedule out about two months in advance and accepting requests ahead of time which makes it easy to schedule around life events, and if something comes up more last minute someone will almost always volunteer to switch shifts with you.
Do you follow circadian scheduling?
We do not have a strict circadian schedule because our residents prefer the flexibility and ease of trading shifts that our current scheduling system allows. However, we still keep circadian changes in mind when creating the schedule.
Are interns “allowed” to see sick patients?
Absolutely. From day one we make sure our interns are getting into sick rooms, managing airways, doing their own procedures, and getting comfortable with unstable patients. That being said, you will always have the support of an upper year or attending behind you. While our interns focus on getting comfortable in the department and caring for unstable patients, our second years work toward increasing their patient volumes, and our seniors focus more on teaching the medical students and interns and running the department as a whole.
Curriculum
Here’s a link to our Curriculum.
How are traumas managed between EM and surgery?
With over 2,200 trauma visits annually, Cooper has the busiest Level 1 Trauma Center in NJ. As a result, we handle Trauma a bit differently than most. Patients who meet Trauma Alert criteria are seen in our Trauma bay, which is staffed jointly by Trauma Surgery and the EM residents rotating on Trauma. Trauma airways are managed by one of the second or third year EM residents who respond (i.e., come over from the main ED side) to all the Trauma Alerts. We spend 2.5 blocks total dedicated to rotating through Trauma throughout residency. Patients involved in trauma but do not meet Alert criteria are seen in the main ED which augments our already robust Trauma experience.
Let’s talk Crit Care.
We’re extremely proud of our critical care experience. Our schedule includes 7 months total of ICU time which includes rotations through the medical ICU, cardiac ICU, trauma/surgical ICU, pediatric ICU and critical care consult team. We work alongside some incredible clinicians including EM/critical care doc Haney Mallemat of FOAMed fame and several dual boarded EM/Critical Care faculty. As a result, our graduates are extremely comfortable with critically ill patients and those who are interested in a critical care fellowship are very competitive.
What’s your Pediatrics experience like?
We have a combination of designated blocks in our attached pediatric emergency department and integrated pediatric EM shifts throughout the year. We also see pediatric patients on every overnight shift in the ED. This structure affords us the opportunity to have concentrated time learning pediatrics, while also maintaining longitudinal exposure in a specialty with inherent seasonality. We are proud to work directly with many Pediatric EM trained physicians. EM residents get many pediatric procedures as there are not PEM Fellows at Cooper.
Who We Are
Where do your residents live?
About half of us live right across the bridge in Philly (~15 minute drive or a 10 minute ride on the PATCO); the other half lives nearby in the NJ (primarily Cherry Hill, Collingswood and Haddonfield regions)
Do your residents get together outside of the hospital?
Of course! We love grabbing drinks together after shifts, going to Philadelphia sporting events (go Phillies!), taking trips to the beach, and just hanging out together. Some of our favorite department-sponsored events include our annual residency retreat to the Jersey Shore, poolside journal clubs, Byrne’s game night, and the annual holiday party.
What common interests would you say many of your residents share?
We love our pups (and cats!); we’re also into hiking, Peloton-ing (#CooperEM), running, trips to the beach, beer gardening, bar trivia, going to concerts at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, exploring Philly’s awesome restaurant scene...the list goes on!
Why should I train at Cooper?
If you’re interested in working in a high-energy, fast-paced, high-acuity emergency department caring for a diverse patient population alongside incredible friends and teachers, Cooper might be the place for you. We look forward to meeting you, virtually or otherwise!
How can I find out more about your program?
You can follow us on Instagram @CooperEM_Residency and Twitter @CooperEMed. We also will be having frequent virtual Meet and Greets with the residents and faculty virtually throughout the summer and fall (You can find the most up to date schedule on our Instagram and Twitter accounts!) There are also several Open Houses offered by the GME Office where our current residents give a tour of the Hospital and the Department. Also, please don’t hesitate to reach out and email our chiefs with any specific questions -you can find our emails under our welcome message here.
