Emergency medicine at Stony Brook is a strong and vibrant specialty with an academic department in the School of Medicine and strong commitment to the emergency medicine residency. University Hospital, the major tertiary care center for eastern Long Island, offers the resident exposure to a wide range of clinical problems and an evolving regional emergency medical services system (EMSS). The academic Department of Emergency Medicine in the School of Medicine provides a home for dedicated faculty and residents to learn, teach, and pursue basic science, clinical, and health policy research. Being part of a major university, there is ample opportunity for collaboration and exchange with faculty and students from many other disciplines.

Recognizing the challenge of ensuring access to quality emergency care in this rapidly changing health care environment, the department is home to the Institute for Emergency Medicine Health Policy. The institute takes a multidisciplinary approach to issues such as emergency care financing, organization of EMSS, access for the uninsured, and related legislative and regulatory proposals. The resident will be exposed to major concerns faced in practice today, taught principles needed to interact with the political environment, and be better prepared to advocate on behalf of emergency patients in future debates of health care policy.

The environment at Stony Brook is ideally suited to instill in faculty and students a commitment to service and learning and prepare its graduates for success in emergency medicine in the 21st century. Our goal is to offer residents a path to develop the clinical competence, academic excellence, and administrative acumen to assume leadership roles in our field.

Mark Henry, MD FACEP