FEEDBACK OF FACULTY APRIL 2010

Faculty Visit: April 2010
Dr Shweta Gidwani, Emergency Physician, London
GWU Adjunct Faculty, Division of International Emergency
Medicine.
shwetagidwani@gmail.com

Feedback:
Program of Masters in Emergency Medicine at Max
Delhi:
This is a structured and well‐delivered program and it
benefits from very direct guidance from the GWU EM
Faculty. This direct involvement along with a strong
leadership for Dr Kole allows for the creation of one of
India’s most structured EM residency programs, as of the
present. However, there is a still a wide translational gap ‐
from curriculum to practice‐ that still needs bridging.
However, I think this is a feature of any emerging specialty
and, in time, as more EM residents get trained, more faculty
will come on board and the program will strengthen.
Further, I will add that the onus of bridging this translational
gap at this stage, falls squarely on the residents. They will
need to take a more pro‐active approach to gaining a
broader learning of the specialty if they are to truly emerge
as ‘specialists’ in the field of Emergency Medicine – and they
must do this with some seriousness.
There are many ways of doing this, even in the current setup
– for all the learning there has to be had in EM, is form
the very ‘specialists’ that exist in every hospital ! Its merely a
matter of knowing what you need to know and how to apply
it to the ED setting – I have already talked about some ways
of ‘creating’ learning opportunities ‐ building relations with
other specialties eg radiology, paediatrics; holding joint
academic meetings; inviting other faculty to participate in
departmental journal clubs, attending national EM meetings
and working towards international accredited exams such at
MCEM (Membership of the College of Emergency Medicine,
UK). Further I would like to emphasize that the modules of
Trauma/ Ortho and Paediatrics need strengthening and the
residents may need to pay more attention to seek
supplemental training to cover this shortfall.
Finally, as with any new specialty, it is those who take on the
less‐trodden path, that will find the most satisfaction and
success !
Leadership
Dr Kole has a clear and committed focus to the development
of Emergency Medicine in India. He has international
experience in Emergency Medicine and through his
leadership he has been able to demonstrate the ability to
translate the essence of Emergency Medicine in the novice
Indian setting. Under his leadership, the academic
curriculum of Emergency Medicine in the form of MEM has a
bright future. I congratulate Dr Kole for taking this on and I
am sure his residents will benefit from his foresight.
Finally I would like to add that I enjoyed my interaction with
the faculty and residents and look forward to future visits.