The Trident EM Residency has grown significantly since its founding in 2021 and has developed into an excellent site to train for a future in community emergency medicine. Trident residents practice and learn in multiple clinical settings. The ED at Trident Medical Center is busy and known for its high-acuity patients. Residents spend most of their training in this ED. It is the busiest trauma center in the Lowcountry, a thrombectomy-capable Stroke Center, and a STEMI and Comprehensive Cardiac Center. At Trident, there is access to a broad range of specialties including cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, gastroenterology, general surgery, infectious disease, neurology, neurosurgery, urology, vascular surgery, nephrology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, and otolaryngology. Shifts here are procedure-heavy and residents develop skills in critical care, time management, and coordination with other hospital teams. Summerville Medical Center is the other major training site. It serves a suburban population and has a dedicated Pediatric ED and the health system’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Service. The ED is higher volume but lower acuity, and residents develop skills in patient communication, efficiency, and coordination with outpatient care. Residents train in the Peds ED one block each year and then longitudinally with shifts each EM block throughout their senior years. Finally, residents work in freestanding EDs that are in low-resource areas ranging from urban to rural locations. The combination of settings optimally prepares graduates to work in the wide variety of EDs throughout the country. Trident faculty share their knowledge of EM and PEM, but many are fellowship-trained or have advanced degrees and can instruct on their areas of expertise.

Residents at Trident enjoy two additional major advantages. Our facility benefits from the significant resources of HCA Healthcare that specifically support a new simulation lab, a robust research apparatus, and future employment assistance and counseling. The program is assisted by national expertise in ACGME accreditation and a network of EM program directors that share experience and troubleshoot common problems. Next is the unrivaled allure of Charleston. Our residents delight in their proximity to the award-winning city, its outsized cultural offerings, gorgeous beaches and year-round warmth. For years, the South Carolina Lowcountry has attracted families and has grown at an enormous rate. Trident residents enjoy all that the region offers while being part of a rigorous community-centered training program.

We are delighted with what we have accomplished since the program’s inception in 2021, though this is still a new program. Students excited about taking ownership of their education, leaving their mark on the program, and training in a rigorous, community environment will excel here.