Letter from the Director
Philip M. Harter, M.D., Program Director
Welcome to the Stanford/Kaiser Emergency Medicine Residency web site. Thank you for your interest in our residency program. I hope that you will take a few minutes to read about our program and understand why we are so proud of it.
By way of history, our program was born in 1990, when we accepted our first 8 residents. The residency was conceived as a combined program with the academic center of Stanford University and its medical center; the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Santa Clara, as a community-based managed care hospital; and two major county hospitals, San Francisco General Hospital and Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (in San Jose). This combination of work environments has proven to be successful at preparing physicians to work in any emergency department environment, as well as allowing residents to experience these different environments to find a place in which they would like to pursue their careers. The additional advantage of this combination of experiences is that our 30 residents have access to over 200,000 patients per year, and the three level-1 trauma centers ( Stanford Hospital, San Francisco General Hospital and Santa Clara Valley Medical Center) see almost 7,000 trauma activations each year.
Over the next few years, we filled our program to its initial capacity of 24 residents. After an increased involvement by San Francisco General Hospital, we were able to increase the size to 30 residents.
Many people are surprised to find out that an academic center, like Stanford, would be host to a three-year emergency medicine residency. Our philosophy has always been that a 3-year program allows residents the most flexibility, and is better suited to the pursuit of an academic career. Those who wish to pursue clinical practice following residency are fully prepared to do so after three years. We encourage those who desire additional sub-specialty training or more academic experiences to pursue an additional year (or two) of training.
Our program offers two 4th year positions as Chief Resident (an attending level position with a faculty appointment in the School of Medicine), during which Fellowship training may be pursued. Examples of such Fellowships include Ultrasound and Faculty Development. We also offer a fellowship in Wilderness Medicine. Other fellowships that have been completed by our graduates include Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine Administration, Emergency Medical Services, Sports Medicine, and Toxicology.
The faculty members of the residency have broad and varied interests. Some are well known for their expertise in their fields; fields such as wilderness medicine, international medicine, technology in education, and wound management, among others. Stanford is a world class institution with many world experts in other fields, as well. Residents participate on services with these outstanding educators. The non-EM faculty participate in the education of our residents in conferences, journal clubs and bedside teaching.
In addition to a unique and stimulating work environment, the Stanford campus and surrounding community offer a variety of activities to improve the wellness of residents. The athletic facilities are world class. Stanford hosts many national and international sports competitions. These facilities are available for residents to use. In addition to athletics, the campus offers amazing libraries, musical and theatrical programs, and special visiting lecturers. Off campus is the San Francisco Bay Area, complete with mountain and road cycling, hiking, sailing, and, of course, my favorite city, San Francisco with its theater, restaurants, night-life and culture.
I hope this gives you a better idea of who we are. As I said, we are very proud of our people and our program. I would encourage you to contact me if you have any further questions about our program.
Phillip M. Harter, M.D., F.A.C.E.P.
Director, Emergency Medicine Residency
Internal Staff Login