Smart Questions to Ask EM Programs

By Dr. Eye MD · Companion article to the Emergency Medicine Residency Interview Guide

The questions you ask reveal what you value — and in EM, they reveal whether you understand what actually matters in training. Generic questions ("What's the culture like?") waste everyone's time. The questions below are organized by what each one uncovers.

Training quality and volume

• What's your annual ED volume across all sites, and how many patients per hour do senior residents typically see?
• What's the trauma designation of your primary site, and how much dedicated trauma time do residents get?
• At what point do interns start running resuscitations — and what's the supervision structure when they do?
• What do graduating residents' procedure numbers look like — intubations, central lines, chest tubes, LPs?
• How is pediatric emergency exposure structured — dedicated peds ED months, or mixed?
• What's the ultrasound curriculum like — is there a dedicated rotation, and do residents get credentialed before graduation?
• How much elective time is there, and what do residents typically use it for?
• For four-year programs: how is the fourth year structured differently from the third — is it genuinely developmental time?
• For three-year programs: how do you fit everything in — what gets compressed, and what do graduates say they missed?

Off-service and breadth

• What do the off-service rotations look like — which services, and are EM residents treated as learners or labor?
• Is there dedicated ICU time, and how much?
• How much EMS exposure is there — ride-alongs, flight, event medicine, dispatch?

Academics and career development

• What are your board pass rates over the last three years — first-time pass rate specifically?
• Where do your graduates go — what percentage into community vs. academic practice, and which fellowships did recent classes match?
• Is there structured mentorship — assigned faculty mentors, or resident-driven?
• What research or scholarly activity do residents typically do, and is there protected time for it?
• Do residents get teaching opportunities — medical student teaching, simulation, didactics leadership?

Culture and wellness

• How does the program handle the circadian reality — how are nights structured, and is there recovery time built in?
• What's the moonlighting policy — when can residents start, and is it internal, external, or both?
• How do residents actually feel about the schedule — if I asked your interns anonymously, what would they change?
• What's the program's approach when a resident is struggling — academically, or personally?
• How diverse is the patient population, and how does the program train residents to care for underserved communities?

The things applicants are afraid to ask (ask them anyway)

• What's your attrition rate over the last five years — has anyone left, and why?
• How much boarding does your ED deal with, and how does that affect resident education?
• What's the relationship like between EM residents and consultants — are there services that are notoriously difficult, and how does the program support residents in those interactions?
• What's the faculty turnover been like recently?
• If you could change one thing about the program, what would it be? (Ask residents this, not the PD.)
• What surprised you most about this program — good or bad? (Ask residents.)
• Would you choose this program again? (Ask residents. Watch their faces, not just their words.)

How to use these

Pick five or six per interview day — two or three for faculty, two or three for residents. Never rapid-fire all of them; that's an interrogation, not a conversation. Match the question to the person: ask residents the questions about schedule, morale, and whether they'd choose the program again; ask faculty and the PD about curriculum, autonomy, and graduate outcomes.

And always ask with genuine curiosity. The best question-askers aren't performing intelligence — they're actually trying to decide if this program is right for them, and interviewers can feel the difference. "No questions" reads as "not interested," but a thoughtful, well-matched question reads as the opposite: someone who understands what this training actually is.

The guide includes the full 30-question list with category notes, plus every EM interview question framework with sample answers. The Emergency Medicine Interview Guide is here, and the extended edition with bonus content can be found on Amazon.