Contact Us
For more information about our program, please contact Gigi Dodd our program coordinator at (843) 692-3499.
Welcome from our Program Director
Welcome to the Grand Strand Emergency Medicine Residency Program!
The primary goal of our program is to teach well-rounded physicians to provide outstanding emergency medical care in an efficient and compassionate manner in order to prepare them for lifelong careers in emergency medicine.
Mission statement
The Grand Stand Medical Center Emergency Medicine Residency Program’s mission is to develop the next generation of physicians and physician leaders. As a part of HCA Healthcare, we are driven by a single mission: Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life.
This program is designed to offer residents a rewarding, educational environment where residents are provided individualized learning opportunities by faculty and staff who support and sustain one another throughout quality care delivery. Our faculty are committed to ensuring the residents' clinical experience and educational needs are fulfilled while expanding residents’ perspectives to be inclusive of cultures, values, and ideals.
Program overview
The Emergency Medicine Residency Program at Grand Stand Medical Center is a three-year, ACGME accredited program with twelve residency positions per year. The program is affiliated with the University of South Carolina and Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM).
Our Emergency Medicine faculty provide high-quality patient care with years of experience in emergency medicine including clinical toxicology, point-of-care ultrasound, environmental envenomation, shark attacks, and Advanced EMS training. Each is dedicated to educating and mentoring residents through didactic, clinical, and research experiences.
Grand Strand Medical Center is a 403-bed acute care hospital located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The Emergency Department houses an Accredited Chest Pain Center, Advanced Primary Stroke Center, Children's Center and the busiest trauma center in South Carolina.
Grand Strand Medical Center has a state-of-the-art Simulation Center. The simulation curriculum aids residents in mastering skills in a safe and interactive environment.
Program Highlights
- Top ten percent of emergency medicine resident and faculty ACGME satisfaction surveys in the U.S.
- Outstanding procedural experience: all PGY2 perform over 55 intubations in 1.5 years
- Ultrasound fellowship: two positions (both filled for 2021–2022 academic year)
- Toxicology consult service: marine envenomation, snake/shark bites
- University of South Carolina and VCOM Affiliations
- Six faculty members with prior Outstanding EM Teacher Award
- Excellent research support
- Published three textbooks in Emergency Ultrasound
- Electives available in Sports Medicine (Coastal Carolina University facilities) and Global Health
- Busiest Level 1 Trauma Center in South Carolina
- Diverse patient populations with very high acuity level and over 110,000 ER visits per year
- Some of the best Times-to-Cath-Vessel-Opening for STEMI in the US
- Excellent IR Program for CVAs: time to tPA less than 30 minutes over the last three months
- EMS innovations: prehospital antibiotics for sepsis
- The second fastest-growing community in the US with the cost of living well below the national average
Curriculum and rotation schedule
Our expertly crafted programs are designed to provide resident physicians with all the experiences and training necessary for professional success.
Conference schedule
Conference schedule
Wednesday
Emergency Medicine Conferences are five hours of Grand Rounds Presentations every Wednesday morning.
Residents attend presentations for other departments or visiting lectures.
| 7:30am – 8:30am | Reading Group by Residency Year |
|---|---|
| 8:30am – 9:30am | EM Foundations & EM Fundamentals |
| 9:30am - 10:30am | Attending Grand Rounds Presentation |
| 10:30am - 11:30am | Resident Grand Rounds Core Curriculum Presentation |
| 11:30am - 12:30pm | Rotating Conference |
| 12:30pm - 1:30pm | Rotating Simulation Lab |
Each month, residents have
- Simulation Lab
- Journal Club
- Research Topics
- Scholarly Track
Twice per month, residents have Morbidity and Mortality conferences.
Salary and benefits
| Year | Salary | On-Call Meals | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| PGY1 | $58,677 | $950 | $59,627 |
| PGY2 | $60,445 | $950 | $61,395 |
| PGY3 | $62,254 | $950 | $63,204 |
HCA Total Rewards:
The HCA Total Rewards program offers the following benefit options for residents and their families/dependents:
Health and welfare benefits plan:
- Medical
- Dental
- Vision
- Wellness
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Health Care and Day Care Flexible Spending Accounts
- Life and AD&D Insurance and Dependent Life Insurance
- Long-Term Disability
- Employee Assistance Program
- Voluntary Core Plus Benefits
- Auto & Home Insurance (Note: Home insurance not available in all locations)
- Legal Benefit
- Long-Term Care
- Short-Term Disability
- Voluntary Permanent Life Insurance
Retirement Benefits:
- 401(k) Plan
- Paid Time Off - 15 days of PTO per year; 5 days of Conference travel
- Consumer Discounts - Mobile access to over 125,000 discounts including phone and automobile
- In-Service Training Exam
- Hospital Laptop and Cell Phone - Equipment distributed to new residents
- State License and DEA Provided - Hospital covers the expense for physician training license and DEA
- BLS/ACLS/PALS/ATLS Training - Hospital provides annual training certificates to physicians in training
For the ERAS® cycle, our program will be collecting and reviewing data from applicants' supplemental ERAS applications. Completion of the standard MyERAS application is a requirement; completion of the supplemental ERAS application is optional.
In its second year of use, the supplemental ERAS application is designed to help applicants share more information about themselves and assist our program in finding applicants that fit our program's setting and mission. There is no cost to applicants and participation is optional.
The supplemental ERAS application provides:
- geographic preferences (by division and by urban or rural setting);
- information about an applicant's most meaningful experiences and other impactful life events, if applicable; and
- program signals.
The supplemental ERAS application will be delivered on a survey platform that is separate from the MyERAS application and must be completed between August 1 and September 16.
Frequently asked questions
Applications are accepted beginning in mid-September for the following year's class. Our programs are accepting only electronic applications through ERAS (the Electronic Residency Application Service). The required documents for an application are the same as ERAS (two letters of recommendation, the Dean's letter, formal transcripts, USMLE/COMLEX transcripts and a personal statement). We would like at least one of the letters to be from a physician in the specialty you are applying for.
Applicants must have passed USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) Step 1 and have taken both components of Step 2 or the COMLEX (Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination) Level 1 and have taken both components of Level 2. For standardized test scores, those candidates who have passed both step 1/step 2 USMLE or level 1/level 2 COMLEX with high scores on the first attempt will be considered more competitive in that category.
The Emergency Medicine program has been approved for 36 total residents (12 per PGY 1-3).
Grand Strand Medical Center is a 371-bed acute care hospital. The Emergency Department houses an Accredited Chest Pain Center, Comprehensive Stroke Center, Level II Pediatric Trauma Center and is the busiest Level 1 Adult Trauma Center in South Carolina.
Our Emergency Medicine faculty provide high-quality patient care with years of experience in emergency medicine, including clinical toxicology, trauma ultrasound, environmental envenomation, marine life related injuries and aeromedical services. Each is dedicated to educating and mentoring residents through didactic, clinical and research experiences.
Please contact Gigi Dodd, GME Emergency Medicine Program Coordinator, at (843) 692-3499.
Yes, our residents and faculty are currently involved in several research projects. Areas of expertise for our faculty include:
- Trauma
- Cardiovascular and Infectious Disease/Sepsis
- EMS
- Toxicology
- Ultrasound
- Pediatrics
Residents are required to complete one Scholarly Activity Project during their three-year training program. Dr. Scott Gutovitz is the Research Director for Emergency Medicine and spearheads this initiative. He meets with the residents individually to help tailor their interests and structure their projects. Here are some accomplishments of our residents' projects for the first two classes:
- Presentations at ACEP Scientific Assembly
- Poster presentation at SAEM Annual Meeting
- Presentation at SAEM Annual Meeting
- Peer-Reviewed Publications
- Outside Grant Funding
- Stat Pearls publications
- Podcasts on PoisonBoy website
Other research-related resources available to help residents include:
- GME Research Coordinator
- Access to VCOM and USC medical libraries
- HCA pilot grants (GRAD award)
- Monthly research meetings for both Department of EM and GME Research
- Support of a statistician
- USC summer medical student internship
- Annual Resident Research Symposium for all GME program
- Research stipend available for travel/conference costs
We accept applications through ClinicianNexus.