The costs of a mandatory emergency medicine clerkship for medical students: implementing the Josiah Macy Foundation Report

Abstract

A mandatory fourth-year clerkship was implemented for Emergency Medicine. An analysis was done to determine what the start-up costs and annual costs would be for such a clerkship and how much it would cost to introduce all medical students at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine to the basics of Emergency Medicine. The start up cost was shown to be $18,959.00 and the annual cost to be $51,178.00. The annual cost to educate each medical student is $568.00 per student. It is concluded that an Emergency Medicine course for all fourth-year medical students can be provided for at a cost of $568.00 per student. At a time of plateauing or decreasing resources for medical education and a nationwide emphasis on generalist training, an Emergency Medicine course can provide a cost-effective means to compliment generalist training.