MEM (GWU-USA)

MEM Daily Class Attendance

Monthly RR Score

Quarterly Exam Score

Research Topics Suggestions

MEM Daily Class: Daily classes, monthly "rosh reviews", and interactions can effectively conduct formative assessments of residents. It involves gathering ongoing feedback on student learning and using that feedback to identify strengths and weaknesses and to make adjustments to improve learning outcomes. By conducting regular classes and reviews, EPs can monitor residents' progress and identify areas where additional support may be needed. Additionally, interactions such as discussions and one-on-one meetings can provide opportunities for personalized feedback and support. Ultimately, the formative assessment aims to help residents develop their skills and knowledge in a supportive, collaborative environment.

Morning Class Attendance

MEM Daily Class Attendance (Responses)

Monthly Rosh Review: It is primarily used as an adaptive learning tool rather than a strict performance measure. If a resident scores below 60%, they may be required to complete an additional 50 questions to reinforce their learning and address any knowledge gaps.

Monthly Rosh Review Score

Quarterly Exam: The residents must pass these exams with a minimum score of 70%, and the exams may be curved to account for differences in difficulty. The residents are allowed three attempts to pass the Quarterly Exam, and if they do not score at least 70% on any of those attempts, they will be required to undergo remediation before they are allowed to sit for the End of Year Exam (EOY).

End of Year Exam (EOY): It assesses the overall knowledge and skills at the end of the academic year. The residents must pass these exams with a minimum score of 50%, and the exams are not curved. The EOY also include the oral practical and must receive a passing grade (critical actions)- retake offered in the fall. Failure to pass will Require Remediation to move on to the next year of the program.

Practical Exam:

EOY PGY2: 1 Examiner, 2 cases (15 mins x 2) = 30 mins testing time

EOY PGY1: 1 Megacode case = 15 mis testing time

Result: Fail/Low Pass/Pass/High Pass

PGY1 & PGY2 End-of-Year OSCE

The OSCE does not assess how much you know. It assesses how safely and systematically you apply what you know.

The OSCE is designed to evaluate clinical decision-making, systematic patient assessment, and safe practice, rather than factual recall alone. Emergency physicians are not expected to know everything immediately; they are expected to think systematically, prioritise correctly, respond appropriately to evolving clinical information, and avoid causing harm.

Each station consists of a clinical scenario, followed by an appropriate procedure where applicable. Candidates are assessed on their ability to demonstrate:

- Systematic patient assessment
- Prioritisation of life-threatening conditions
- Clinical reasoning and decision-making
- Safe procedural performance

The examiner may provide prompts or clinical cues that reflect the dynamic nature of real emergency practice. Candidates are therefore assessed on their clinical reasoning and response to evolving information, rather than on memorising a predetermined script.

Failure to perform a required Critical Action, or performing a Harmful Action that places the patient at significant risk, may fail that station, regardless of performance in other domains. Critical Actions represent the minimum safe standard expected of an Emergency Medicine resident.

End of Program Exam (EOP): The passing score for the exam is 70%, and the exam is curved. If the resident fails to pass the EOP exam, they can retake it in the Fall. However, if they still need to pass the exam after the retake, they must undergo remediation before attempting the exam again the following year. The passing EOP exam is a requirement for receiving a full completion certificate. The EOP oral practical comprises two double cases and one complex team simulation case. The resident must receive a passing grade of 80% for critical actions performed correctly.

Practical Exam:

EOP: 2 Examiners, 2 cases each (15 mins x 2 = Case + Procedure) = 60 mins testing time. F/by Simulation on the next day

Simulaiton

The simulation examination assesses your ability to recognise, prioritise, lead, communicate, and manage an emergency patient safely and systematically. Treat the scenario as a real patient.

The examination assesses

Clinical reasoning ("What is happening?")
Technical skills ("Can you perform the procedure?")
Leadership and teamwork ("Can you manage the team and communicate effectively?")

During the examination, candidates are expected to:

Follow a systematic ABCDE approach.
Prioritise immediate life-threatening problems.
Communicate clearly and use closed-loop communication.
Demonstrate effective team leadership and delegate tasks appropriately.
Perform procedures safely and systematically when indicated.
Interpret clinical findings and investigations appropriately.
Reassess the patient after each intervention.
Summarise the diagnosis, management plan, and disposition at the end of the scenario.

Scenario progression: Patient arrives --> Initial deterioration --> Intervention --> Response --> Further deterioration --> Critical decision --> Disposition
Technical skills: Preparation --> Consent --> Sterility --> Technique --> Confirmation --> Aftercare
Clinical reasoning: Explain Diagnosis --> Differentials --> Priorities --> Treatment --> Disposition

MEM Quarterly Exam

"Being a competent ED physician is about more than just the test"

Thesis:

The timeline in place for residents to complete their thesis research includes the following steps:

The residents are expected to identify a topic for their thesis research within the first six months of the program.
Once a resident has identified a topic for their thesis research, they will need approval from both the scientific committee and ethics committee before proceeding with their study. The residents are expected to obtain this approval within one year of starting the program.

Research topic samples for the MEM residents at Aster MIMS Kottakkal (Responses)

GWU MEM Thesis Framework

A thesis usually becomes "Best Thesis" if it has: High Impact (changes practice), High Novelty (new idea), Strong Methodology (Sample size calculation, Multicenter, Prospective, Strong Statistics, Well powered, Clear outcomes, and Publication Potential.

Question → Methods → Sample Size → Statistics → Clinical Relevance → Publication Potential

The thesis is evaluated across five domains:

1. Administrative Completeness: The thesis must contain: Ethical approval, Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Limitations, Conclusion, Future research recommendations, References, Acknowledgements, Plagiarism report, and Oral presentation recording.

2. Scientific Methodology. The reviewer evaluates:

A. Objectives: Can the reader clearly understand (What question is being asked? Or why it matters?)

B. Methods: Can another researcher reproduce the study? Methods should clearly describe: Study design, Population, Inclusion criteria, Exclusion criteria, Data collection, Outcome measures

C. Sample: The study should explain: Who was recruited?, When?, How?, and Why this sample size?

One of the most common weaknesses in MEM theses is the absence of a formal sample-size calculation.

3. Statistical Quality. This is usually the most misunderstood area. The reviewer asks: Are the statistics appropriate? Not: Are the statistics complicated? Simple, correct statistics are better than sophisticated, incorrect statistics. The thesis should demonstrate: Confidence intervals, P values, an appropriate test, Measures of predictive performance, and Measures of accuracy

4. Academic Contribution. Reviewer assesses:

Salience (Is the topic important? Examples: High salience: Sepsis, Trauma, Stroke, GI bleeding, NEWS2, Cardiac arrest, etc. Low salience: Rare academic curiosities with little clinical application

Originality: Is something new being added? Originality can be: New intervention, New protocol, New population, New validation study. Originality is not mandatory for passing. It is mandatory to win awards.

5. Publication Potential. The reviewer asks: Could this become a paper? Not: Is this Nature-worthy? But: Could this reasonably be published after editing?. Most good MEM theses should be publishable.

The Five Numbers Every Thesis Should have