What are the fellowship opportunities available?

Currently, Sports Medicine, Critical Care Medicine, Emergency Medical Services, and Palliative Care are available. Associate Scholar Fellowships are available in Education, International Medicine, Social Emergency Medicine, Injury Prevention, and Research.

Where is Iowa City?

Iowa City is 220 miles directly west of Chicago on Interstate 80. It’s also within a 4-5 hour drive to Milwaukee, Madison, Minneapolis, Omaha, Kansas City and St. Louis. It has the cultural, educational, social, and political opportunities of a bigger city with the values and ambiance of a Midwestern town. It’s clean, safe, nothing is farther than a 15 minute car ride, it has a great city bus system (with bike racks!), wonderful parks, sports, schools, and even sailing. Those who have lived here and left frequently return because what they were looking for was in their own back yard. But we’re not the only ones who think Iowa City is great: 

What’s the weather like in Iowa City?

It depends on what you like. For about two weeks every winter it’s very cold and windy and for two weeks every summer it’s really hot and humid. The rest of the time it’s pretty nice. We have a lot of sunny days even in the winter – 166 per year. Our average snowfall is 28”, average rainfall is 35”, average temperature in the summer is 72.6 and in the winter, 23.7. We consider our weather character building.

What is there to do in Iowa City when you’re not working?

There are 15 different festivals and art fairs, plus concerts and race events. There are many music venues, sports events and neighborhood street fairs and garden walks. We also have a really big mall and several smaller ones, 41 parks, nine golf courses, six public tennis courts, six public pools, some lakes and a reservoir with trails, camping, and boating. There are bike trails, some famous bookstores, a ton of galleries and excellent museums. There are half a dozen or more performing arts venues including Hancher Auditorium. There's always something going on. Find more information from the Iowa City/Coralville Convention and Visitors Bureau.

What’s Iowa City like for kids and families?

There’s ice skating, bowling, organized sports, 50 public parks, miniature golf, a great public library, a toy library, fun centers, swimming pools and three beaches, nine museums including a children's museum, dance companies and public recreation centers that feature many activities for kids and families at little or no cost. We also have 20 movie screens and 50-licensed daycare providers. The Iowa City schools are perennially ranked among the top schools in the nation. Iowa City is unique in the facilities and services available for individuals with disabilities. Many families who have a family member with a disability are reluctant to leave Iowa City because they cannot duplicate those services in another location.

Are there any job opportunities for my spouse/significant other?

Iowa City has a high rate of employment. Check out The University of Iowa's Dual Career Network. 

Is it possible to do an international elective in your program?

Yes! Our residents have traveled to Haiti, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, and Tanzania to name a few.

Is this a family friendly program?

Yes! We love children and support residents in their efforts to balance work with family life. We have several dual physician resident and faculty families and understand the stresses. Women residents receive up to 6 weeks of paid maternity leave after delivery. Men get 5 working days off for paternity leave. The house staff health insurance policy provides full coverage for spouses and children. There are several childcare facilities near the hospital and one on-site. The training program also has activities during the year where all family members are invited. 

Is there sufficient patient volume so that I can have multiple exposures to a variety of diseases?

Currently, the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics Emergency Department (ED) sees > 60,000 patients per year. Of these, approximately 82% are adults, and 18% pediatrics. Trauma patients represented approximately 22% of our patients, surgical non-trauma 8%, medical 58%, obstetric 5%, and psychiatric 8%. Of the patients seen in the ED, 30% are admitted to the hospital with approximately 4% being admitted to an intensive care unit.

Do you have a research project requirement for graduation?

Yes. Our program requires residents to complete a scholarly activity prior to graduation. We support this through a generous travel allowance to national meetings, a research curriculum, and an experienced research staff.  The scholarly activity requirements include: 

• A thorough review of the scientific literature relevant to their topic
• Generating a hypothesis research question
• Data collection and analysis
• Development of a publication-quality abstract or manuscript 
• Presentation of findings at national, state, regional, or local meeting

If you have additional questions please contact our program coordinator at nicole-hansen@uiowa.edu