YHEM Residency

Dr. Brent Becker has served as the Research Director for the Department of Emergency Medicine since 2016 and the Chair for the WellSpan Institutional Review Board (IRB) since 2021.  He was initially part of the ultrasound division after completing Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship at University of California Irvine, but subsequently transitioned into research.  Justin Putnam MD (Associate Research Director) and Kristen Oliff (Clinical Research Coordinator) round out the department’s dedicated research division. 

The research division facilitates the investigative and scholarly endeavors of our emergency medicine residents and faculty, as well as leads departmental participation in sponsored multicenter trials.  It assists with all components of investigator-initiated projects, from developing the research question to drafting a final manuscript and all the steps in between.  In addition to fostering ED-based research, the division supports extra-departmental research required to maintain accreditation for the WellSpan trauma and stroke programs.

With the practice of evidence-based medicine one of the core tenets of YHEM resident education, residents participate in a monthly journal club coordinated by the research division. A faculty member also hosts dinner the night before journal club in conference. Besides a nice social gathering, faculty take this opportunity to also discuss a nonclinical theme like family balance, finances, burnout, administrative career paths etc.

Our division-sponsored Research Interest Track affords academically inclined residents the opportunity to broaden their knowledge and experience with regards to research design, methodology, data analysis and scientific writing. We are proud to have recently won the 2024 ACEP Best Resident Abstract Award. The research division also coordinates and provides primary instruction for an ED-based undergraduate research associate program through the “Emergency Department Research” course offered at the nearby York College of Pennsylvania.