Establishing an EMIG

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Authors: Emtenan Bukhari, Farah Althikrallah, Liam Rautu

Establishing an EMIG can seem challenging, but following a structured approach makes it achievable and sustainable. In brief, you will need to gain recognition and support from your medical school by submitting a proposal outlining the purpose of the EMIG, the team responsible for coordinating the EMIG, and the activities you plan to host including logistical details such as funding. Once you have gained support and funding from your medical school, you will need to organize the activities, promote them to your student body, and maximize engagement.

Step 1: Define Your Purpose

Begin by clearly outlining how your medical school and students would benefit from an EMIG. Articulate a mission statement with objectives such as:

  • Educational Enrichment
    • Organizing lectures, seminars, and panels about emergency medicine
      topics
    • Providing hands-on workshops in procedures like airway management, suturing, ultrasound, and ECG interpretation
  • Mentorship and Networking
    • Connecting students with emergency medicine physicians, residents, and fellows for guidance
    • Supporting students applying for EM residencies through mock interviews and application advice
  • Research and Academic Development
    • Encouraging participation in emergency medicine research projects
    • Providing seminars on research design, data analysis, and scientific writing
  • Community Outreach and Public Health
    • Conducting CPR and first-aid training for the public
    • Coordinating disaster drills and community awareness campaigns
  • Leadership and Professional Growth
    • Developing communication, organization, and teamwork skills among members
    • Encouraging student leadership
Step 2: Recruit a Team

Every EMIG requires a dedicated executive team. The team size and structure depends on the size and scope of the EMIG.

Some EMIGs utilize a flexible team structure simply comprised of senior and junior executives. For instance, at Queen’s University School of Medicine (Kingston, Canada), senior executives are 2nd-year medical students and junior executives are 1st-year medical students. These executives share and distribute responsibilities including securing funding, planning and promoting activities, and hosting activities, amongst others. At the end of an academic year, 2nd-year medical students often resign from their roles before beginning their clerkship, junior executives are promoted to senior executives, and new junior executives are recruited from the incoming medical class at the beginning of the following academic year. This structure allows continuity within the EMIG leadership and handover of expertise.

Other EMIGs may choose to have a more structured team with traditional roles including President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Activity Coordinator(s), and Media and Marketing Officer(s), amongst others.

Tip: If your school already has established interest groups, reach out to them to see how you should organize your EMIG.

Tip: Try to find a faculty advisor — ideally an Emergency Medicine physician — who can provide logistical support and serve as a liaison with your medical school.

Step 3: Plan Your Annual Activities

Pick the activities your team would like to run, and figure out the logistics of running them.

Potential activities include:

  • Educational Workshops
    • Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support training
    • Suturing and wound management
    • Airway management and bag-mask ventilation
    • Point-of-care ultrasound
  • Academic and Career Sessions
    • Seminars on toxicology, trauma, and resuscitation
    • “Day in the Life of an EM Physician” panel
    • Residency application guidance and interview tips
  • Simulation and Skill Competitions
    • Inter-college simulation competitions
    • Disaster preparedness drills
    • Triage challenge or CPR relay
  • Community Outreach
    • Public CPR/first aid days
    • Blood donation campaigns
    • Awareness campaigns on heatstroke, drowning, and road safety

In terms of logistics for each event, identify the required personnel, equipment, meeting space, associated costs, capacity for attendees, and other details.

  • Example 1: A seminar may only require one or more qualified speakers and virtual meeting application and/or suitable meeting space (e.g., lecture hall). Speakers can include faculty, who are often happy to volunteer, and medical schools typically have meeting spaces you can book free of charge. The capacity is only limited by the size of the virtual meeting or physical space.
  • Example 2: A casting workshop could require trained personnel (e.g., physician, nurse, casting technician), casting supplies, and a suitable space (e.g., simulation lab). You would likely need to pay for the casting supplies, but the personnel may volunteer and space may be free of charge depending on your medical school. The capacity would depend on your budget and size of the physical space.

Tip: Start small — one or two events per semester — and scale up gradually.

Step 4: Secure Medical School Support

Gaining support through your medical school’s administration and/or student society provides legitimacy and benefits including:

  • Access to school funding and sponsorships
  • Permission to use university venues for events
  • Coverage under institutional insurance
  • Recognition on official university websites or other platforms

Gaining support and recognition typically requires some form of application or proposal.

  • If your medical school already has interest groups, there may be a formal application that you need to complete. For instance, Queen’s University School of Medicine (Kingston, Canada) interest groups are regulated by the Aesculapian Medical Student Society, which receives funding from the university to be distributed to interest groups. Between academic years, this society opens application forms where students can propose and establish new interest groups. At the beginning of the academic year, each interest group submits a detailed budget proposal outlining the activities they would like to host, and are allocated a finite amount of funding with which they independently run their activities.
  • If your medical school does not have interest groups, you may need to directly contact the administration at your medical school (e.g., student affairs). When doing so, it would be wise to have a formal, detailed proposal for your EMIG. Luckily, if you followed the steps above, you should have all the essential information to effectively advocate for and establish your EMIG. Click here for a template proposal letter that you can edit and send to the appropriate administration at your school (COMING SOON).
Step 5: Execute & Engage

Now that you have your team, objectives, plans, and support, all that’s left is to finalize your plans and host your activities.

Engagement in activities is essential to the success and sustainability of your EMIG. Strategies to increase participation include:

  • Formal announcements through email newsletters or social media (Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn)
  • Informal announcement through word of mouth
  • Providing certificates for event participation and volunteering
  • Posting event highlights and success stories.
  • Seeking feedback from students regarding the activities they would like to attend and their satisfaction with previous activities
  • Collaborating with local hospitals or communities, or other EMIGs

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback regarding establishing an EMIG, please reach out to us via our contact form.

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