Animal laboratories for procedural education of emergency medicine residents

Many Emergency Medicine residencies incorporate animal laboratories into their training for procedural education because clinical opportunities to practice some emergency technical procedures are limited. To determine the proportion of Emergency Medicine residency programs utilizing animal laboratories, their characteristics, and the major impediments to providing animal laboratories, a cross-sectional descriptive survey of Emergency Medicine residency directors was conducted. Surveys were returned by 109/123 (89%) program directors. Ninety-four (87%) programs provide live animal laboratories for procedural training, an increase from previous studies. Although only 28% of directors knew the cost of the laboratories, this was the most commonly listed impediment (66%) to providing them. In conclusion, the use of animal laboratories for procedural training in Emergency Medicine residencies has increased in recent years. Cost is reported to be the most significant impediment to providing animal laboratories. The majority of program directors do not know the actual expense of providing animal laboratories.