The Department of Emergency Medicine is committed to training Emergency Medicine residents in the most up-to-date technology available for the care of patients. Harbor-UCLA offers comprehensive training in Emergency Ultrasound, which includes trauma ultrasound, abdominal ultrasound, cardiac ultrasound and pelvic ultrasound.

Harbor-UCLA has four state-of-the-art ultrasound machines whose use are dedicated solely to the Emergency Department. Residents start their exposure to emergency ultrasound on their first rotation in the Emergency Department during their PGY1 year by doing ultrasounds with faculty and senior residents. All cases are submitted towards certification under the American College of Emergency Physician's Ultrasound Training Guidelines. There is an optional Emergency Ultrasound elective lasting from 1 to 4 weeks during the PGY2 or PGY3 year. This elective focuses on concentrated ultrasound scanning of the high acuity population in the Harbor ED in order to complete ACEP training criteria. In addition, elective participants have the option to acquire advanced skills in emergency ultrasound including evaluation for soft tissue fluid collections, deep venous thrombosis, and procedural applications such as line placement, lumbar puncture assistance, and thoracentesis/paracentesis/abscess drainage. A one year Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship is available for graduates of accredited EM residency programs.

Many clinical studies are ongoing in the DEM under the guidance of Research Director Roger Lewis, M.D., Ph.D. Residents may participate in current research projects within the the department or create a new investigation with approval. Residents may also work with faculty members on case reports, review articles, literature updates, and textbook chapters. A one to two year Research Fellowships is available for graduates of Harbor and other accredited EM residency programs.

Residents are involved with paramedics and EMS personnel on a daily basis in the Emergency Department. The ED is a Paramedic Base Station which receives approximately 4700 telemetry calls annually. Residents are trained to receive base station calls and are involved in the clinical teaching of paramedics. Residents do a rotation in EMS during their first year. Many residents also participate in an elective rotation with the County Air Squad Helicopter Rescue or with the Coast Guard. During their rotations, residents ride with paramedics, tour the dispatch center, participate in tape reviews, and review EMS guidelines. Residents may obtain more in-depth exposure to pre-hospital care with Marianne Gauche-Hill, M.D., the Pre-hospital Care Director.

The mission of the South Bay Disaster Resource Center (DRC) at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is to prepare both Harbor and nine neighboring hospitals to deliver effective and coordinated medical care to victims of terrorism and other multi-casualty incidents and public-health emergencies. The South Bay DRC is an extension of Harbor's Emergency Management Plan, and is funded with federal grant monies from the National Hospital Bioterrorism Preparedness Program. This federal program recognizes that hospitals 1) are on the frontline for terrorist incidents and other multi-casualty disasters, 2) will be the first responders in a bioterrorism incident, and 3) must coordinate emergency-management preparation and planning with their neighboring hospitals, and develop their “surge capacity”. The South Bay DRC is one of 11 multi-community DRC catchment areas established in Los Angeles County. Residents obtain in-depth exposure to disaster preparedness and management through lecture and frequent hands-on disaster management drills under the supervision of Amy Kaji, MD, PhD, the Director of the Disaster Resource Center.