Off Service, with Purpose: Creating Learner-Centered Experiences for Off-Service Residents

Academic emergency departments (EDs) host off-service residents (OSRs) from various specialties. While OSRs contribute meaningfully to patient care, they often face unique challenges during their ED rotations, including limited preparation, heightened stress, and unmet personal expectations. Despite a standardized curriculum endorsed by the American College of Emergency Physicians, guidance on how to foster meaningful educational experiences for OSRs remains sparse. This perspective offers a structured approach grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), which emphasizes autonomy, competence, and relatedness as essential to intrinsic motivation and effective learning. By aligning educational strategies with SDT principles, emergency medicine educators can enhance engagement, support learner development, and create lasting interprofessional collaboration. Ultimately, this learner-centered approach not only enriches the OSR experience but also strengthens the role of the ED as a dynamic, inclusive learning environment for all trainees.