Toxicology

Our toxicology rotation is overseen by Dr. Jeff Bernstein, a board certified toxicologist who has been a EM faculty at Jackson for over twenty years and is the medical director for the Florida Poison Information Center in Miami. The Miami Poison Center is the only poison control center in South Florida and oversees six different counties. In 2019, they responded to 48,195 calls. Of these, 35,982 were reported as known or possible exposures to potentially toxic substances (drugs, chemicals, bite/stings, food poisonings, etc.). Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Miami PCC took on the additional responsibility of taking calls for the Florida Department of Health COVID-19 hotline. They answered calls related to COVID-19 testing, symptoms, quarantine, reporting issues, serving as a key agent in educating healthcare providers and communities regarding COVID-19 infections.

During their PGY3 year, our residents have the opportunity to be part of the Jackson Hospital toxicology consult team and provide consults at the Miami poison center. Miami, unfortunately, has a large prevalence of polysubstance abuse and is also home to many unusual exposures related to marine toxins. They also receive training during the rotation on the epidemiology of poisoning and outreach techniques for preventing poisoning in people of all ages. Whether you are interested in pursuing a career in toxicology or not, this rotation is sure to provide a broad clinical exposure and has always been rated highly by our residents.