Curriculum

EMS Disaster Medicine Fellowship at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center

The academic year is split into 13 four-week blocks starting July 1^st and ending June 30^th

The first month is an extensive orientation to the fellowship and the agencies we partner with. As we do not require any prior EMS background or experience, fellows will learn to operate all the equipment we use in the care of our patients, they will undergo emergency vehicle driver training and have didactic/skills labs to prepare them for the year ahead. The 2^nd month is an introduction to our EMS system, where the fellow will work with EMTs, Mobile Intensive Care Paramedics, Specialty Care Transport Unit nurses, Emergency Medical Dispatchers, Supervisors, Clinical educators and Administrators.

Rotations

Each fellow will rotate through 3 distinct aspects of EMS and Disaster Medicine with graduated responsibilities. These are Prehospital, Special operations and Medical Director/Admin.

Prehospital

The prehospital block consists of working directly with our Mobile Intensive Care Paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians and Nurses. Fellows will be assigned as a team member on Mobile ICUs providing advanced life support, Ambulances with EMTs providing basic life support and Specialty Care Transport Units providing interfacility transports. They will also work closely with supervisors in the field. When staffing a physician response vehicle, fellows will be able to integrate more advanced care typically found in hospitals to the point of injury/illness and supplement the care provided by our prehospital colleagues.

Special Operations

The special operations block prepares you to function in more austere settings. During the special operations block fellows will learn to function as a medical asset to various law enforcement special operations teams. They will participate in federal training opportunities and other courses. There will be opportunities to participate in international and domestic medical flights, caring for patients over long distances with few resources.

Medical Director/Admin

The medical director block allows the fellow to explore and learn the nuances of ensuring education, quality and safety in the prehospital medical setting. Fellows will participate in competencies to ensure the skills and knowledge of the prehospital practitioners. They will also have the opportunity to join sentinel event investigations. Each block the medical director fellow will present a virtual journal club with our faculty and partners.

On Call

All fellows will rotate 1 week of call. During the call week you will be expected to fulfill the duties of your rotation, additionally you will be on call from home to respond outside of conventional hours. Call activities may include high acuity patient transfers such as ECMO, tactical call outs, EMS rescues with prolonged extrication, MCIs, etc. The call system is an important experience in the curriculum as many practicing EMS physicians are often on call 24/7/365 for their services.

Conferences and Lectures

Weekly Didactics are Wednesdays from 1300-1800 hours. At the beginning of each conference day an operations meeting will be conducted. Each fellow will review their activities over the previous 2 weeks and go over the schedule for the following 2 weeks. Lectures will be provided reviewing the curriculum necessary for the in training exam as well as the EMS boards. Additional activities include: monthly research meetings, monthly procedural review, case discussions and individual meetings with faculty.

All fellows will attend the NAEMSP conference in January. They will have an opportunity to present a poster, attend lectures and network with colleagues from across the country. Additional training opportunities and conferences will be available during the year.