Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 April 2018
The 2015-2016 academic year was the fourth year since the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME; Chicago, Illinois USA) accredited Emergency Medical Services (EMS) fellowships, and the first year an in-training examination was given. Soon, ACGME-accredited fellowship education will be the sole path to EMS board certification when the practice pathway closes after 2019. This project aimed to describe the current class of EMS fellows at ACGME-accredited programs and their current educational opportunities to better understand current and future needs in EMS fellowship education.
This was a cross-sectional survey of EMS fellows in ACGME-accredited programs in conjunction with the first EMS In-Training Examination (EMSITE) between April and June 2016. Fellows completed a 14-question survey composed of multiple-choice and free-response questions. Basic frequency statistics were performed on their responses.
Fifty fellows from 35 ACGME-accredited programs completed the survey. The response rate was 100%. Forty-eight (96%) fellows reported previous training in emergency medicine. Twenty (40%) were undergoing fellowship training at the same institution as their prior residency training. Twenty-five (50%) fellows performed direct patient care aboard a helicopter during their fellowship. Thirty-three (66%) fellows had a dedicated physician response vehicle for fellows. All fellows reported using the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP; Overland Park, Kansas USA) textbooks as their primary reference. Fellows felt most prepared for the Clinical Aspects questions and least prepared for Quality Management and Research questions on the board exam.
These data provide insight into the characteristics of EMS fellows in ACGME-accredited programs.
ClemencyB, Martin-GillC, RallN, PatelD, MyersJ. US Emergency Medical Services Fellows. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(3):339–341.
Conflicts of interest/funding/disclaimer: The EMSITE is produced by University at Buffalo’s Division of EMS (Buffalo, New York USA). It is not affiliated with the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM; East Lansing, Michigan USA) or the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP; Overland Park, Kansas USA). The 2016 EMSITE was sponsored by educational grants from American Medical Response (AMR; Greenwood Village, Colorado USA). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. This study was presented in abstract form at the National Association of EMS Physicians’ Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana USA in January 2017.