WMed

Welcome to the WMed EMS Fellowship Course. Here you will find a number of educational resources, links to the fellowship calendar and textbooks, weekly reading tasks and quizzes.

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Faculty:
Joshua Mastenbrook MD - Program Director
Craig Dieringer MA, EMT-P - Program Coordinator
William Fales MD - KCMCA Medical Director
John Hoyle MD
William Selde MD
Stephanie Van Alsten MD
Mike Bentley MPA, EMT-P
Judy Wheeler MPM, EMT-P

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From ABEM:

"The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) fellowship is designed to provide physicians with proficiency in managing the breadth of clinical conditions and operational aspects encountered by EMS systems in non-traditional healthcare settings. Specifically, these encounters involve patients of all ages with the broadest possible spectrum of emergency illnesses and injuries. Emphasis is placed on initial identification and treatment of emergency conditions with limited resources in uncontrolled circumstances. Specific procedural skills necessary for patient stabilization and clinical practice are also integrated into training. Examples of such training that differentiates it from general emergency medicine residency training include patient extrication from accident scenes, airway management and use of advanced airway devices in challenging settings, use of spinal motion restriction devices in injured patients, application of lower extremity traction devices, and field triage. Further comparison between The Core Content of EMS Medicine and The Model of the Clinical Practice of Emergency Medicine reveal many additional substantive differences.

The entry-level EMS physician will have, at a minimum, knowledge of, training in, and practice proficiency in all aspects of prehospital emergency medical care. This will allow the entry-level EMS physician to care for patients in the prehospital setting as well as to respond with, educate, direct, and oversee the delivery of EMS care by all levels of prehospital personnel. EMS physician training includes the following components represented by the four major sections of The Core Content of EMS Medicine:

1.0  Clinical Aspects of EMS Medicine 

1. Assessment, initial identification, and management of acute injury and illness, translated and adapted for the prehospital environment with finite transportable resources
2. Management of the breadth of clinical conditions found in patients of all ages encountered by EMS systems in prehospital, non-traditional, and uncontrolled healthcare settings
3. Performance of various life-saving procedures to clinically stabilize and facilitate transportation of ill and injured patients to appropriate facilities for definitive care
4. Utilization of those portable devices unique to the prehospital setting, such as patient extrication devices and devices to restrict spinal motion, airways (glottic, supraglottic, and tracheal), traction splints, and field triage methods
5. Development and implementation of optimal patient care plans in real time with limited data when not physically present at the patient’s side

2.0  Medical Oversight of EMS

1. Understand EMS system design in order to integrate geographic, demographic, and economic factors with available resources within a system
2. Advocate for patients and EMS providers by optimizing EMS system design within the available health care infrastructure
3. Provide medical oversight of EMS systems, involving education of all levels of emergency medical personnel (includes online medical control providers and dispatchers), quality improvement, and system operations
4. Participate in EMS system design decision making and management of personnel and resources
5. Utilize educational principles to convey a body of knowledge and skills to emergency medical personnel, ensuring competency
6. Educate and integrate other participants and stakeholders in the emergency care system with EMS medicine to ensure the continuum of patient care

3.0  Quality Management and Research

1. Develop data and information to evaluate EMS system structures, processes, and outcomes
2. Understand principles of research, including informed consent, to develop and evaluate new knowledge and evidence-based practices

4.0  Special Operations

1. Understand and analyze factors affecting scene, provider, and patient safety, including environmental conditions such as low light, temperature extremes, and austere and hostile situations, and be able to direct and provide patient care under such conditions
2. Understand the unique considerations and perform effectively during EMS special operations under tactical, wilderness, confined space, fire ground, and other operational conditions
3. Plan the personnel, supplies, and equipment needs for EMS response and care in such environments and situations
4. Plan for and respond to special events and incidents such as mass gatherings, mass casualty situations, all-hazard disaster and catastrophic events, and public health emergencies
5. Understand and perform effectively in air medical rescue and transport operations
6. Apply the principles and be able to participate within incident command system structures"