Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN)’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fellowship is a one-year Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-certified program with the goal of training fellows to become competent in the multiple facets of pre-hospital emergency care. Fellows will have a unique opportunity to become integral members of the LVHN division of EMS that provides oversight and pre-hospital services to a large and diverse region.
Fellowship Training Opportunities:
Medical Direction/Field Response: EMS fellows will receive medical director appointments at several EMS services under LVHN medical directorship. They will have a dedicated physician response vehicle to respond to calls and provide care in the field. Fellows also will assist with credentialing new EMS clinicians, providing continuing education sessions and performing skills review. Fellows will review calls for quality of medical care and be active participants in continuing quality assurance at each agency.
Helicopter EMS: LVHN–MedEvac consists of four medical helicopters and two critical care ambulances that respond to scene calls and provide interfacility transport services for critically ill and injured patients. Last year, MedEvac completed approximately 1,500 flights. Fellows will become assistant medical directors for the program and will receive specialized training that will allow them to function as a flight physician.
Event Medicine: Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in various standbys and provide medical care at several large events throughout the year. Events where LVHN currently provides event medical service include NASCAR at Pocono Raceway, Stars & Stripes Summer Celebration in Pottsville, Elements Music & Arts Festival, the Phantoms (American Hockey League) at the PPL Center in Allentown, Easton Twilight Criterium (professional bicycle race in Easton), Bethlehem Running Festival and multiple other local fairs and festivals.
Special Operations/Hazmat/Tactical EMS: Fellowship faculty are integral in providing oversight and scene response for local and regional special operations and tactical EMS units. These units train multiple times a month for various specialized response situations. Fellows will be able to attend these trainings and go to callouts in conjunction with fellowship faculty to enhance their EMS experience.
Emergency Management: Lehigh Valley Health Network has a public safety and emergency operations department that plans medical operations at events staffed by LVHN EMS physicians in addition to preparing for any internal or external event such as a mass casualty incident (MCI) that could impact the ability of the health care system to function. Fellows will have the opportunity to have an in-depth experience in emergency preparedness as it relates to the EMS physician role in event medicine and MCIs. Fellowship faculty includes experts in emergency management to maximize the fellows’ experience.
EMS Education: Fellows will have the opportunity to lecture and teach pre-hospital skills for emergency medical technicians, AEMT and paramedic courses at LVHN’s Emergency Medicine Institute in addition to providing local and regional continuing education sessions. They will also lecture for the core Emergency Medicine Residency Program and help plan a grand rounds EMS Day. Fellows will have the opportunity to mentor residents who are pursuing an EMS track during their third and fourth year of residency.
Research: Fellows will have the opportunity to propose and undertake an original research project. LVHN currently has ongoing EMS research with abstracts being presented annually at the National Association of EMS Physicians. Fellows will have access to dedicated research staff to assist with development, implementation, data analysis and publication of research.