MCW Emergency Medicine Fellowship in EMS

The MCW Department of Emergency Medicine’s EMS fellowship is designed to provide the fundamental knowledge and skills required for a physician to serve as an EMS physician and medical director.

The fellowship curriculum follows the core curriculum and requirements as approved by the American Board of Emergency Medicine, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and National Association of EMS Physicians.

EMS Fellowship Overview

Our curriculum consists of both didactic and experiential components. Fellows attend weekly conference that cover key concepts in EMS medicine. They also participate in EMS medical direction activities under the supervision of one of our board-certified faculty. The fellows spend a considerable amount of time in the field with system paramedics. This includes training to operate our EMS physician vehicle, which allows for field response to EMS calls. The curriculum provides for graduated responsibility, providing the fellows increasing levels of independence as they meet milestones and gain experience during the year.

In addition to gaining a solid competency in the core requirements, the MCW EMS Fellowship is flexible to meet the unique interests of our learners. After completion of the fellowship, the Medical College of Wisconsin offers other opportunities to gain additional analytic and translational skills through programs for Masters in Public Health, Bioinformatics, Clinical Translational Sciences, and others.

Why Choose MCW?

One of the main reasons our fellows cite for choosing MCW is the sheer variety of EMS experiences and expertise. Whether it is working with one of the largest EMS systems in the country or engaging with volunteer providers in rural EMS, joining helicopter, tactical, high rise, dive, rescue boat, or hazmat EMS teams, traveling to countries around the world to provide EMS advice, mass casualty and event medicine, or research and administration, MCW’s fellowship has it all. Our fellows are able to experience it all, emerging as well-rounded EMS physicians ready for whatever opportunity may arise.

MCW has a long history with EMS since the early 1970s when we were awarded federal block grant funding along with local and county partners to establish the first paramedic ambulance service in the state of Wisconsin. The rest, as the cliché goes, is history. Over the subsequent four-plus decades, as both the specialties of emergency medicine and EMS evolved, we have been instrumental in the training of EMS physicians, the creation of evidence-based and outcomes-driven care and in the conduct and publication of landmark research through broad, multi-centered, NIH funded consortiums. We have strong relationships with local, regional, national and international partners which improves the networking and experiences for our fellows. Since the 1990’s, we hosted dozens of physicians from 6 continents for EMS physician development – a history that we continue today.

MCW is a great place to work and has resources to support and develop the EMS physician in all areas both professionally and personally. In addition to EMS practice, the fellow’s clinical practice supporting primary board certification includes a tertiary-care academic medical center, community hospitals and free-standing emergency departments. Opportunities for moonlighting are included as allowed by the ACGME.

Program Details

Our EMS Fellowship program has been fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) since 2013.

Division of EMS Medicine Fellowship poster presentation

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Didactics and Supervision

The Fellowship is a one-year program with progressive and graduated responsibility which prepare for independent EMS physician practice. The EMS Fellowship structure and milestones aligns with MCW’s mission of academic practice: clinical care, education, community engagement and research. A brief list includes:

Weekly, formal didactics from faculty members covering the entire core curriculum of EMS medicine as outlined by ABEM’s Core Content of EMS Medicine to prepare fellows for the EMS boards and future independent practice.
EMS clinical and administrative experience with municipal and private 911 services, including critical care ground and air ambulance services. Practice sites range from one of the largest fire-based EMS systems in the country to rural paid-on-call services.
EMS Medical Director Field Response vehicle for emergency response, online medical control, and independent practice in a complex field environment.
Planning and participation in several mass gathering events throughout the region. MCW EMS provides medical direction for Fiserv Forum (the venue of the 2021 World Champion Milwaukee Bucks), the Panthers Arena, the Milwaukee County Zoo, and all major events in Milwaukee County.
Educator development and experience in initial and continuing EMS education for field providers, EM faculty, fellows, residents, medical and pharmacy students.
Simulation development for initial and continuing EMS education and competency training for EMS providers.
Participation in local, regional, state-wide, and national committees.
Attendance for the National Association of EMS Physicians’ National EMS Medical Directors Course and the NAEMSP Annual Meeting.
Mentored research from conception and IRB submission through completion and manuscript preparation.
Opportunities for global EMS exposure, with countries including Belize, China, Cuba, and Tanzania.
Access to several executive leadership and development training opportunities hosted by MCW and our academic and clinical partners.

Eligibility

All applicants must be medical school graduates (MD or DO degree) and have completed an ACGME accredited primary residency program. Board-eligible physicians in any primary discipline of medicine are eligible to apply – emergency medicine preferred. An unrestricted Wisconsin medical license and current DEA certification are also required prior to the July 1 start date.

Benefits

Fellows and residents in ACGME training programs at MCW are employed by the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals (MCWAH). For more information about MCWAH training programs, please visit the Graduate Medical Education website for additional information.

MCWAH Trainee Benefits
In addition to the annual stipend/salary, MCWAH provides comprehensive benefits to all MCWAH fellows, including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, as well as leave benefits. For more information about MCWAH fellow benefits, see the MCWAH benefits page.

Departmental Benefits
As an EMS fellow in the Department of Emergency Medicine, the individual will also have a separate faculty appointment as a Clinical Instructor in Emergency Medicine. This clinical work as an attending emergency physician is paid through this separate faculty appointment and is in addition to the MCWAH housestaff stipend (which applies for the EMS fellowship training). The part-time faculty instructor position pays for 12 clinical hours a week for 48 weeks of the year (576 hours total). Hours are limited to a maximum of 20 clinical hours per week due to ACGME duty hour restrictions. Extra hours above the 576 annually are paid per hour.

The Department provides malpractice coverage for the faculty instructor position.

The Department covers the cost of:

License and DEA fees
Scrub tops/bottoms (4 pairs) with embroidered name
Lab coats (4) with embroidered name
Professional liability insurance while moonlighting

In addition to the MCWAH Working Condition Fringe Benefit, the Department provides reimbursement to attend the NAEMSP conference and medical director’s course (usually held annually in January).

How to Apply

Interested applicants should submit a personal statement, CV, and three letters of reference (one from your residency program director) to emeducation@mcw.edu.

The EMS Fellowship Program participates in the National Residency Match Program. Applications are accepted between June 1 and October 15 for the year preceding enrollment; interviews are scheduled on a rolling basis.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early.

Program Alumni

Erin McGlynn, MD; Nick Wleklinski, MD (2023)
Nikolai Arendovich, MD; Brandon Drazich, MD (2022)
Lucas Grover, MD (2021)
Tom Engel, MD; Pat Sinclair, DO (2020)
Scott Kunkel, DO (2019)
Tom Grawey, DO (2018)
Aurora Lybeck, MD (2017)
Matthew Chinn, MD (2016)
Benjamin Weston, MD, MPH (2015)
Timothy Lenz, MD; Sean Marquis, MD (2014)

Reasons to live in Milwaukee

Milwaukee is a one-of-a-kind city with a vibrant and diverse culture, this charming, yet metropolitan must-see is just 90 minutes north of Chicago and nestled on the coast of Lake Michigan. Whether you’re catching a show at Summerfest, the world’s largest music festival, immersing yourself in the old world charm of the Historic Third Ward or taking in the sights and sounds of one of the many cafés, beer gardens or restaurants that line the city’s riverbank and shoreline, Milwaukee never disappoints. Find out why MCW residents and fellows take pride in calling Milwaukee home.

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