Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Curriculum
The University of Vermont Medical Center Emergency Medicine Program offers residents and medical students outstanding training in progressive prehospital care in a rural EMS system. EMS is a critical component of Emergency Medicine and our curriculum is designed to prepare future leaders in the field of EMS with an understanding of the unique principals of prehospital care and medical direction. It also provides the motivated emergency medicine resident with the background necessary for entry into an accredited EMS Fellowship program. The residency program works closely with both regional and state Vermont EMS to provide a wide range of opportunities including urban, rural, and wilderness practice environments.
Direct Patient Care
Our 2nd year residents will function as EMS physicians joining local Paramedic EMS agencies as part of the team providing direct patient care. This hands-on training provides opportunities for the resident to gain valuable experience in the challenges of providing patient care and medical direction in the prehospital setting. Medical students may arrange ride-alongs with local EMS agencies and highly interested residents may arrange additional opportunities with escalating responsibilities.
Medical Direction
Emergency Medicine residents will complete an EMS Medical Direction Training Program. During all EM rotations, PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents will provide online medical direction to EMS under the supervision of EM faculty. During the 2nd year EMS rotation, residents will review prehospital cases for quality assurance and performance improvement and present at the monthly EMS case review. Residents will also have opportunities to work on larger scale State of Vermont EMS performance reviews, protocol development, and education, including teaching for the paramedic school and the annual Vermont EMS Conference.
Research
Residents and medical students may participate in ongoing EMS research or develop independent projects with faculty support. Vermont is one of the most rural EMS systems in the nation and serves as an excellent laboratory for rural EMS research.