CMED EMS fellowship gains accreditation
Central Michigan University is now in the company of 21 medical schools in the United States with a nationally accredited Emergency Medical Services fellowship program.
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the organization responsible for accrediting post-M.D. medical training programs in the U.S., granted CMU the EMS fellowship accreditation, making it only the second medical school in the state of Michigan to have such recognition.
Fellowship training is a component of the medical education process and occurs after residency training. The EMS fellowship program is for students who wish to become EMS physicians and specialize in pre-hospital care.
Noel Wagner, program director of the CMU College of Medicine EMS Fellowship, said the program had not been accredited until now because the EMS fellowship was not recognized by the ACGME until 2010.
"In 2010, (the program) was granted recognition as a sub-specialty, and (earlier this year), the ACGME held their first meetings for the accreditation process," Wagner said. "We applied for accreditation, and we were one of 21 schools (in the nation) to receive accreditation."
Wagner said this is a big accomplishment, not only for the EMS fellowship program, but for CMED as well.
"This quite a significant accomplishment for us; this means the EMS program is the first accredited fellowship within CMED," he said.
Students enrolling in the EMS fellowship will gain valuable emergency medicine experience, serving not only the university but also the community.
"Students will first practice being good field clinicians and will respond in a field vehicle to many different emergencies, ranging from a slip and fall to a motor vehicle accident with casualties," Wagner said.
Students will also learn to oversee Emergency Medical Technicians and paramedics to get a better grasp on the nature of pre-hospital care and learn administration and research skills.
"In addition, they will begin to learn administration skills and how to navigate the (EMS) system," he said. "They're learning how to work through the political and financial aspects of EMS, how to develop a consensus and how to conduct good, quality research."
Wagner said there is a desperate need in the field of medicine to develop a body of knowledge and to continue to build upon it.
With the national ACGME accreditation under its belt, the next step for the EMS fellowship program is to recruit a fellow to lead the program, as well as bring a third faculty member on board for the sub-specialty.
"We're in the process of looking for a potential candidate, and right now, we're trying to get him on board (with the program)," he said.
CMED does not receive any monetary reward for accreditation and is finalizing plans to finance the fellowship program.
