Emergency Medical Services Fellowship

Our training program was among the first to become ACGME-accredited and qualifies graduates to sit for the subspecialty examination in EMS Medicine offered by the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM).

The Jacobs School hosts an Emergency Medicine residency program with a very active Division of EMS. Buffalo, NY is the center of a large regional EMS system for the surrounding Western region of New York State. Our area is serviced by a wide variety of EMS systems and experiences such as municipal, private, police and volunteer EMS agencies. We provide medical direction at all levels of EMS serving this area, providing a complete EMS experience in order to gain proficiency needed for an EMS physician. 

• Associate Medical Director, Erie County Emergency Services/EMS
  • We have four dedicated EMS response vehicles (one of which is assigned to the fellow) with full ALS capabilities, personal protective equipment and additional physician-level equipment (thoracostomy supplies, SonoSite, etc.)
  • On-call responses for MCI’s, large fire scenes, entrapments, school bus accidents, mass gatherings, airport alerts, etc.
  • Radio identification/call-sign as an operational medical director
• Associate Medical Director duties for 4-base Helicopter EMS program, including twice monthly flight shifts and shared medical direction call
• Associate Medical Director duties for local private agency with over 120,000 requests for service annually
• Medical Director for local volunteer fire departments and ambulance services
• EMS research – Department of Emergency Medicine dedicated research advisors and paid data collectors are available
• EMS education through local program agency with opportunities through local NYS certified EMS educational programs
• Active Emergency Medicine Resident EMS scholarly track participation

Clinical appointment as an attending physician and academic appointment as a Clinical Instructor of Emergency Medicine through the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.  Work environment is a large, tertiary care, ACS Level I Trauma Center with large ambulance/helicopter delivery and on-line medical direction.  Competitive salary and benefits.  Limited moonlighting opportunities are available.

The fellowship was accredited by the ACGME effective October 2012.  It was re-accredited in 2020 without citation.  Graduates of the program are eligible to sit for the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) EMS Certifcation Exam via the training pathway.

Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) is the primary site of the EMS Fellowship and a main site for the Emergency Medicine Residency. ECMC is the regional adult trauma and burn center for the 8 counties of Western NY. It has robust medical and surgical specialty coverage. The Emergency Department has 35 beds, with over 60,000 patient visits per year. There is a Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program staffed 24/7 by the Department of Psychiatry. ECMC is the home of UBMD EMS, a New York State EMS Program Agency. It provides base station and destination medical command to the EMS agencies of Western NY.

Each fellow is assigned one of four (4) ALS-equipped emergency response vehicles for providing on-scene medical direction, EMS augmentation and direct medical support. 

At least 3 hours of didactics are scheduled each week, typically on Tuesday morning. The Grand Rounds program has been approved by the University at Buffalo for CME credit. Didactics include: joint grand rounds with the UB emergency medicine residency, joint grand rounds with other EMS fellowships via tele-conference, case conferences, journal clubs, reading groups and traditional lectures. 

The fellow will complete ICS course work up to the ICS-400 level and attend the NAEMSP Medical Director’s Course and Practicum. Additional external courses can be integrated into the curriculum based on the fellow’s areas of interest.

Candidates must be board-eligible or board-certified in Emergency Medicine or Pediatric Emergency Medicine. Candidates must possess a valid driver’s license with an acceptable driving record (required for response vehicle). Prior experience in prehospital care and/or research is encouraged, but not required.

The fellow will receive salary and benefits at the PGY4 level through University Medical Resident Services, P.C. This includes 4 weeks of vacation.

The fellowship salary and benefit package does not include emergency department attending shifts. Fellows are offered a generous moonlight package separately as an emergency medicine attending based on 48 hours of clinical coverage per month.  

Applications are considered on a rolling basis.

Potential candidates are asked to submit a C.V., or direct any questions to: