Disaster Medicine & Health Care Emergency Management

Overview

The Mass General Brigham (MGB) Disaster Medicine and Healthcare Emergency Management (DM-HEM) Fellowship Program is a one-year training program designed to give physicians the skills and knowledge necessary to pursue careers in the field of disaster medicine and leadership roles in the emergency preparedness programs of their hospitals and communities.

The MGB Center for Disaster Medicine (CDM), the academic home of the Fellowship, receives more than $3 million annually in support of nation-leading disaster preparedness programs such as the Regional Disaster Health Response System (RDHRS) and the Regional Emerging Special Pathogens Treatment Center (RESPTC). Fellows are fully integrated into these efforts and other programs within the CDM.

Fellows will develop the skills and expertise necessary to create and grow in evidence-based emergency management programs that best promote readiness and effective and equitable response to the broadest range of emergency events in our communities.

Requirements

Applicants to the Fellowship from emergency medicine residency programs must be graduates of an ACGME-accredited program and have completed their program in good standing. Applicants who have completed ACGME-accredited residency programs in other medical specialties may be considered, however, arrangements will need to be made with the appropriate Chief of Service within Mass General Brigham to identify an appropriate clinical commitment to fund the Fellow’s efforts in the program.

Applicants who have not completed an ACGME accredited residency may be eligible to participate in the fellowship if they have external funding support.

Curriculum

The goal of the DM-HEM Fellowship is to provide and advance state-of-the-art disaster medicine expertise through teaching, research, and clinical care. Data show that disaster events are increasing in frequency and severity in the United States and globally. In addition, there is an ever-expanding body of literature that demonstrates that successful disaster response in healthcare requires a combination of knowledge of effective emergency management content and expertise in disaster medicine. Fellowship activities will train physicians to be effective leaders and researchers in the fields of healthcare emergency management and disaster medicine.

The DM-HEM Fellowship Program has four overarching objectives for its trainees:

1. Develop a comprehensive understanding of emergency management principles and essential activities in the healthcare setting, including how to develop, implement, maintain, and administer emergency management programs and plans for healthcare facilities and/or systems.
2. Acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to deliver and guide medical care in resource-limited circumstances and settings while also practicing clinical emergency medicine through an ongoing employment in a busy academic, urban Emergency Department and Level 1 trauma center.
3. Nurture the leadership skills required to operate successful emergency management programs, working internally within healthcare organizations and externally with governmental and non-governmental partners with the full interdisciplinary breadth of partners.
4. Generate intellectually rigorous new knowledge that advances the field of disaster medicine and/or healthcare emergency management.

The Fellowship’s core curriculum addresses the optimal delivery of clinical care in disaster settings as well as the strategic and operational components of building and sustaining effective emergency management programs in healthcare. Fellows receive training in the core specialty knowledge that is unique to disaster medicine, including training in disaster triage, mass casualty incident response, response to hazardous materials incidents, response to high consequence infectious diseases, mass care, and other topics. Fellows will gain experience interacting with many differing disciplines outside of healthcare who participate in emergency response, including public safety and governmental leaders. The program also helps Fellows to build academic and research skills with some tailoring to provide Fellows with the knowledge and experience to support a successful academic career.

Clinical Experience

Eligible fellows who have graduated from ACGME-accredited emergency medicine residency programs will work clinically in the Emergency Department of either Massachusetts General Hospital or Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA. Both are busy, high-acuity, academic Level 1 Trauma Centers and Burn Centers. As all fellows will have completed a residency in Emergency Medicine and be either Board-Eligible or Board-Certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine before starting fellowship, they will meet the institutional criteria for appointment as Attending Physicians and will deliver care in that role.

Research Experience

It is expected that all DM-HEM Fellows will actively pursue quality research as a key focus of their fellowship. There are numerous research opportunities within the Center for Disaster Medicine and Department of Emergency Medicine, as well as with partners across the regional disaster community. Interested fellows are encouraged to pursue their specific interests in developing research projects that will be rewarding in the immediate term, and that will prepare them for a career as a leader of disaster medicine.

How to Apply

The following application materials should be sent electronically to the Mass General Hospital Center for Disaster Medicine at: MGHCDM@partners.org:

• Formal letter of interest
• Current CV
• At least two letters of recommendation (one of which must be written by your residency program director)

The annual application progress begins on July 1st. Interviews occur in late summer and early fall. Fellowship position offers are typically announced before the end of October for a July 1st start date the following year.