Wilderness Medicine Fellowship - September 30th deadline

Wilderness Medicine Fellowship

The fellowship is a one-year program with the option to extend for two years for individuals who wish to pursue a Master’s in Public Health. The fellow will work clinically as a junior faculty member at Community Regional Medical Center (CRMC). Located in California’s San Joaquin Valley, the Level 1 Trauma and Burn Center provides access to Tertiary Care and Hospitalization for over 1.1 million residents in the region’s service area. The demographic profile of the community served is racially diverse; 52% Hispanic/Latino, 30% White, 13% Asian, 5% Black, and 10% other races. For every 100,000 residents, the Valley has 39 primary care physicians (22% less than the state average of 64) and an even lower share of specialists. Joining the health care team for fellowship is an opportunity to hone your practice skills at a busy health care facility– the 3rd busiest Emergency Department in California – but to also provide care where it is needed most.

The fellow works as part time clinical faculty in the Department of Emergency Medicine or the Department of Family Medicine, as per residency training background. This 0.6 FTE clinical duties schedule affords the fellow plenty of time to participate in required curricular activities that develop the cognitive knowledge and skill sets expected of a Wilderness Medicine Fellow, as well as time to complete a research or scholarly project expected of all Fellows. A wide variety of experiences are available during the fellowship, yet the curriculum is designed to be flexible to allow each individual the opportunity to explore the areas of wilderness medicine that interest them the most.

History

The UCSF Fresno Department of Emergency Medicine has been advancing medical care in wilderness settings since 1977. That year saw the creation of the current National Park Service (NPS) Parkmedic Program. After establishing protocols and practices for care for use in the NPS at national and regional levels, the Wilderness Program continued to grow.

Teaching Sites

CRMC is a 626-bed hospital that serves as the only Burn Center and Level 1 Trauma Center between Los Angeles and Sacramento. The training programs at CRMC are affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco. The 96-bed emergency department has approximately 120,000 visits per year.

The four-year Emergency Medicine Residency, established in 1974, currently trains 10-12 residents per year. The Family Medicine Residency is a dynamic program which has graduated more than 400 residents since its inception in 1970. It is a model for community-based training, balancing service and education needs for a large multi-cultural underserved population.

Each year, approximately 245 medical residents in eight specialties and nearly 40 fellows in 12 sub-specialties call our campus home. Approximately 250 medical students also receive training at UCSF Fresno throughout the academic year.

Clinical Job Description:

• The Emergency Medicine Wilderness fellow will work a minimum of eight, eight-hour, shifts per month in the Emergency Department at CRMC. Additional shifts per month may be available for additional income for the fellow if it does not interfere with the ability to satisfactorily complete curricular expectations. 

• The Family Practice Wilderness fellow will work a 0.6 FTE clinical load. This would be an average of 5 half-days per week plus 6 weekend calls covering OB.  With certain commitments, such as the medical student 2-week elective, or January NPS Parkmedic Course, the schedule can be adjusted beforehand to cushion a full-time block of curricular experiences by two weeks of 75% time (7 or 8 half days) with the Department of Family and Community Medicine preceding and following longer events. Call weekends would be scheduled away from any wilderness activities in advance. Shifts in the Prompt Care Clinic affiliated with CRMC may be available for additional income for the fellow if it does not interfere with the ability to satisfactorily complete curricular expectations. 
• The fellow will be an employee of the Central California Faculty Medical Group (CCFMG). 
• The fellow with hold a UCSF academic promotions title: Clinical Instructor. 
• Competitive salary with benefits commensurate with clinical positions. 
• Continuing Medical Education (CME) annual stipend of $2,500. 
• Office, computer, administrative, and research support is available. 

Landmarks for the program:

            1974: First class for 4-year Emergency Medicine Residency at UCSF Fresno

            1977: Parkmedic Program

            1981: First publication of wilderness medicine research from the program

            2005: UCSF Medical Student clerkship

            2008: Fellowship for Emergency Medicine BC/BE candidates

            2009: UCSF High Sierra Wilderness and Travel Medicine CME conference

            2010: WM Faculty joins Fresno County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue teams

            2015: Fellowship for Family Medicine BC/BE applicants

UCSF Fresno’s Wilderness Medicine legacy is to provide unparalleled experiential education, with a diverse, approachable faculty with national level leadership and expertise.

Curriculum

The curriculum is designed to be flexible to allow each fellow to create an experience that best meets their needs. There are required and optional experiences for the fellow to choose from.

Required Experiences:

• Base Hospital Physician Certification; consists of an 8-hour course, 10 proctored radio calls, an EMS ride-along, and an open-book test (last week of August)
• Assistant Course Director, 2-week medical student elective in Yosemite: EM 140.31 (late August into early September)
• Assistant Medical Director, Two Cities Marathon, (early November)
• National Park Service Parkmedic program involvement. Provide online medical control for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park (SEKI). Participation in the following:
  • National Parkmedic Primary Certification Course (biennial) or Parkmedic Refresher Course (January)
  • EMT Refresher (June)
  • Multi-Casualty Incident (MCI) Drill (July)
  • Continuing Education in SEKI for NPS rangers (monthly, one required)
  • Parkmedic administrative meetings (monthly, one required)
  • USFS EMR course
• Course Co-Director, UCSF High Sierra Wilderness and Travel Medicine Conference (brochure) (Spring)
• Quarterly Wilderness Medicine Journal Club
• Completion of a research or scholarly project

Applicants

Applicants must be a graduate of a United States or Canadian Emergency Medicine or Family and Community Medicine Residency who is board eligible (within 3 years of residency graduation) or board certified.

Please e-mail the Fellowship coordinator your application materials:

1. A letter of intent explaining the reasons for your interest in the Fellowship position and identifying your most relevant skills, abilities and experiences.
2. Current CV with reliable phone contact information
3. Two to three letters of recommendation (emailed directly from your letter writers)

• Letters emailed directly from the applicant to the program will NOT be accepted as valid; they must be sent directly from the letter author.

1. All materials should be submitted by email before the application deadline of September 30.  
2. Wilderness Medicine Fellowships use a national match hosted by the GME Fellowship Match WMS. No offers to external candidates will occur before dates and times listed on the WMS website. Traditionally, match results are released November 1. 
3. Interviews are 30 minutes for each interviewer and are conducted via Zoom. You will be interviewed by each co-director and 3-5 other department representatives. No in-person interviews will be conducted.
4. If there are spots available in the fellowship after the match, please feel free to reach out for availability to apply in the late fall/winter for the following academic year’s positions. If searching for an open fellowship position later than the February of the same year you wish to begin fellowship, please send written rationale for an off-cycle application for review along with all other required application materials.