(P09) An Expanded Data Review of an Alternative Training Program for Rural Emergency Medicine

Objectives: To determine if this Emergency Medicine fellowship program meets, exceeds, or falls short of the critical procedural numbers required by the ACGME for accredited 3-and-4-year Emergency Medicine residency programs, and to determine if it successfully trains competent emergency physicians to practice in rural settings.

Background: To determine if Emergency Medicine fellowships produce competent and well-trained emergency physicians to practice in the rural setting. This study is done in comparison in a previous study which was completed and submitted to MEMC in 2019.

Methods: In 2019 a data review was conducted to evaluate if this fellowship met, exceeded or fell short of the procedural numbers required by the ACGME for accredited 3-and-4-year Emergency Medicine residency programs. At that time, it was found that our fellows either met or exceeded procedure minimums in all but two categories: cardiac pacing and pericardiocentesis. Now that we are nearing the end of our seventh year of fellowship, a systematic review was again performed to re-evaluate the trend of our procedural encounters. What became apparent, is that the amount of critical emergency procedures being performed by each fellow over the course of the 12-month program continues to meet or exceed the minimums required by the ACGME for accredited 3- & 4-year EM residencies.

Results: Completion of the FP/EM fellowship at our institution exposes the trainees to enough pathology and volume to meet the ACGME 3-year minimums in all but 2 procedural categories.

Conclusions: This fellowship program continues to prove that it is a viable and exemplary alternative for training competent emergency physicians to serve rural communities and should be replicated in areas needing rural EM doctors.

References (Optional): 1. Final

Recommendations: Future of Rural Health Care Task Force, May 2021. https://www.aha.org/2021-05-17-final-recommendations-future-rural-health-care-task-force-may-2021
2. ACEP Rural Emergency Care Task Force - 2020 Report. January 2021. https://www.acep.org/rural/rural-newsroom/rural-news-articles/january-2021/rural-task-force-summary/
3. CL Bennett, AF Sullivan, AA Ginde, et al. National Study of the Emergency Physician workforce, 2020. Ann Emerg Med. 2020 Dec;76(6):695-708.
4. MK Hall, K Burns, M Carius, et al. State of the national emergency department workforce: who provides care where? Ann Emerg Med. 2018;72,302-307.
5. Family Physician Delivering Emergency Medical Care – Critical Challenges and Opportunities (Position Paper). https://www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/family-physicians-emergency-care.html
6. Emergency Medicine Defined Key Index Procedure Minimums. ACGME Program Requirements for the Graduate Medical Education in Emergency Medicine. Updated July 2022

Funding (Optional): None