Other EMS Fellowship Experiences
In addition to the primary clinical site at the Houston Fire Department, EMS Fellows have access to countless other opportunities to expand their EMS education and enhance their fellowship experience. Some of these experiences include:
Memorial Hermann Life Flight
Dr. Lesley Osborn, now the Memorial Hermann Life Flight Medical Director and EM/EMS faculty, on scene with Life Flight during her fellowship.
Memorial Hermann Life Flight is the only hospital-based aeromedical agency operating in the Houston area. Memorial Hermann Life Flight flies over 3000 missions per year, serving the community in a 150-mile radius from the Texas Medical Center utilizing four on-duty 24/7 aircraft operating out of four satellite bases. Staffed by a highly skilled team of pilots, nurses, and paramedics, Memorial Hermann Life Flight deploys whole blood, prehospital ultrasound, and other cutting-edge therapies to provide excellent care to the patients of the region
EMS Fellows are not required to fly, but they do have the opportunity observe the Memorial Hermann Life Flight crews in action during ride-alongs that can be scheduled as part of the fellowship if they choose. Whether a fellow chooses to fly or not, they will still have the chance to learn about the administrative side of a premier aeromedical agency, working with Dr. Lesley Osborn, Life Flight’s medical director, EMS Fellowship alumna, and McGovern EMS Section faculty.
Memorial Hermann IRONMAN: Texas
EMS Fellows and faculty at Swim Start of the Memorial Hermann IRONMAN: Texas North American Championship 2018
As part of the EMS Fellowship, fellows will have the opportunity to work planning and leading the medical arm of the Memorial Hermann IRONMAN: Texas race. The Memorial Hermann IRONMAN: Texas race is a full-length IRONMAN triathlon, comprised of over 140 miles of swimming, biking and running. Every April, nearly 3000 athletes participate in this championship race, which is located in The Woodlands, Texas, about an hour north of central Houston.
Dr. Kevin Schulz, the EMS Fellowship Program Director and Clinical Associate Professor of EM, has served as the Race Medical Director of the Memorial Hermann IRONMAN: Texas, (along with its sister race, the IRONMAN: 70.3 Texas, a half-length race which takes place in Galveston annually) since 2014. The McGovern EMS Fellows serve on the core planning team, attending meetings with Dr. Schulz and reviewing protocols ahead of the races. On race weekend, the EMS Fellows serve as “Charge Physicians” working hand-in-hand with Dr. Schulz and his staff to manage a medical tent that typically sees over 200 patients annually. This experience gives fellows an insight into the planning and execution of an event medical plan for a large-scale event, and coupled with events of opportunity throughout the fellowship year, forms the backbone of the fellowship’s event medicine education.
Other EMS Agency Medical Direction Opportunities
McGovern Medical School Emergency Medicine’s EMS Section faculty provide operational medical direction for a variety of local EMS agencies, ranging in size, call volume, and functional level. These agencies include some of the most advanced in the region, with protocols for prehospital whole blood, antibiotics for open fractures, RSI, ketamine, etc. With such a variety of agencies falling under the medical direction of McGovern EMS faculty, there are often opportunities for EMS Fellows to get involved with these smaller agencies. Whether it be understanding the role of the medical director in a smaller, suburban EMS agency, assisting with protocol revisions, or assisting with provider education, these experiences serve to enrich the fellowship education, and offer areas for the fellows to pursue further if they are interested. Other agencies that the EMS Fellows may become involved with include, but are not limited to:
- Harris County ESD-48
- Cy-Fair Fire Department
- Galena Park Fire Department
- Harris County Hospital District EMS
- Harris Health Critical Care Transport
- Houston Community College EMS program
- Community Volunteer Fire Department
- AMR/GMR Houston
- Sugar Land Fire Department
- and more…
Disaster Management/Disaster Planning
Dr. Kevin Schulz briefing volunteer medical providers during the Hurricane Harvey shelter medical operations.
EMS Fellows have the opportunity to interact with multiple faculty with marked experience in disaster management and disaster planning. With access to EMS Section faculty such as Dr. Brandy Ferguson, Assistant Professor of EM and Medical Director of Memorial Hermann System Emergency Management, EMS Fellows have no shortage of disaster expertise to learn from as part of their fellowship.
Fellows also get significant disaster management experience at HFD. Previous fellows have been involved in the response and shelter operations during Hurricane Harvey, have assisted with the prehospital response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and have responded to multiple flood events, multiple-alarm fires, structural collapses, and other mass casualty events.
EMS Research
EMS Fellows at McGovern Medical School’s fellowship have access to world-class prehospital research opportunities. Several of the Emergency Department’s preeminent research faculty have a strong focus on prehospital medicine, including Dr. Ben Bobrow, Dr. Ryan Huebinger, and Dr. Dan Ostermayer, himself a graduate of the McGovern EMS Fellowship. The McGovern Emergency Department’s Research Section infrastructure, coupled with the high call volume and resulting data accumulation at HFD, provide an opportunity for EMS Fellows to pursue their research interests during their fellowship year.