Other EMS Fellowship Experiences
Expanding Training Beyond Traditional EMS Response
While the Houston Fire Department serves as the fellowship’s primary operational training site, the UTHealth Houston EMS Fellowship also offers a wide range of additional experiences that broaden exposure to prehospital medicine, disaster response, event medicine, aeromedical systems, research, and EMS leadership.
These opportunities allow fellows to tailor portions of their training experience while gaining insight into the many different roles EMS physicians can serve across modern healthcare systems.
Memorial Hermann Life Flight
Fellows have the opportunity to work alongside Memorial Hermann Life Flight, the region’s only hospital-based aeromedical service and one of the busiest programs in Texas.
Life Flight operates multiple aircraft across the Greater Houston area and surrounding regions, providing rapid transport and advanced critical care capabilities for severely ill and injured patients. Optional ride-along and observational experiences may include:
- Aeromedical critical care transport
- Flight operations and dispatch coordination
- Exposure to prehospital blood administration and advanced interventions
- Collaboration with flight nurses, paramedics, and operational leadership
- Administrative and systems-based aeromedical education
Whether participating clinically or operationally, fellows gain valuable insight into the logistics and leadership behind a high-functioning aeromedical agency.
Event Medicine & Mass Gathering Operations
Event medicine plays a major role within the fellowship experience. Fellows participate in planning and operational medical coverage for large-scale public events throughout the region, including endurance races and mass gatherings.
One of the fellowship’s hallmark experiences includes involvement with Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas, where fellows work alongside faculty leadership to support medical operations for one of the country’s largest endurance events. Experiences may include:
- Medical planning and operational meetings
- Event medical tent leadership
- Athlete assessment and treatment
- Resource coordination and communications
- Incident command exposure
- Mass gathering emergency preparedness
These events provide hands-on experience managing patient care and logistics in fast-paced, resource-variable environments.
Additional EMS Agency Experiences
Beyond Houston Fire Department operations, fellows may also engage with a variety of regional EMS agencies and healthcare partners supported by UTHealth Houston EMS faculty.
These experiences expose fellows to:
- Suburban and community EMS systems
- Critical care transport operations
- EMS education programs
- Protocol development and system improvement
- Provider education and training initiatives
- Operational medical direction in diverse practice settings
Working across multiple systems helps fellows understand how EMS structure, resources, and operational priorities can differ between agencies and communities.
Disaster Preparedness & Special Operations
Houston’s geographic location and regional complexity provide fellows with extensive exposure to disaster medicine and emergency preparedness initiatives. Fellows may participate in:
- Disaster planning meetings and exercises
- Multi-agency emergency response coordination
- Hurricane preparedness operations
- Mass casualty incident response
- Tactical and special operations exposure
- Large-scale system activation planning
Previous fellowship experiences have included involvement in severe weather response, flood events, mass casualty incidents, and regional emergency operations.
EMS Research & Innovation
The fellowship also emphasizes research, quality improvement, and innovation in prehospital medicine. Fellows have access to large-scale EMS datasets, operational system data, and faculty mentorship to support scholarly work throughout the fellowship year. Areas of ongoing interest may include:
- Prehospital whole blood administration
- EMS quality improvement initiatives
- Disaster medicine systems research
- Operational workflow analysis
- Community paramedicine
- Prehospital ultrasound and emerging technologies
Fellows are encouraged to present scholarly work at regional and national conferences while contributing to the advancement of evidence-based prehospital care.