Physio-Control
REDMOND, Wash. — The University of Washington’s Division of Emergency Medicine and medical device manufacturer Physio-Control have partnered to launch the university’s first fellowship program to train EMS medical directors. The inaugural recipient of the UW EMS Fellowship will begin work on July 1, 2014.
The selected fellow will take part in up to two years of training at local sites including Harborview Medical Center, King County Medic One, the Seattle Fire Department, UW Paramedic Training, Airlift Northwest and Physio-Control. The new UW fellowship was established to provide physicians graduating from residency opportunities to receive formal experience prior to assuming EMS medical director roles. The American Board of Medical Specialties recognized Emergency Medical Services Medicine as a medical subspecialty in 2011.
The fellowship is directed by Dr. Michael Sayre, UW professor of medicine and associate medical director for the Seattle Fire Department.
“We are aiming to build the best EMS medical director training program in the country,” Sayre said. “This partnership between industry and academia offers a unique opportunity to train the next leaders in resuscitation research and cardiac arrest management.”
Funding for the fellowship comes from a multi-year gift from Physio-Control, manufacturer of medical devices that predict or intervene in life-threatening emergencies. The company has committed fund the program until 2015.
The Seattle/King County region in 2013 had a 62 percent survival rate following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest — one of the highest survival rates in the world.
The inaugural fellow, Dr. Andrew McCoy, starts training on July 1. He completed medical school at the Lerner College of Medicine at Cleveland Clinic followed by his emergency medicine residency at University of Buffalo, where he also served as Chief Resident.