Welcome to the UMass Chan Disaster Medicine & Emergency Management Fellowship! Our SAEM-approved fellowship is a premier educational and training venue for those individuals who want to explore the field of disaster medicine as a career choice.

The Disaster Medicine Division is committed to education and teaching of students at all levels. In April, 2008 we received approval from the Graduate Education Committee to develop a Disaster Medicine & Emergency Management Fellowship, and our first fellow began the program in 2009. Since that time, we have graduated many fellows who have gone on to practice emergency medicine with disaster medicine in a variety of locations, both academic and community, including Florida, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The division faculty are involved in teaching and in DM initiatives such as curriculum development at the local, regional, and national levels. This includes a regular DM lecture series, specific EM resident disaster education including a simulated active shooter scenario, annual day-long 3^rd year medical student disaster education day that includes hands-on PPE, BDLS/ADLS courses and yearly lectures to the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing. 

Preparedness ... Response ... Teaching ... Academics ... Emergency Management ... Planning ... Patient Care

The Disaster Medicine & Emergency Management Fellowship offered through UMass Chan Medical School in conjunction with UMass Memorial Medical Center, accepts up to three fellows per year. The program is designed to train future leaders in disaster medicine and emergency management.

UMass Memorial Medical Center has a robust Emergency Management program with several ongoing initiatives:

• Emergency Management Committee
• Exercises and drills
• Disaster course planning (including the simulation center)
• Community / Regional participation

We have a strong academic foundation that includes teaching, research, and grant/funding opportunities. Our fellowships offer a unique approach to developing a career in DM. We recognize that the difference between EM in normal day-to-day circumstances and EM in special circumstances like mass casualty incidents is more than a just a matter of degrees. With exposure to hospital-based Emergency Management as well as involvement in local, state, regional, and federal disaster planning and management, UMass is uniquely positioned to provide fellows with the experience they need. UMass fellowship trainees will receive the specific training and experience in disaster preparedness they need to be specialists in this emerging field, in clinical, academic, and /or administrative roles.

Emergency Medicine residency graduates have 3 Fellowship options:

US trained EM residents:1- and 2-year fellowship options. Fellows completing the one year program are expected to complete a FEMA Professional Development Series certification program. Fellows completing the two year program are expected to work towards a master’s degree of their choice (MPH, MA, MS) during their fellowship. The master’s degree will allow the fellow to further enhance their knowledge base as well as provide them with additional credentials. Each fellow will participate in a research project exploring some aspect of DM, emergency management and/or public health. Applicants will be accepted from board-eligible/certified graduates of ACGME-accredited EM Residencies. As a fellow at UMass you also function as junior faculty and as such are required to be fully licensed by the Board of Registration in Massachusetts. One of the eligibility requirements for that is to have taken and passed all three steps of the USMLE. You also need 3 years of formal US, ACGME accredited EM Residency Training, as a UMass requirement.  

International track of the DM fellowship:1- and 2-year fellowship options.  The UMass Disaster Medicine & Emergency Management Fellowship has recently expanded to allow international candidates to apply.  International candidates will experience the same fellowship as all other fellows, except they cannot participate in clinical ER patient care under most circumstances (this will be evaluated on a case by case basis and depends on the candidate's ability to get a US medical license and treat ER patients).

Combined EMS / DM 2-year fellowship: This unique sequentially combined fellowship allows the candidate to complete an ACGME-accredited EMS fellowship (and therefore be eligible to take the EMS board certification exam) and then complete a 1-year DM fellowship. Fellows are expected to work towards a master’s degree of their choice (MPH, MA, MS) during their fellowship. Applicants will be accepted from board-eligible / certified graduates of ACGME-accredited EM Residencies.

For further information please contact:

Andrew Milsten, MD, Fellowship Director
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Department of Emergency Medicine
55 Lake Avenue North, LA-211
Worcester, MA 01655
Tel: 508-334-7948
Fax: (508) 334-7411