EMPA Fellowship at ARMC

[DennisTankersley]

 

The EMPA Fellowship at ARMC is currently accepting applications for its next class, which is set to begin in Nov of 2018.  This Fellowship is housed at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center which is San Bernardino Counties Trauma and Burn Center located in the city of Colton, CA.

The program includes clinical and didactic education that is designed to provide PAs who are new-grads or new to emergency medicine an efficient and supportive training experience that will enable top-of-scope practice in any emergency department.

In addition to over 40 hours of online EM education, Fellows will attend 4-5 hours of weekly lecture that is specifically designed to build upon primary PA education.  Fellows are also strongly encouraged and paid to participate in weekly EM physician resident lecture.

Rotations include:

• Ortho
• Surgery (Trauma, SICU, Burn)
• Pediatrics
• Ob/Gyn
• Ultrasound
• Anesthesia
• Diabetic Youth Camp
• EMS

The program now offers two options:

    1. 14-month Traditional track ($55,000)

         Over 60 EMPAs have graduated from the Traditional track and report being very well prepared to practice in a wide variety of ED settings.

    2. 20-month Doctorate of Medical Science track ($75,000 w/tuition paid)

        This is a new offering that builds on the Traditional track through a partnership with Lynchburg College in Virginia.  The EMPA Fellowship is lengthened to enable time to complete the DMSc coursework, and the tuition is paid by the Fellowship.  There are a select number of positions available for this option, and they will be filled competitively.  There are currently 12 Fellows enrolled in the DMSc track.

All Fellows are eligible for a full benefits package including Health, Vision, Dental, 401k.  All lectures are CME certified providing more than 200 hours of CME.

SEMPA and CAPA memberships are provided.

EMPAFellowship.com

Deadline for application is June 15, 2018

Please visit the website and select Apply Now to be contacted by our program recruiter and to learn more about the complete application process.

 

[JMann]

This is a good addition to an EM residency program. Be interesting to see if other programs follow this pattern. 

[ArmyPA]

The new offering looks like a fantastic opportunity for my fellow Veterans as being enrolled in the degree program = student = GI Bill usage. For anyone who has looked into it most of the residency/fellowship programs are not aware of the process or the status of the fellow does not allow the use of GI Bill. I think I know where I will be applying when I retire next year.

[LT_Oneal_PAC]

2 hours ago, ArmyPA said:

The new offering looks like a fantastic opportunity for my fellow Veterans as being enrolled in the degree program = student = GI Bill usage. For anyone who has looked into it most of the residency/fellowship programs are not aware of the process or the status of the fellow does not allow the use of GI Bill. I think I know where I will be applying when I retire next year.

Technically speaking you can do the DMS while in any residency and use the GI Bill. They don’t have to be affiliated to do them concurrently. Additionally, any university based residency can use the GI bill and the university VA office can help set it up. Had it done for my residency. Getting full Montgomery GI bill through out the residency. You could probably do it at other non-university residencies, but that would be a lot of work.

Though doing them simultaneously within a partnership probably makes things easier. Just wanted to present the above information so that people don’t feel locked into one place.

[DennisTankersley]

On 3/27/2018 at 0:30 PM, LT_Oneal_PAC said:

Technically speaking you can do the DMS while in any residency and use the GI Bill. They don’t have to be affiliated to do them concurrently. Additionally, any university based residency can use the GI bill and the university VA office can help set it up. Had it done for my residency. Getting full Montgomery GI bill through out the residency. You could probably do it at other non-university residencies, but that would be a lot of work.

Though doing them simultaneously within a partnership probably makes things easier. Just wanted to present the above information so that people don’t feel locked into one place.

 

On 3/27/2018 at 10:05 AM, ArmyPA said:

The new offering looks like a fantastic opportunity for my fellow Veterans as being enrolled in the degree program = student = GI Bill usage. For anyone who has looked into it most of the residency/fellowship programs are not aware of the process or the status of the fellow does not allow the use of GI Bill. I think I know where I will be applying when I retire next year.

I want to thank you both for your posts.

I will admit that I don't know much about the GI bill, but we have been very successful in loan deferment.  I thank you both for your service, and if we can make anyone's GI bill work better for them, I am interested in making it happen.  

Our Fellows are paid as much as we can afford and maintain the faculty and other admin support required to have an excellent curriculum and structure.  While this is only about what a pgy 2 or 3 EM physician resident earns, for all of our grads thus far the Fellowship has propelled them into careers that have easily returned this investment on a financial level.  However, that doesn't seem to be the motivation for our Fellows; they do it for competence and confidence they gain and for their pride in our profession.  Our graduates hit the ground running and immediately make an impact on the operations and patient care of their next ED.  Their clinical acumen gains them the acknowledgment and respect of their peers and they quickly rise into leadership roles. 

I will also say that LT is correct that you do not have to be part of a formal clinical postgraduate training program to enroll in the Lynchburg DMSc.  So there are other paths.  I think we offer significant value in this realm,  but there are alternatives to the EMPA Fellowship at ARMC.  I would be happy to discuss these with any interested candidates.

[ArmyPA]

On ‎3‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 0:30 PM, LT_Oneal_PAC said:

Technically speaking you can do the DMS while in any residency and use the GI Bill. They don’t have to be affiliated to do them concurrently. Additionally, any university based residency can use the GI bill and the university VA office can help set it up. Had it done for my residency. Getting full Montgomery GI bill through out the residency. You could probably do it at other non-university residencies, but that would be a lot of work.

Though doing them simultaneously within a partnership probably makes things easier. Just wanted to present the above information so that people don’t feel locked into one place.

The difference here though is that the residency program pays the tuition for the DMS, which means all GI BILL goes into my pocket. I am glad that you were able to get your GI Bill at the program you are in but is not the norm from all of the programs I spoke with. I got a flat out NO from the University of New Mexico program because their "residents/fellows" are hired as faculty and not given student status. I believe that mileage may vary with any program and as far as I can tell you are one of the first to be successful with this. I also had the program director for the VA/Debakey program in Houston tell me no despite being a Vet himself (retired Navy O-6) even though they are associated with Baylor University... this may be due to the fact that the resident is a GS employee. This program pay 83k a year however so it is much more doable. Personally, I will retire as an O-4 next year and even with my retirement check will be taking a 20-30k pay cut at most of these programs and don't want to get into the program not knowing for sure if I will be able to take advantage of the G.I Bill to off set that loss. On the other hand the Easter Virginia program does have you assessed as a student through the registrars office and even though they have not done it yet for any of their fellows, I assume it would be easier to do there. This specific program however you get a Doctorate with tuition paid which can be useful if you want to go into academia later, and should have no problem with G.I Bill because you will are a student.

I'm pretty sure you're pioneering this for us Vets LT-Oneal and I for on greatly appreciate it as I will likely be picking your brain in a year or so depending on what I decide to do when I grow up.

[cynthily]

Hi! Any current EMPA fellows or previously graduated fellows of ARMC want to tell me about their experience? I am currently on my last rotation of PA school and was interested in applying. Thank you! 

[Doppio_Espresso]

I am very interested in an EM residency program. I will be starting a program that finishes on an unconventional month (~December). I was wondering what the timeline would be for me if I decide to apply. Would I have to wait for the next cycle? Ie. If I finish Dec 2018, I would have to wait to apply for the Nov 2019 cohort.

Also, do you have any recommendations on how to be a competitive applicant? I'd assume grades would be one of the deciding factors. 

Thank you for the clarification and answering my questions.

[JMann]

On 4/17/2018 at 7:59 AM, Doppio_Espresso said:

I am very interested in an EM residency program. I will be starting a program that finishes on an unconventional month (~December). I was wondering what the timeline would be for me if I decide to apply. Would I have to wait for the next cycle? Ie. If I finish Dec 2018, I would have to wait to apply for the Nov 2019 cohort.

Also, do you have any recommendations on how to be a competitive applicant? I'd assume grades would be one of the deciding factors. 

Thank you for the clarification and answering my questions.

Numerous threads on how to be competitive for residency application. Start with a search. Short answer- like EM, know why you want to do it, how a residency will help you and be able to articulate all that very well. Or have a butt load of EM experience and a great personality...

Excellent reference letters are very important as well. 

I graduated in Dec and started a summer residency program. You can either find a job and work in the meantime, or spend time with your family and rest up, because residency sucks the life out of you.

[Doppio_Espresso]

@Jmann: I appreciate your response. I have been going through the search engine and wanted additional viewpoints, so I thought I'd ask on here as well. 

I don't think it would be feasible to not earn any salary from December to start of residency, so it would make more sense to have a temporary position. 

 

[LT_Oneal_PAC]

On 4/17/2018 at 7:59 AM, Doppio_Espresso said:

I am very interested in an EM residency program. I will be starting a program that finishes on an unconventional month (~December). I was wondering what the timeline would be for me if I decide to apply. Would I have to wait for the next cycle? Ie. If I finish Dec 2018, I would have to wait to apply for the Nov 2019 cohort.

Also, do you have any recommendations on how to be a competitive applicant? I'd assume grades would be one of the deciding factors. 

Thank you for the clarification and answering my questions.

 

2 hours ago, Doppio_Espresso said:

@Jmann: I appreciate your response. I have been going through the search engine and wanted additional viewpoints, so I thought I'd ask on here as well. 

I don't think it would be feasible to not earn any salary from December to start of residency, so it would make more sense to have a temporary position. 

 

There are programs that start in Feb as well.

[Doppio_Espresso]

@LT_Oneal_PAC Thanks for the info! I am specifically interested with ARMC but I am not cutting myself short so will be applying to multiple others. I appreciate the response.

[AshySlashy]

Sorry to bump a long dead topic, but does anyone know if the 20 month DMSc track is still offered?  After perusing the EMPA fellowship site and doing a little digging I haven't come across the fellowship + DMSc dual track.