Advanced Practice Provider

Fellowship Details 

The Advanced Practice Post Graduate Fellowships will fuse hands-on emergency medicine experiential learning with the opportunity for fellows to learn in a non-clinical environment as well. Fellows will spend the majority of the fellowship in the emergency department, followed by off-service rotations with other specialties such as Anesthesia, Trauma, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, and Hospital Medicine. 

During the ED blocks, the fellow will work alongside seasoned emergency medicine APPs and attending physicians who will teach, mentor and foster their growth as a new APP. The fellow will have the responsibility of caring for his or her own patients, under the direct guidance of the attending physician. It is this aspect of the fellowship which will help the fellow to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to become an independent provider. 

The fellow will spend the majority of their time in our Main ED, where high-acuity emergency medicine patients are cared for. The fellow will also rotate through SuperTrack, which is a fast-paced zone in which fellows will care for mid-acuity patients and get exposure to various procedures including suturing, fracture reduction, and I&D. The Clinical Decision Unit will provide the opportunity for the fellow to provide observation medicine.

Overview and Purpose

The purpose of this post-graduate fellowship is to expose, train and immerse APPs to the vast and fast-paced environment that is Emergency Medicine. The physician EM residency at Denver Health and The University of Colorado Department of Emergency Medicine is one of the oldest EM residencies in the country and is considered a premier, flagship residency.

The EM APP residency at The University of Colorado has the privilege of shared resources with this residency including facilities, conferences and lectures, and faculty who have been trained in a variety of fellowships (including Ultrasound, Toxicology, Global Health, Wilderness Medicine, Critical Care, Climate Change, and Administration).

Our vision is to also become a premier training program for APPs in Emergency Medicine. This curriculum is an 18-month program that combines focused emergency medicine rotations off-service rotations. The off-service rotations include Anesthesia, Trauma, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, and Hospital Medicine. 

Eligibility

  • Graduate of an ARC-PA accredited physician assistant or AANP program in the United States.
  • National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) or American Association of Nurse Practitioner’s- Board eligible or certified.
  • ACLS
  • ATLS
  • Eligible Physician Assistant Candidates must have passed the PANCE examination prior to the beginning of the fellowship

Curriculum

The fellowship will combine hands-on, ED-based learning, simulation and didactic lectures to impart knowledge and the skills that are required to be a successful emergency medicine APP.

 

Attendance at the ED’s weekly case conference which is followed by several lectures will occur on Wednesdays and will be mandatory during the fellowship.

 

In addition, fellows will attend monthly simulations where they will have the opportunity to get hands-on experience and practice in procedures and resuscitations. 

 

The didactic portion of the fellowship is made up of a series of monthly emergency medicine-based lectures. This interactive, lecture-based learning is designed to supplement the hands-on experience and exposure during the fellowship.

Interview/EMF selection process

Fellows are selected every six months, with start dates of April 1 and October 1. These dates reflect the four-month credentialing process, which begins when the candidate accepts the position. Any delays in acceptance may impact the start date. Application and Interview time frames for these dates are as follows:

April 1 start date:

  • October 15: Applications due
  • November 1-15: Preliminary interviews
  • December 1-7: Final Interviews
  • Jan 1: Credentialing begins
  • April 1: Fellowship begins

October 1 start date: 

  • March 15: Applications due
  • April 1-15: Preliminary interviews
  • May 1-7: Final Interviews
  • June 1: Credentialing begins
  • October 1: Fellowship begins 

*This represents a change from previously published schedules, and occurs midcycle for the Oct 2024 position. As such applications will still be accepted as late as April 15th for the Oct 2024 position only, with interviews being coordinated with individual applicants as needed. 

Please note that all applications will be reviewed after the application due date, with a response from the leadership expected in the following 1-2 weeks. If circumstances require communication with program leadership before the due date, please reach out to Abby Mehler (Abigail.mehler@cuanschutz.edu) or Todd Clark (todd.clark@cuanschutz.edu).