Emergency Medical Services Fellowship

EMS is an exciting and dynamic area of medicine. Since being recognized as an official subspecialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties, EMS has expanded even more. Our program has graduated EMS fellows since 1990. We also had the honor of being one of the first EMS Fellowships accredited by the ACGME in 2013.

Applicant requirements:
  1. Board Eligible/Board Certified in Emergency Medicine
  2. Eligible for an unrestricted North Carolina medical license
  3. Eligible for an unrestricted North Carolina driver’s license
  4. BE/BC in Emergency Medicine
EMS Fellowship Brochure (click)

ECU offers a one-year ACGME-accredited program that covers the core content of EMS. Formal didactics, mentorship, simulation training, and hands-on experience accomplish the fellowship objectives. The fellow will experience both urban and rural settings within different EMS systems, Fire-Based, Third Service models, and Non-Emergency transport agencies.

Pitt County Emergency Medical Services (click)

The fellow will also have experience with ECU Health EastCare, our critical care transport service that includes ICU trucks and critical care air transport. The fellow will provide direct medical oversight and prehospital care through our Physician Response Vehicle as part of Pitt County EMS. The fellow will assist Pitt County’s Medical Director in provider education and in Quality Assurance activities.

In addition to activities with Pitt County EMS, the fellow will have opportunities to experience other EMS mass gathering events:

  1. ECU home Football games
  2. State Medical Assistance Team (SMAT) deployments
  3. Other Mass Gathering Events

Fellow(s) are assigned the academic appointment of Clinical Instructor at the Brody School of Medicine. They will work clinical shifts in both ECU Health Medical Center and ECU Health Beaufort Hospital. ECU Health Medical Center is a Level I trauma Center with 58 ED beds and a dedicated 16-bed Children’s ED. ECU Health is in the eastern part of North Carolina in Greenville, with 981 beds. ECU Health serves about 1.4 million people in 29 counties and is the primary teaching hospital for the ECU Brody School of Medicine, with around 125,000 visits per year. ECU Health Beaufort is in Washington, about 35 minutes from Greenville. ECU Health Beaufort has 14 ED beds and is a full-service community hospital. Additional areas of practice include a Fast-Track and Chest Pain/Observation areas with a 10-bed capacity, both in Greenville, NC.

If you are not familiar with Greenville, we welcome you to get to know this flourishing cultural and economic city, and the healthcare hub of Eastern North Carolina. Pitt County, Greenville is the 10th largest city in North Carolina. With an estimated population of 89,130 residents in 2013, it is a growing and young city. It is home to East Carolina University, the second-largest university in the University of North Carolina system, and ECU Health Medical Center, the flagship hospital for ECU Health.

Welcome to the “Gem of the East”-Greenville, NC (click)

Things-to-do, “NC Tripping”-Eastern Noth Carolina (click)

If you have any questions, contact
the Program Director or Coordinator.

To apply, send to the following information:

  1. Send a cover letter
  2. Two letters of recommendation
  3. Copy of Curriculum Vitae

Correspondence should be made to both by email:

Roberto C. Portela, MD, FACEP, FAEMS
Associate Professor
Program Director, EMS Fellowship
Department of Emergency Medicine
East Carolina University
600 Moye Blvd
VMC 3ED-300
Greenville, NC  27834
Phone: 252-744-2154
portelar@ecu.edu

Lisa Pennypacker
Program Coordinator
EMS Fellowship
Phone: 252-744-2154
pennypackerl@ecu.edu