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Fellowship

APP – Emergency Medicine

St. Lawrence Region

About the Program

This two year, postgraduate specialty training program for Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners aims to expand and refine the skills needed for advanced practice providers (APPs) to thrive in both the Emergency Department as well as the Urgent Care setting.

This comprehensive program includes core clinical hours in the Emergency Departments at Canton-Potsdam and Massena hospitals, as well as the Potsdam and Canton urgent care centers, with specialty rotations and regular didactics to provide additional training and to prepare successful candidates to be successful on the Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) examination. This program meets or exceeds the requirement for CAQ.

 The program begins with a “Bootcamp” to provide fellows a basic competency on commonly performed ED procedures. This will be held in the Simulation Center and Cadaver Lab at Clarkson University, Potsdam. Procedures to be covered include the following:

  • Basic ECG interpretation
  • Basic ultrasound
  • Intubation/airway adjuncts
  • IV access
  • LP
  • Splinting
  • Suturing

Throughout the course of this program, fellows will complete the following certifications: BLS/ACLS/PALS/NRP/ATLS

Core Clinical Training experience will involve exposure to a variety of practice settings, and off-services specialty rotations. Fellows will rotate through the Emergency Department of Canton-Potsdam Hospital (CPH), a 94 bed community hospital, certified stroke center and Level 3 trauma center; and through the Emergency Department of Massena Hospital, a 25-bed acute care hospital. Fellows will gain invaluable experience with a broad and unique patient population. Additionally, fellows will evaluate and treat a myriad of patient presentations in the Urgent Care setting at both our Canton and Potsdam locations. 

The program emphasizes strong clinical training and learning in real time with supplemental didactics during which case-based learning, lectures, and board review will be supplemented with simulation using mannequins with the integration of ongoing procedural training and competency. Fellows will also participate in departmental education delivering case presentations at monthly department meetings. The interactive lecture-based learning is uniquely designed to supplement hands-on experience.

3-4 hours monthly/bimonthly protected didactic time/”ground rounds”

With an emphasis on lifelong learning, fellows will participate in quarterly journal clubs, learning how to rigorously evaluate the medical literature and integrate this into clinical practice. 

To Apply/More Information

Prospective candidates are invited to submit the following materials via email. Questions may also be sent via email or by calling 315-265-3300, x1019.

  1. Cover letter
  2. CV
  3. Three letters of recommendation, with at least one coming from an Emergency Medicine provider
  4. Brief essay (approximately one page) indicating “Why You Are Interested in Emergency Medicine”

 

The application deadline is April 1, 2025; this is a paid position.

Specialty Rotations

Anesthesia

To develop and maintain competence in airway management, fellows will work with the St. Lawrence Health (SLH) Anesthesia department in the operating room and PACU. They will learn critical skills of intubation, use of airway adjunct, and management of the intubated patient.
~ 2 weeks

ICU

Fellows will rotate in the ICU at CPH where they will evaluate and treat critically ill patients under the supervision of APPs and attending physicians on the unit.
~ 2-4 weeks

Obstetrics

With a focus on deliveries and immediate newborn care, fellows will rotate through the obstetrics unit at CPH. Fellows will complete NRP and PALS prior to or during this block.
~ 2 weeks

Ophthalmology

Fellows will learn important ophthalmologic diagnosis skills, including slit lamp examination, working with ophthalmology specialists at the Helen Snell Cheel Medical Campus, Eye Care Center.
~ 1 week

Capstone Project

Fellows will complete a capstone project with either an administrative or a clinical focus on research, quality improvement, education, patient safety, emergency department operations, or patient care. The goal of these projects include overall department improvement, advancing patient care, or furthering education of patients and/or staff.

Sample Didactic Schedule

Recommended Reading

1. Bouncebacks! Emergency Department Cases ED Returns. Weinstock, et al
2. Avoiding Common Errors in the Emergency Department. Mattu, et al.
3. Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide. Tintinalli, et al
4. ECGs for the Emergency Physician 1 and 2. Mattu, Brady

Guided by the framework of both clinical and didactic learning, throughout this program, fellows will be expected to continue learning asynchronously. During “bootcamp,” each fellow will complete a timed mock board exam to get a baseline for areas which especially need attention. Fellows will be assigned questions to  complete from Rosh Review and/or Hippo to track their progress throughout the program. Notwithstanding, we will utilize a flipped classroom model with assignments from Tintinalli/Foundations ahead of each grand rounds.