Critical Care APP Fellowship Details
Emory Critical Care Center (ECCC) APP Fellowship Program: A Brief History
Program Origins and Mission:
The Emory Critical Care Center (ECCC) APP Fellowship Program was established in 2012, building upon a strong foundation laid in 2009 under the leadership of Dr. Timothy Buchman. With a transformativemillion-dollar Health Care Innovation Award from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Emory Center for Critical Care expanded its mission to enhance critical care services and training for Advanced Practice Providers. This award catalyzed the development of a pioneering care model that included specialized training for Advanced Practice Providers (APPs), leading to the creation of our Critical Care APP Fellowship Program.
Program Overview and Leadership:
The ECCC APP Fellowship is a comprehensive 12-month post-graduate training program aimed at developing highly skilled Physician Assistants (PAs) and Acute Care Nurse Practitioners (ACNPs) for excellence in critical care medicine. The program is run by a dedicated leadership team consisting of a PA Program Director and an NP Program Director, who work together to oversee all aspects of the fellowship. They are supported by a Medical Director, who provides clinical oversight, and a Program Coordinator, who handles administrative tasks to ensure smooth operations.
Onboarding and Orientation:
New fellows are onboarded three times annually (January, May, November) totaling 12 fellows annually. The program begins with a comprehensive orientation period known as "bootcamp." This initial phase combines didactic education with hands-on learning to jumpstart the fellows' transition into critical care medicine. Following the bootcamp, fellows move on to immersive clinical experiences.
Training Structure:
- Clinical Rotations: Fellows gain diverse clinical experience through rotations across medical, general surgical, trauma, and neurological ICUs, with additional exposure to nephrology and infectious disease services. A significant component includes hands-on training in the operating room for procedures such as line placements and endotracheal intubations.
- Didactic Education: The program offers a robust educational curriculum featuring monthly in-person lectures from experts, online learning modules, rotation-specific exams, and bi-monthly high-fidelity simulation lab sessions.
- Competency Development: Fellows engage in competency-based learning with a focus on multidisciplinary, evidence-based patient management. Key elements include the ENLS course, ATLS course, FCCS course, POCUS training, bootcamp curriculum, communication and conflict resolution training, and leadership development.
Supervision and Preceptor Training:
The main component of the program is hands-on learning in the ICUs, where fellows are supervised by both APP and MD clinical preceptors. These preceptors are highly trained, maintaining their content expertise and receiving ongoing education in preceptorship to ensure they provide high-quality supervision and mentorship.
Evaluation and Programmatic Development:
The program utilizes a multifaceted approach to evaluating APP trainees and the program itself. This evaluation process is designed to identify strengths to build on and opportunities for growth, ensuring the continuous improvement of the fellowship.
Achievements and Future Directions:
Since its inception, nearly 100 APPs have graduated from the Emory Critical Care APP Fellowship, many of whom continue to serve in critical care settings, with a significant numberremaining within the Emory Healthcare system. Our ongoing commitment is to maintain excellence in clinical care, foster exceptional talent, and provide outstanding educational experiences while ensuring financial sustainability.APP Critical Care Fellowship Details
Mission Statement
Our mission is to prepare certified Physician Assistants and Acute Care Nurse Practitioners to practice the specialty of critical care medicine as members of a multi-professional team.
Our Vision
Our vision is to provide an educational pathway for certified Physician Assistants and Acute Care Nurse Practitioners which imparts a strong didactic background as well as an intense, practical clinical experience and establishes high levels of proficiency and critical thinking skills in the practice of multidisciplinary critical care medicine.
Emory Critical Care NP/PA post graduate Fellowship program at Emory Healthcare is accredited with distinction as a Practice Transition Program by the American Nurses Credentialing Centers Commission.
The ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Continued Clinical Postgraduate Program status to the Emory Critical Care Center Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant Residency Program sponsored by Emory Healthcare, Woodruff Health Science Center.
Accreditation-Clinical Postgraduate Program is the status of accreditation granted when a new or currently accredited clinical postgraduate program is in compliance with the Standards for Clinical Postgraduate Programs. Accreditation-clinical postgraduate program remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards, ARC-PA requirements or procedures.
Accreditation-Clinical Postgraduate Program does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status. It is limited to no more than five years from matriculation of the first class.
The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website at https://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation-history-emory-critical-care-center-pg/.