Special Programs

International

International Division of International Health and Humanitarian Programs — Brigham and Women’s Hospital

The Division seeks to define and promote the science, practice, and professional development of humanitarian emergency response worldwide. The three-part mission is networking, education, and analysis by creating an evidence-based framework for crisis assessment and intervention. It comprises faculty, fellows, and staff with programmatic interests in international health, education and research. The Division seeks to improve access to health services in the world’s most stressed populations through programs including the Humanitarian Studies Initiatives for Residents (HSRI), the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI), and the International Emergency Medicine Health programs.

Center for Global Health — Massachusetts General Hospital

The Center’s mission is to care for the world’s most vulnerable by developing and facilitating health-care delivery, research, education and capacity-building initiatives. The focus of our current strategic initiatives for serving the world community are education and training of global health, global disaster response and humanitarian assistance, health-care delivery models and implementation, and health and human rights research.

To see where residents and faculty have worked, please click on the following link:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=1093623958109205...

Ultrasound Program

This two-week second year rotation provides residents with a one-on-one educational experience that is an invaluable introduction to learning this essential skill. Residents are scheduled for hands-on training sessions and do practice scanning with RDMS (Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography) trained faculty. In addition, each resident has individual scan review time with the ultrasound faculty and keeps a log of his/her scans to reach ACEP level II proficiency. The ultrasound division also runs several CME courses in emergency ultrasound each year where interested residents can gain experience teaching and instructing. Ultrasound education does not end with the successful completion of this rotation, however. There are ongoing didactic and scan review sessions for residents throughout their four years and emergency ultrasound proficiency is expected upon graduation. Finally, there are numerous ongoing research opportunities for residents in ultrasound related projects.

Wilderness Medicine / National Outdoor Leadership School

Medicine in the Wild provides the resident the unique opportunity to participate in a month-long wilderness experience in the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico. This course was created in partnership with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) Professional Training, the Wilderness Medicine Institute (WMI), and HAEMR, and is designed to offer a world-class experience for senior medical students on the essentials of wilderness medicine. In addition to a team of experienced NOLS and WMI educators, the senior resident will accompany the expedition to learn advanced wilderness travel skills and to provide medical teaching and mentorship for students. In addition to the wilderness curriculum, Medicine in the Wild emphasizes development of peer leadership skills, principles of effective medical education, and an exploration of the interdependence of environmental/global and human health. Additionally, ongoing opportunities for active research in high altitude medicine and physiology are readily available to HAEMR residents.

EMS/Disaster Medicine

HAEMR has a very active program in EMS and Disaster Medicine.There are myriad academic EMS opportunities for our residents. The EMS rotation exposes you to the many different aspects of pre-hospital medical care. Residents ride-along with ambulances, fire department heavy rescue units, and helicopter/critical care transport vehicles but more importantly, begin to learn the concept of EMS oversight and how to administer a system of prehospital care. Flying with the helicopter program is an opportunity, but not a requirement for residents. Residents also spend time in the city’s 911 dispatch center and can attend regional EMS administration meetings. Both BWH and MGH provide on-line medical direction for 911 EMS services, and third and fourth year HAEMR residents provide on-line medical control to paramedics in the greater Boston area. For those residents with a greater interest in EMS, many residents have published research projects. Also, there is an opportunity to become an Assistant Medical Director during residency with one of the area’s private EMS services for the later years of residency under the mentorship of the HAEMR faculty.

HAEMR faculty members are leaders in the field and are actively involved at all levels. The faculty have led emergency preparedness and bio-defense for Partners Healthcare, advised the state of Massachusetts and Department s of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, served as National Faculty for the American Heart Association, regional medical director for the metropolitan Boston EMS Council, Chairman of the Mayor’s Subcommittee on Emergency Medical Services, and as co-director of the Operational Medicine Institute (OMI). They have led multiple AHRQ-funded research projects looking at optimizing domestic disaster response and work with the CDC funded Center for Public Health Preparedness (HSPHCPHP). The HSPH-CPHP conducts a large number of exercises designed to improve preparedness and HAEMR residents have the opportunity to both observe the exercises and also participate in academic projects on domestic disaster preparedness.

Both the BWH and MGH also have large integrated hospital-based hazardous materials decontamination teams and conduct frequent exercises with their teams as well a surrounding hospitals and municipalities. The HAEMR residents have the unique opportunity to become certified at the Operations level in Hazmat Response and Incident Command and can participate in the Hazmat Team decontamination exercises as well as further develop expertise in the areas of Operational Medical Support and Tactical EMS, to name a few.

STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation

Within the STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation at the BWH site, residents integrate their EM knowledge learn procedural and communication skills, and practice team management and organization using different models of patient simulation. Click here for more information about STRATUS.