School Takes Steps To Create New Academic Department of Emergency Medicine
11.29.06
As Dean David Kessler announced on November 28, the School of Medicine is taking initial steps towards the formation of a new academic department: the Department of Emergency Medicine.
This step not only recognizes that the field of emergency medicine has advanced enormously to become its own established academic specialty, but it also builds on the considerable strength of UCSF's existing emergency medicine programs at San Francisco General Hospital and at the UCSF Medical Center on Parnassus.
Elevating the status of emergency medicine to an academic department (in addition to its existing clinical department status within the Medical Center and SFGH) will put UCSF in a better position to compete for outstanding faculty, trainees and grants and create a more productive environment, especially for training and research.
"The faculty in the emergency departments at SFGH and Moffitt appreciate the Dean's recognition of emergency medicine as a unique specialty, and are excited about taking this important step. The creation of an academic department will further our ability to excel in these areas."
-- Alan Gelb, MD, Chief of Emergency Services, SFGH |
Emergency medicine has been established as its own specialty, with unique training programs and research opportunities, 13 peer-reviewed scientific journals and numerous emergency medicine-specific textbooks. Two-thirds of medical schools already have their own departments of emergency medicine, including both UC Davis and UC Irvine.
The clinical and educational impact of emergency medicine is substantial and warrants recognition:
- 25% of all hospital admissions at Moffitt, and 65% at SFGH are first evaluated and treated in the Emergency Department, providing a great opportunity for integrated training for medical students and residents in the care of the undifferentiated patient.
- At UCSF, emergency medicine has been one of the top residency choices for UCSF medical students since 1996, hitting a new high in 2005 (13% of the class, second only to internal medicine.)
- Combined, the SFGH and UCSF emergency departments care for approximately 93,000 patients a year.
- Emergency Medicine plays a major role in providing disaster and routine out-of-hospital care and provides medical supervision to all emergency medical services, bioterrorism and hazardous materials events, and disaster care in San Francisco.
"For many years, faculty at UCSF, SFGH, and UCSF-Fresno -- which has had a nationally prominent EM residency for decades -- have worked to develop and advance the specialty of emergency medicine here. It's very gratifying for those of us involved in this long process to see it come to fruition through the Dean's actions.
-- Michael Callaham, MD, Chief of the Division of Emergency Medicine, UCSF Medical Center
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As Callaham pointed out, the school already has nationally prominent leaders in academic emergency medicine, and have recruited a nationally recognized director for the new UCSF-SFGH residency, planned to start in 2008, which will start training the next generation of emergency medicine leaders.
"Since emergency medicine is one of the few areas in medicine where almost all specialties intersect and interact, the new department will benefit all patients, students, and residents, not just those in EM. And because of the stature of UCSF, it sends a message about emergency medicine nationally as well as locally", said Callaham.
According to the dean's email,
the first step towards the establishment of a new department is the formation of a steering committee that will report back on the specific steps needed to proceed towards the formation of the new department, including at which point the search for a chair of the new department can be initiated.
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