Division of Emergency Medicine

The Division of Emergency Medicine in the Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care is committed to the diagnosis and management of the spectrum of medical, surgical and traumatic emergencies for patients in Austin and the surrounding community. The division’s faculty members and residents work together to create innovative solutions to providing care for Austin’s most vulnerable patients as well as complex tertiary-care conditions.

The division partners with the department to host many faculty development events and continuing medical education offerings in addition to regular weekly emergency medicine didactics.

Educational Programs

Clinical Programs

Research

Educational Programs

Division faculty contribute to a range of training programs to develop future physician leaders.

Undergraduate Medical Education

Second-year medical students spend four weeks participating in emergency medicine teams at Dell Seton Medical Center and Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin. The experience provides unique learning opportunities in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of conditions. The curriculum also includes interactive instruction and simulation-based training in skills such as starting an IV, splinting, managing an airway emergency and suturing a laceration. Drew Coyne serves as the clerkship director.

The division hosts an emergency medicine acting internship for fourth-year medical students. The emergency medicine acting internship is a four-week rotation in emergency medicine that introduces students to the approach to common undifferentiated chief complaints as well as the initial management strategies for stabilizing common life-threatening emergencies.

Students work closely with emergency medicine faculty members and senior residents and actively participate in the assessment, management and the treatment of trauma, acute medical and minor medical/surgical patients. The department encourages students who are considering application to any of its graduate medical education programs to spend a month with the division. Oliver Fannin, M.D., serves as director.

Fourth-year medical students from Liaison Committee on Medical Education- or American Osteopathic Association-accredited institutions are eligible to apply for the acting internship in emergency medicine. See information for visiting students, including a list of all available acting internships.

Graduate Medical Education

Dell Medical School’s Emergency Medicine Residency graduates eight physicians per year. The program is a dynamic, learner-centered residency that constantly pushes educational programs forward to meet residents’ needs. The program focuses on teaching, and its multihospital training model helps prepare residents to work in any setting upon graduation. Serving the most vulnerable people in the local community on the front lines of care, the program emphasizes leadership training with special focuses on public advocacy, emergency department administration, emergency medical services and pediatric emergency medicine. Chris Wyatt, M.D., directs the residency program.

Division faculty partner with the Department of Pediatrics on the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship. This program puts fellows’ career aspirations first, leading to successful pediatric emergency medicine attendings and a fruitful fellowship. All fellows receive independent and supervised training and are supported to explore and gain experience in research, clinical training, teaching and advocacy. The program is led by Sujit Iyer, M.D.

Clinical Programs

Division faculty provide care at sites across Austin, including Dell Seton Medical Center, the primary teaching hospital of Dell Med that is operated by Ascension.

Dell Seton Medical Center is an American College of Surgeons–verified and State of Texas–designated Level I Trauma Center. It is the only adult Level I Trauma Center in the 11-county Central Texas region. Partnering with the Division of Acute Care Surgery, Dell Seton provides unmatched care for the most severely injured patients and has every medical and surgical subspecialist available at a moment’s notice.

Dell Seton Medical Center is a DNV GL–certified Comprehensive Stroke Center — the only such center in the region that also has both emergency medicine and neurology residencies. These programs ensure leading-edge care, as well as state-of-the-art research into the management of stroke.

Dell Seton Medical Center’s burn program cares for all burns and is the only such program in Central Texas between San Antonio and Dallas.

Dell Seton Medical Center is designated a Resuscitation Center of Excellence by the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services, ensuring that the hospital is a receiving center for the full range of patients needing any form of resuscitation.

Dell Seton Medical Center includes a dedicated pod in the emergency department to serve the needs of psychiatric patients in crisis. With specially trained nursing and social work staff, as well as a compassionate yet effective security force, the hospital’s psychiatric patients are well-supported by emergency medicine providers and psychiatrists.

Dell Seton Medical Center has a strong affiliation with Austin-Travis County EMS. Learners rotate regularly with this agency.

The division partners with the Department of Pediatrics to offer emergency treatment to children in the Austin community.

Research

The Division of Emergency Medicine has a diverse research program with projects addressing all of the division’s areas of clinical expertise, as well as broader medical education and health policy topics.

Focus areas include:

Ultrasonography.
Novel anticoagulants.
Event medicine.
Emergency medical services.
Emergency medicine education.
Access to care.

Faculty collaborate frequently with other Dell Medical School teams as well as local agencies such as Austin-Travis County EMS and Austin Public Health. Division faculty and residents regularly present at national and regional scientific meetings and publish in leading peer-reviewed journals.