Chair’s Welcome

Welcome to the BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine!

Like all Badgers, we are driven by the Wisconsin Idea — that our efforts should influence people’s health and well-being beyond the care they receive in our emergency departments. We actualized the Wisconsin Idea by focusing on improving the health of our communities, training healthcare leaders, delivering remarkable patient care, and by performing impactful emergency care research. This focus has propelled us to become a nationally recognized and respected emergency medicine enterprise at a top-tier academic medical center.

Central to our department are our people. Our clinical and academic trainees, faculty, and staff are our family. Whether we are caring for patients, learning through simulations, performing cutting edge research, or relaxing together at the Wisconsin Union Terrace, we care personally for each member of our team. We support their personal and professional needs, from education and mentorship for our trainees to professional development and career advancement for our faculty and staff.

Central to our mission are our patients and our community. Through state-of-the-art clinical facilities and services — including the only air medical service in the United States fully staffed by attending physicians — and robust clinical programs such as EMS, critical care and ultrasound, we deliver high-quality care to patients from across the upper Midwest. We also engage communities and health systems abroad through our global emergency medicine program.

We recognize that there are structural barriers to health and health equity impacting our community. We are committed to identifying and addressing these barriers through rigorous review of our policies, processes and curricula, advancing the science of emergency care, and by developing and supporting social emergency medicine initiatives with real impacts in the communities we serve.

Equally important as investing in our people, our patients and in our community are unparalleled investments in education and research. Our highly selective residency and fellowship programs are thriving, and our graduates are leaders in their respective institutions and communities and are game changers in our specialty. We are among the most highly funded research programs in emergency medicine, making profound discoveries that are being translated into practice and improving patient care. Our faculty are also respected leaders at the UW and UW Health are instrumental in shaping the future of healthcare.

Wisconsin Badgers Dr. James Berbee and Karen Walsh embraced the vision of our future and provided resources to build our clinical, research, and educational programs. Our founding chair, Dr. Azita Hamedani, set us on the course we are on today. I am excited and honored to build upon their legacy by pushing us forward, always focused on improving our specialty and fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in all aspects of our work.

Thank you for your interest in the BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and UW Health. We invite you to join us on our journey!

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Manish N. Shah, MD, MPH, FACEP
Chair, BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine
The Azita G. Hamedani Distinguished Chair of Emergency Medicine

Manish N. Shah, MD, MPH, professor and chair
Manish N. Shah, MD, MPH
Department Chair