Divisions & Sections

The BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health provides emergency care to the south-central Wisconsin area and sponsors advanced education, training, and specialized patient care and research within a number of sub-specialty areas.

The scope of these clinical services combined with research in a number of different areas results in dynamic relationships that foster stronger research and patient care. Many faculty are both clinical practitioners and researchers, allowing the department to transform research into a continuum from investigation through discovery to translation into real-life clinical practice, linking basic research to practical improvements in human health.

Department of Emergency Medicine
Divisions & Sections

Division of Critical Care Medicine

The Division of Critical Care Medicine focuses on caring for patients who are seriously or critically ill or injured, as well as delivering complex care to patients living with serious illnesses. The division coordinates emergency department operations with the ICU and helped to found the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) program at UW Health, which has been recognized as a Gold Level Center for Excellence in Life Support by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization.

Division of Emergency Ultrasound

The Division of Emergency Ultrasound consists of five fellowship-trained faculty with diverse training backgrounds and interests. The division provides innovative ultrasound education for a variety of learners, including faculty, fellows, residents, advanced practice providers, and medical students, supports an active clinical ultrasound program with the majority of emergency medicine faculty members credentialed to bill and perform ultrasounds for clinical care, and performs research to discover new ways to improve patient care using clinician-performed ultrasound at the bedside.

Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine

The Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine provides collaborative, patient and family-centered care to meet the emergency care needs of children and young adults at the American Family Children’s Hospital emergency department. Physician faculty are fellowship-trained specialists in pediatric emergency care across a range of acuities, and the division’s research focuses on injury prevention, prehospital preparedness, acute pain management, medical simulation, and human trafficking.

Division of Prehospital Medicine

The Division of Prehospital Medicine works closely with first responders and area hospitals to provide care for the critically ill and injured patients in the surrounding region through state-of-the-art clinical care and transport services and robust education, research and advocacy efforts. Many division faculty are board-certified in emergency medical services and have expertise in the following areas:

Global Health Section

The Global Health section aims is to build relationships with partnering institutions in order to improve health and education in their communities, as well as train physicians interested in pursuing a career in international emergency medicine and global emergency medicine research. The program maintains a strong commitment to the implementation of public health at the local to global level and is a partner of the UW–Madison Global Health Institute.

Simulation Section

The Emergency Medicine Simulation section is focused on training medical students and residents in the timely recognition and appropriate intervention for critically ill patients. Besides learning medical management, simulation training provides learners with a hands-on opportunity to improve teamwork and practice procedural skills. The section also supports a medical simulation fellowship for residency-trained physicians interested in a career in academic emergency medicine to create and administer simulation-based education and pursue research.