The BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health provides emergency care in South Central Wisconsin 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
Emergency Critical Care
Division Chief: Joshua Glazer, MD
The Division of Emergency Critical Care focuses on caring for patients who are critically ill or injured, as well as those with complex, serious conditions. The division coordinates care between the emergency department and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and helped establish UW Health’s extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) program, recognized as a Gold Level Center of Excellence in Life Support by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization.
Emergency Ultrasound
Division Chief: Sara Damewood, MD
The Division of Emergency Ultrasound includes eight fellowship-trained faculty with diverse expertise. The division provides innovative ultrasound education for learners across all levels, supports a robust clinical ultrasound program with most emergency medicine faculty credentialed to perform and bill for bedside ultrasound, and conducts research to advance patient care through clinician-performed ultrasound.
Global & Social Emergency Medicine
Division Chief: Jessica Schmidt, MD, MPH
The Division of Global and Social Emergency Medicine 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 global or social emergency medicine. The program maintains a strong commitment to the implementation of public health at local and global levels and is a partner of the UW–Madison Global Health Institute.
Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Division Chief: Nicholas Kuehnel, MD
The Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine provides collaborative, patient- and family-centered care for children and young adults at the American Family Children’s Hospital emergency department. Its fellowship-trained physicians care for patients across the full range of acuity. The division’s research focuses on injury prevention, prehospital and emergency department preparedness, medical simulation, acute pain management, and human trafficking.
Prehospital Medicine
Division Chief: Megan Gussick, MD
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:
- Emergency Medical Services: Provides leadership in EMS education, quality assurance, protocol development, physician response, as well as prehospital research and advocacy. UW has provided medical direction for primary medical direction services throughout Wisconsin since 1971.
- UW Health Med Flight: Premier air and ground critical care transport and retrieval service that has served the upper Midwest for more than 40 years and is recognized as one of the safest air medical services in the country.
Simulation
Division Chief: Michelle Hughes, MD
The Simulation Division trains clinicians to recognize and manage critically ill patients while working collaboratively as a team. Through hands-on simulation, learners build clinical, procedural, and teamwork skills. The division also offers a simulation fellowship for residency-trained physicians pursuing careers in academic emergency medicine, with a focus on curriculum development, teaching, and research.
