The mission of Emergency Medicine has been to develop and foster the specialty of emergency medicine as a respected academic reality on the UT Southwestern campus. Our goal is to promote the unique body of knowledge in the specialty of emergency medicine and our primary objectives are to improve patient care in emergency medicine and to promote top-notched research and education in emergency medicine- related topics. Our common vision is that The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center - Parkland EM program will become accepted as one of the best- if not the best of its kind in the world.
We believe that our mission is at the heart of the art and science of medicine--because it is a mission of public service. From the clerical staff to the faculty; from nurses to technicians; and from administrative staff to residents; we all believe that, regardless of background, time of day, and demeanor, every single patient seeking our help will receive the same bold, aggressive and compassionate care that we would want for our own loved ones. This is the philosophy by which we strive to live and work and it is a philosophy which we plan to disseminate. In turn, this philosophy drives the academic mission. We would always want our loved ones cared for with the most up-to-date, cutting-edge and cost-effective care. Therefore, it is our academic mission to continually research best practices and innovations, and then properly teach and disseminate them responsibly.
We like to say that we provide the best "care"--not just treatment or management--because "caring" is what we do. We also like to say that this is not just a teaching hospital--it is a "learning hospital" so we focus on resident and faculty development and innovative educational techniques to maximize learning.
We also like to continually stress that we are "public servants". Quite literally, we are. We are employed by the citizens of the State of Texas and the County of Dallas and our clinical responsibilities are provided through public support. Regardless, our mission still implies that we are here to serve anyone seeking our help.
We also recognize that the emergency department if not our only focus of attention. Emergencies begin outside the hospital and the "care" we provide will need to begin there. Whether the eventual critical emergency occurs within the confines of our homes or on a rain-slicked, dusky roadside, we need to ensure and strengthen each link in our communities' chains of survival and recovery.
Specifically, we believe that we need to be public spokespersons and public educators for violence and injury prevention. We need to be public advocates and ensure that everyone knows how to perform immediate bystander CPR and first aid. We need to ensure the best performance, judgment and skills of the thousands of paramedics and EMTs. We need to ensure that our poison control and toxicological services are the best and that we and all of our public safety officials are properly trained, equipped and prepared for the horrors of weapons of mass effect (WME), terroristic opportunism and other public safety issues concerning governmental emergency medical security services (GEMSS). These all fall within our mission and our scope of services and they all affect the care of our own family members and friends, let alone the community at large. We are dedicated to promulgating this mission, not only because we are medical educators and caregivers, but also because, above all, we are public servants.
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