Inspirational mentors have taught Ebrahim Barkoudah, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., many things, such as how to build a strategic team, the value of rigorous evidence, and that patient safety should be a real-time clinical judgment. But Dr. Barkoudah said he was also influenced by something simpler and more powerful.

“It’s the moment when you sit with a patient who’s scared, and you can offer not just a diagnosis, but a path forward,” he said. “That human connection – being present with compassion when someone is vulnerable – never gets old.”

As UT Southwestern’s inaugural Chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine, Dr. Barkoudah brings to the role an educational background spanning three continents and a career in multiple institutional settings including academic medical centers, community hospitals, and integrated health systems.

As Chief, Dr. Barkoudah oversees hospital medicine services across UT Southwestern’s William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital and clinics, Parkland Memorial Hospital, Texas Health Frisco, and hospitalist faculty based at the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He is also responsible for directing the Division’s research and educational missions.

“Dr. Barkoudah’s recruitment marks a significant milestone in the Department’s commitment to advancing hospital medicine,” said Ezra Burstein, M.D., Ph.D., Interim Chair of Internal Medicine. “As the inaugural Chief for the Division of Hospital Medicine, the largest Division in the Department and one of the largest hospital medicine divisions in the U.S., Dr. Barkoudah arrives at UTSW at a seminal moment in the evolution of this field and is poised to grow this unit to great prominence nationwide.”

Throughout his career, Dr. Barkoudah has demonstrated a commitment to improving hospital care delivery and advancing health system performance.

“Hospital medicine sits at the intersection of everything that matters in healthcare delivery,” he said. “The acuity is high. The complexity is immense. You are managing patients with multiple comorbidities, coordinating with specialists, and navigating social determinants of health – all while the clock is ticking on length of stay and readmission risk.”

Dr. Barkoudah previously worked at Baystate Health UMass Chan, where he served as System Chief and Academic Division Chief of Hospital Medicine and Regional Chief Medical and Quality Officer. Prior to that, he served in leadership roles at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, including Associate Medical Director of the Hospital Medicine Unit.

The many challenges and rewards of hospital medicine drew him to the field.

“In hospital medicine, you can’t just be a good clinician,” he said. “You must understand patient flow, capacity management, throughput, clinical documentation integrity, transitions of care, and utilization review. You are managing a service line that touches every part of the hospital.”

Dr. Barkoudah said his breadth of education and training in medicine, public health, and business administration gave him a deep understanding of educational missions and the need for clinical transformation to elevate quality-of-care delivery.

“My journey has evolved from bedside clinician to someone who constantly thinks about how we design systems that enable clinicians to do their best work and patients to achieve the outcomes they deserve. I want our hospitalists to be the physicians that others consult,” he said. “Our clinicians should be known for diagnostic rigor, communication, and treating every patient with respect, dignity, and compassion in every encounter.”