Residency Program

One of the busiest emergency departments in the country
Our home base, Parkland Memorial Hospital, houses:

• A 149-bed Emergency Department (ED) that’s the busiest single site ED in the U.S. based on volume
• Numerous other top education programs which provide the opportunity to learn from and work with premier physicians from other specialties.

Reaching the underserved population
Parkland offers a vast array of front-line experience as:

• A level 1 adult trauma center
• A regional pediatric and adult burn center
• The only county hospital in Dallas County, which grants us the privilege to care for a very large underserved population.

A front row seat to expertise
At walking distance from Parkland are: 

UT Southwestern’s William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, which offers:

• A destination care facility for cancer, transplant, and cardiac patients
• Resident rotations through the ED and CVICU, giving residents the opportunity to not only care for typical emergencies, but also manage LVADs, pulmonary hypertension, and ECMO.

Children’s Medical Center Dallas, which is:

• One of three level 1 pediatric trauma centers in Texas
• One of the 10 largest pediatric hospitals in the U.S.
• A PECARN research site
• Home to a world-renowned pediatric faculty.

Community rotations
Our program integrates numerous community rotations to sharpen our clinical acumen and polish our personal practice while gaining exposure to different styles of ED workflow and patient populations.

These unique training experiences build physicians that are exceptionally well-rounded, clinically excellent, and capable of practicing emergency medicine in any environment.

More than 100 strong
Our department faculty of more than 100 have a diversity of expertise and are leaders in their fields.

Prestigious leadership

• The Chair of our department, Deborah Diercks, M.D., was Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) president from 2015-2016.
• The Executive Vice Chair, Mark Courtney, M.D., was SAEM president from 2017-2018.
• Ray Fowler, M.D. was National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP) president from 1992-1993.
• Angela Gardner, M.D. is a past president of both American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and Texas College of Emergency Physicians (TCEP).
• Ava Pierce, M.D. was Academy for Diversity & Inclusion in Emergency Medicine (ADIEM) president for 2018-2019.
• We have two past American College of Emergency Medicine (ACEM) presidents, Angela Gardner, M.D. and Robert Suter, M.D., on staff and more than a dozen board-certified toxicologists.
• The Chair of the Institutional Review Board (IRB), Ahamed Idris, M.D., is one of our faculty.
• Many of our faculty members are double or triple board-certified.

Our residents hone their leadership skills through participating in a variety of activities. From improving patient care to education to wellness, our residents lead and serve on both local and national levels.

Residents are excused from clinical duties in all EDs to attend Conference every Thursday from 7:30-11:30 a.m. Weekly conferences incorporate multiple modalities and use modern principles of education to maximize learner benefit, including:

• Small group, case-based, and longitudinal lectures that cover every field of Emergency Medicine tested on EM boards
• Specific content tailored to residency class (i.e. first-years receive more foundation lectures while third-years will focus more on billing, contracts, and fine tuning their practice)
• Yearly, full-body cadaver lab to practice rare procedures and yearly cadaveric hand lab

Foundations curriculum

Our Foundations curriculum utilizes a “flipped classroom” approach with suggested reading, podcasts, and video series to independently review core content. This information is then reinforced through oral board cases in small group settings.

Simulation Center

We perform monthly, hands-on procedural labs and simulation-based conferences in our state-of-the-art Simulation Center, one of the largest in the United States.

The resident-run Wellness Committee organizes monthly social events that help maintain balance during residency. Our Wellness activities include:

• Monthly outings
• A new intern welcome dinner
• Volleyball team
• Soccer team
• Running group
• Wellness Week
• Annual class day off
• Karaoke night
• Secret Santa
• Snacks for the resident lounge

Whether you are set on a fellowship or still undecided, we have many options available. The Department of Emergency Medicine offers fellowship programs in:

• Clinical Ultrasound
• Critical Care Medicine
• Emergency Disaster and Global Health
• Emergency Medical Services
• Hyperbaric and Undersea Medicine
• Medical Education in Emergency Medicine
• Medical Toxicology
• Pediatric Emergency Medicine
• Simulation-Based Medical Education

Residents have opportunities to rotate through clinical settings in:

• Chile
• Colombia
• Ethiopia
• Guatemala
• Kenya
• Malawi
• South Africa
• Thailand
• New Zealand

Our New Zealand rotation is by far the most popular and involves working two months in a community emergency medicine environment with compensation. This list is not exhaustive, and our program supports residents rotating in regions of personal interest.