Fowler first holder of Atkins Emergency Medical Services Professorship
By Ron Durham
Dr. Raymond L. Fowler, Chief of the Division of Emergency Medical Services, has been named the inaugural holder of the James M. Atkins, M.D., Professorship in Emergency Medical Services at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
The Atkins Professorship was established by generous gifts from the faculty and graduates of the Emergency Medical Services Fellowship of UT Southwestern and honors Dr. James M. Atkins for his contributions to the development of the training and growth of the EMS system in Dallas and of the building of the specialty of EMS in the House of Medicine. Dr. Atkins is a Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern and works as a cardiologist at Zale Lipshy University Hospital, Parkland Memorial Hospital, and Dallas VA Hospital.
“During his tenure at UT Southwestern, Dr. Fowler has been actively involved in the education of paramedics, involved in our fellowship program, and active within the region in the area of Emergency Medical Services,” said Dr. Deborah B. Diercks, Chair of Emergency Medicine at UT Southwestern. “Dr. Fowler exhibits a long history of service to EMS, dedication to the education of EMS providers, and a dedication to the clinical and education missions of UT Southwestern.”
Dr. Fowler earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in 1976 and has been involved in EMS as an educator, author, medical director, and political advocate for almost four decades. He served as President of the Georgia College of Emergency Physicians and as a perennial member (since 1980) of the State of Georgia EMS Advisory Council.
In addition to his work in EMS, Dr. Fowler has been a practicing emergency physician for 39 years. In October 2013, Dr. Fowler became the first physician at UT Southwestern to successfully challenge the new subspecialty boards in Emergency Medical Services Medicine, offered under the auspices of the American Board of Emergency Medicine.
“It’s difficult to express how grateful I am to be representing a Professorship that bears Jim Atkins’ name,” Dr. Fowler said. “He has been a mentor and a friend to me for almost two generations. He is one of the towering figures in the history of this new specialty in the House of Medicine: Emergency Medical Services. Based upon his work and the labor of many more, the field of ‘EMS Medicine’ has taken its place beside the other fields of medicine.”
Drs. Fowler and Atkins first met 32 years ago at a meeting in San Antonio of the then newly formed National Association of EMS Physicians. The purpose of the organization, according to Dr. Fowler, was “to create uniform quality metrics by which our EMS systems could assure the best possible care in our emergency, pre-hospital environment.”
In the beginning, however, the members clashed over just how to accomplish that objective. As Dr. Fowler recalls, it was Dr. Atkins who brought a sense of calmness and cohesiveness to the group that day.
“Quickly, disagreement and arguing broke out, as all of us thought that we had the ideas and policies that should carry the day,” said Dr. Fowler. “Then, in the middle of the crowd, this tall Texan stood up, cleared his voice, and the room became hushed. Jim’s calmness and mature leadership helped guide this nascent national organization to a focus that has carried for many years since.
“Jim built this EMS system in our county, both the medical direction part as well as the real-time radio room operating out of Parkland ER. He also built the EMS education program, training over 13,000 EMTs and paramedics during its tenure. We owe a great deal to the legacy that he has built.”
Dr. Atkins graduated from UT Southwestern in 1967 and performed his internship and residency in internal medicine and his subspecialty training in cardiology at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Dr. Atkins has had a long-term interest in cardiac arrest and the care of acute myocardial infarction, having written many papers and chapters on these issues. In addition, he served as Medical Director of the paramedic system in Dallas County for 27 years before stepping down in 2002.
Dr. Atkins has received special awards for his service in these areas from the American Heart Association, the FDA, and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. A past President of the American Heart Association, Texas Affiliate, Dr. Atkins has been named an Honorary Life Member of its Board Directors.
“Dr. James Atkins has contributed greatly to the development of the training and growth of the EMS system in Dallas,” said Dr. Diercks.
Dr. Diercks holds the Audre and Bernard Rapoport Distinguished Chair in Clinical Care and Research
