Academic Department

On July 1, 1999 the Indiana University School of Medicine established an Academic Department of Emergency Medicine. The reasons to do so were:

1. Establish an academic home for the Emergency Medicine residency training program. With the creation of Clarian Health Partners in 1997 (consolidation of Methodist, Indiana University, and Riley Children's Hospitals) oversight of all graduate medical education training programs was transferred to the Indiana School of Medicine.
2. The EM residency, having no counterpart at that time on the IU campus, needed an organizational home. This department provided a mechanism to effect the transition of the Wishard Memorial Hospital (public hospital on the IU campus) Emergency Department from its prior specialty based triage to an emergency medicine paradigm. This mandated the growth of the emergency medicine clinical faculty and permitted the expansion of the EM residency training program.
3. Permit liaison between the Emergency Medicine community and the School of Medicine. This will allow EM input into the School of Medicine curriculum. It also carries the obligation of facilitating research programs and faculty development.

The department has all traditional academic obligations including facilitation of education, research, and clinical practices.  Now, through the investments and talents of many, the department is proud to list the following very recent accomplishments:

• Assumption of the direction of the Evidence Based Medicine course for first year medical students and appointment of the course director as the State Wide Director for Evidence Based Medicine and Biostatistics
• Creation of the nation's largest mandatory senior medical student clerkship in Emergency Medicine--incidentally chosen by the graduating classes of 2005, 2006, and 2008 as the best clinical rotation in the School of Medicine
• Expansion and enhancement of the emergency medicine residency to be one of the largest three year training programs in the US and by many measures also one of the finest
• Appointment of the Vice Chair for Academic Affairs as an American Board of Emergency Medicine board member while three faculty serve as oral board examiners
• Membership on at least 8 School of Medicine committees (chairing two of these) to include presence on four of its competency committees
• Realization of National Institutes of Health research funding for two departmental faculty--only 18% of academic departments of Emergency Medicine have distinguished themselves thusly
• Appointment of faculty as the medical directors of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis Racing League
• Maturation of a number of departmental advocacy projects
• Integration of Research Day into the Indiana Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians annual Post Graduate Course
• Realization of a vision to unify the academic emergency medicine faculties of Methodist, Riley, University, and Wishard.  This makes the academic department the 6th largest clinical department within the School of Medicine
• Creation of an endowed chair which fewer than 10% of academic departments have achieved