Emergency Medicine

The Department of Emergency Medicine prepares new physicians to recognize and treat a variety of urgent and emergent conditions. The program fosters basic science and clinical research relevant to emergency medicine and is dedicated to the education and training of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel through the Emergency Medical Services Learning Resources Center (EMSLRC).

Research

Research in the department is built on four research pillars: clinical, injury prevention, medical education, and health systems. Faculty members, graduate students, emergency medicine residents, medical students, and undergraduates are involved in research in a variety of projects and programs. Specific research interests include:

  • rural regionalization and telemedicine;
  • quality of care, efficiency, and cost effectiveness of interhospital transport;
  • prevention, diagnosis, and care of traumatic brain injury;
  • off-road injury prevention;
  • highway motor vehicle crash scene analysis;
  • safe driving advocacy;
  • simulation in medical education;
  • improving access and quality of emergency care;
  • decision-making processes for optimal drug selection in the emergency department;
  • addiction medicine and harm reduction;
  • toxicology;
  • global health care access;
  • interpersonal violence; and
  • early risk stratification and prophylaxis in critical illness.
Medical personnel looking over results.

Patient Care

The Department of Emergency Medicine at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics and University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital provides care for the most critically ill adults and children in a patient- and family-centered atmosphere. The department handles emergency cases in Iowa and from surrounding states.

Resources

The Emergency Department, located on the first floor of Roy J. Carver Pavilion, is a Level I Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center. It serves as a referral center for communities across Iowa.