Chiefs' Welcome
As the 2019-2020 Chief Residents, we would like to welcome you to the UT Southwestern Emergency Medicine program! Our home base, Parkland Hospital, hosts the largest ED by size and was the 2nd busiest Emergency room in the country in 2018. We are fortunate to have a brand new Parkland Hospital that opened in 2015 that allows us to work in a top-notch facility. Being a county hospital, we are given the privilege of caring for the underserved and truly making a difference in the community. We are located in Dallas, Texas, which allows residents to choose from urban, metro, or rural living depending on their preference. Our mission is one of public service, leadership in the community, and education. Thanks for stopping by!
Emergency visits 2018
What we have to offer:
We take care of everyone and everything. We are also home to a regional pediatric and adult burn center (and the origin of the Parkland burn formula), a Level 1 adult trauma center, and some of the premier internal medicine, surgery, and ob/gyn programs in the country.
Parkland Memorial Hospital is your quintessential County program – we are the safety-net hospital for indigent care in Dallas County, and proudly so. Our faculty, residents, and staff rise to the occasion when our county is in need. We arduously organized to protect our citizens when our city became the epicenter of the Ebola crisis, and we tirelessly served our community when domestic terrorists attacked our citizens and police officers.
Just across the street is Children’s Health℠ Children's Medical Center Dallas – one of two Level 1 pediatric trauma centers in Texas, where we train with world-renowned pediatric EM faculty. The pediatric experience is second to none..
William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital and Zale Lipshy University Hospital are also just blocks away and provide our residents an opportunity to work in not only one, but two, University hospitals. Residents rotate through the CVICU and Emergency Department at Clements giving us an even more well-rounded experience – from seeing an iron lung outside of the museums to learning about LVAD patients requiring acute stabilization.
Here at UTSW, our program gives you the keys to success, helping to mold you into a well-balanced emergency physician while having fun doing it. Our residents end up in the academic setting, the community setting, in various fellowships across the country, and as future leaders within the field – there is a niche here for all career aspirations. So take a look around, familiarize yourself with our home away from home, and feel free to contact any of us if you have any questions! Below, we have included a brief history of our home.
Sincerely,
Zachary Aust, M.D.
Becca Briggs, M.D.
Justin Evans, M.D.
Alan John, M.D.
Coco Trigo, M.D.
Chief Residents 2019-2020
Important Dates in Parkland’s History
1872: Three Dallas physicians open the first permanent hospital to care for indigent patients in the midst of a “red light district" at Wood and Houston streets.
1872: The city of Dallas hires a physician to care for prisoners. After he finishes his rounds he treats paupers on the jailhouse steps.
1874: A new hospital is built on the corner of Columbia and South Lamar streets. It comprises a one-room, 25-by-50-foot house with an adjoining kitchen and a bathroom. All the patients — men, women, and children — are bedded, fed, and treated in one 18-bed ward. Surgery is performed at bedside by lamplight.
April 2, 1957: Parkland cares for 175 patients in two hours after a tornado ravages Dallas.
1961: Parkland opens one of the largest civilian burn units in the U.S., designating four, four-bed wards as a burn treatment area.
Nov. 22, 1963: President John F. Kennedy is treated at Parkland hospital after suffering a fatal gunshot wound.
1983: Parkland is certified as the first Level I Trauma Center in Texas.
1985: Parkland plays a leading role, with state lawmakers Jesse Oliver, Ray Farabee, and Farabee’s wife, Helen, in passing legislation to ban “patient dumping.” The document became a model for national legislation signed into law on April 7, 1986, by President Ronald Reagan.
November 2008: Dallas County voters overwhelmingly voted (82 percent in favor) to support the construction of a new hospital partially funded through bond proceeds.
Aug. 20, 2015: The new Parkland Memorial Hospital officially opens its doors to patients. The state-of-the-art 862-bed, 17-story structure largely replaces the aging Parkland Memorial Hospital that opened in 1954.
Emergency visits 2018
- Main emergency room: 165,313
- Urgent care emergency room: 69,904
- OB/Gyn emergency room: 23,234
- Psychiatric emergency room: 6,380
- Total emergency visits: 264,831
What we have to offer:
- Cutting Edge Conference – We offer the standard, traditional lecture-based conference but also have added “Flipped Conferences.” These involve problem-based learning (PBL) cases going over topics in a small group setting with residents serving as group leaders with faculty oversight. We have also worked to tailor more level specific lectures, i.e.: 1st years receive more “bread and butter” foundation lectures and 3rd years will have more talks on billing, contracts, and fine tuning their practice. This year, we have also adopted the Foundations Curriculum, initially developed by faculty from Emory University in collaboration with and adopted by many top residencies across the country – this program sets specific goals and objectives with suggested reading, podcasts and video series for each resident class year, with oral board style cases reviewed in a small group setting during certain conference weeks. This keeps conference fresh and fun with less sitting in the traditional PowerPoint lecture setting!
- Asynchronous learning – As emergency physicians, we all know that we learn best by doing, not by sitting in a classroom. Therefore, part of our conference time is spent outside of a classroom in various activities including monthly Journal Clubs while dining out with local cuisine, EMS ride outs, Simulation Wars, SonoGames, working with EMS during local concerts/events at the American Airlines Center, and learning alongside the dedicated men and women of the Poison Control Center of Texas.
- Resident-Led Initiatives – Residents are extremely active in our program in leadership roles. They are actively engaged in committees including Critical Quality Review of ED Cases, EMR Management, Simulation, Wellness and Sports, Alumni Involvement, Social Media, and Curriculum Design. Residents of all years are very active during the recruitment season that even features interns interviewing in order to help build the future team of successful UTSW residents. Resident leaders are also given the task of teaching during our PBL group sessions with faculty supervision.
- Fellowships –We offer fellowship programs in Simulation Based Medical Education, Emergency Ultrasound, Emergency Medical Services, Medical Toxicology, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Emergency Disaster and Global Health. Whether you are set on a fellowship or are unsure, we have many available options!
- Global Health Rotations – Opportunities are available for residents to rotate through clinical settings in Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, South Africa, Chile, Colombia, Thailand, New Zealand, and Malawi. Our New Zealand rotation is by far the most popular and involves working 2 months in a community type environment with compensation!
- Amazing Faculty – The Chair of our Department, Dr. Deborah Diercks, was SAEM President from 2015-2016 and our previous Vice Chair, Dr. Andra Blomkalns was the SAEM President from 2016-2017 (and now chair of Stanford Department of Emergency Medicine). We have two past ACEP presidents on staff, and more than a dozen board certified toxicologists. The chair of our IRB is one of our own. Many of our faculty members are double and triple board certified.
- Resident participation in statewide and national organized medicine – We have residents serving at the national level and state level. Our residents serve as representatives to SAEM, Texas College of Emergency Physicians (TCEP), the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), and the Texas Medical Association.
- Community Hospital Rotations – We partner closely with other hospitals so you can experience community EM in Level 2 trauma centers, single coverage EDs, and combined PEM/Adult EM Departments.
- Wellness – We have a resident run wellness committee that organizes monthly social events and helps maintain a good balance of fun during residency!
We take care of everyone and everything. We are also home to a regional pediatric and adult burn center (and the origin of the Parkland burn formula), a Level 1 adult trauma center, and some of the premier internal medicine, surgery, and ob/gyn programs in the country.
Parkland Memorial Hospital is your quintessential County program – we are the safety-net hospital for indigent care in Dallas County, and proudly so. Our faculty, residents, and staff rise to the occasion when our county is in need. We arduously organized to protect our citizens when our city became the epicenter of the Ebola crisis, and we tirelessly served our community when domestic terrorists attacked our citizens and police officers.
Just across the street is Children’s Health℠ Children's Medical Center Dallas – one of two Level 1 pediatric trauma centers in Texas, where we train with world-renowned pediatric EM faculty. The pediatric experience is second to none..
William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital and Zale Lipshy University Hospital are also just blocks away and provide our residents an opportunity to work in not only one, but two, University hospitals. Residents rotate through the CVICU and Emergency Department at Clements giving us an even more well-rounded experience – from seeing an iron lung outside of the museums to learning about LVAD patients requiring acute stabilization.
Here at UTSW, our program gives you the keys to success, helping to mold you into a well-balanced emergency physician while having fun doing it. Our residents end up in the academic setting, the community setting, in various fellowships across the country, and as future leaders within the field – there is a niche here for all career aspirations. So take a look around, familiarize yourself with our home away from home, and feel free to contact any of us if you have any questions! Below, we have included a brief history of our home.
Sincerely,
Zachary Aust, M.D.
Becca Briggs, M.D.
Justin Evans, M.D.
Alan John, M.D.
Coco Trigo, M.D.
Chief Residents 2019-2020
Important Dates in Parkland’s History
1872: Three Dallas physicians open the first permanent hospital to care for indigent patients in the midst of a “red light district" at Wood and Houston streets.
1872: The city of Dallas hires a physician to care for prisoners. After he finishes his rounds he treats paupers on the jailhouse steps.
1874: A new hospital is built on the corner of Columbia and South Lamar streets. It comprises a one-room, 25-by-50-foot house with an adjoining kitchen and a bathroom. All the patients — men, women, and children — are bedded, fed, and treated in one 18-bed ward. Surgery is performed at bedside by lamplight.
April 2, 1957: Parkland cares for 175 patients in two hours after a tornado ravages Dallas.
1961: Parkland opens one of the largest civilian burn units in the U.S., designating four, four-bed wards as a burn treatment area.
Nov. 22, 1963: President John F. Kennedy is treated at Parkland hospital after suffering a fatal gunshot wound.
1983: Parkland is certified as the first Level I Trauma Center in Texas.
1985: Parkland plays a leading role, with state lawmakers Jesse Oliver, Ray Farabee, and Farabee’s wife, Helen, in passing legislation to ban “patient dumping.” The document became a model for national legislation signed into law on April 7, 1986, by President Ronald Reagan.
November 2008: Dallas County voters overwhelmingly voted (82 percent in favor) to support the construction of a new hospital partially funded through bond proceeds.
Aug. 20, 2015: The new Parkland Memorial Hospital officially opens its doors to patients. The state-of-the-art 862-bed, 17-story structure largely replaces the aging Parkland Memorial Hospital that opened in 1954.
