An accredited and approved Emergency Medicine Residency Program is now official at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

In February, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education granted UTMB’s Department of Emergency Medicine initial accreditation and approval of its three-year residency program.

The department will accept six residents for the 2023-2024 academic year, said Dr. Dietrich Jehle, program director and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine.

“Our goal is to develop and sustain a comprehensive, academically rigorous curriculum in a tertiary, academic medical center,” Jehle said.

The program will expose residents to a broad spectrum of pathology providing them with experience in managing the breadth of conditions seen in emergency medicine.

The residents, in addition to other emergency medicine opportunities, will also respond to emergencies in the field with EMS agencies, riding with crews, meeting them in ambulance bays and reviewing cases with them.

“They could respond to accidents with multiple injuries, SWAT responses or to chemical spills,” said Jehle, who created a similar hands-on training program when he was at the University of Buffalo in New York. “They can help supplement the care provided by EMS crews.”

“We are excited about the academic and research opportunities our newly established department and residency will bring to UTMB Galveston, and look forward to a dynamic, successful year,” Jehle said.