Our program was established in 2003 through the work of David Orban, MD, Tampa General Hospital, the University of South Florida and TEAMHealth. Kelly O’Keefe, MD was named program director and we have grown rapidly since that time. Our maturation has allowed the addition of fellowships in ultrasound, EMS, critical care, administration as well as over 50 faculty members with specialization in simulation, research, medical education, toxicology, disaster medicine, ultrasonography, EMS, sport medicine and pediatrics. The 3 year residency program has 30 residents and is located at Tampa General Hospital, a Level 1 urban tertiary care and regional burn center with over 120,000 visits per year and over 1,000 beds with 60% of all hospital admissions coming through the emergency department doors. The ED opened in 2007 and is a beautiful (and busy!) facility with mostly private rooms with specialties and imaging available 24 hours a day. Nearby in downtown Tampa, we have our state of the art simulation center (CAMLS) for advanced case based and procedural training. We have a curriculum that values resident feedback and trains our residents to become excellent physicians with careers in community emergency medicine, emergency administration and academic practice through a emphasis on leadership, teaching and business of EM training bolstered by exceptional didactics, research, and international opportunities. There is a strong focus on critical care from day one and by the end of resident training, we have created competent and confident physicians ready to take care of any patient. Our faculty are world class experts in their areas of specialty. 

Important Milestones

• 1985 Designation of TGH as a Level 1 Trauma Center
• 1985 Designation of TGH as a State Burn Center
• 1987 Designation of TGH as a State Poison Control Center
• 1988 Aeromed Helicopter LifeFlight program based at TGH is inaugurated
• 1996 USF and TGH establish the Emergency Medical Care Center
• 2000 USF Establishes a full academic Division of Emergency Medicine 
• 2002 State Designation as a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center
• 2003 First Class of USF Emergency Medicine Residency
• 2005 Founding of the Emergency Medicine Administrative Fellowship by Dr. Orban
• 2007 USF EM Residency expands to 10 residents per year
• 2007 Founding of the USF EMS Fellowship by Dr. Catherine Carrubba
• 2008 Designation as a STEMI Receiving Center
• 2010 Designation as a Primary Stroke Center
• 2010 Founding of the Ultrasound Fellowship by Dr. Charlotte Derr 
• 2012 Founding of the USF EMS Fellowship by Dr. Catherine Carrubba
• 2013 Founding of the USF EM Division of Research by Dr. Jason Wilson
• 2015 Dr. Jason Wilson named Director of TGH Office of Clinical Research
• 2015 Founding of the USF Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
• 2016 Opening of the TGH Brandon Healthplex – Freestanding ED. Dr. Reginald Saint-Hillaire named Medical Director of the Freestanding ED
• 2017 Dr. Charlotte Derr named EM Residency Program Director
• 2019 Dr. Justin Arnold named medical director of Florida Poison Control
• 2020 Founding of the USF EM Simulation Fellowship by Dr. Ryan McKenna
• 2022 Dr. Jason Wilson named Division Chief of Emergency Medicine
• 2023 Dr. Heather Henderson named Director of Social Emergency Medicine
• 2023 Opening of TGH Kennedy ED - the second freestanding ED
• 2023 Dr. John Kiel named founding Sports Medicine Section Director. Expansion of primary care sports medicine faculty to include three EM sports medicine fellowship trained faculty.
• 2023 Expansion of Toxicology Faculty to include three fellowship trained toxicologists
• 2023 Dr. David Wein becomes first EM Medical Staff Officer, stepping into the role of Secretary, TGH MSO
• 2023 Dr. Jason Wilson elected Chief of Emergency Medicine, Tampa General Hospital
• 2024 Started the first EM Sports Medicine Outpatient Clinic at Morsani College of Medicine
• 2024 Started the first EM BRIDGE Outpatient Clinic at TGH Healthpark Specialty Center
• 2024 USF Emergency Medicine became an independent Department of Emergency Medicine at the Morsani College of Medicine

• 2024 Launch of the Florida Center for EMS in the Department of Emergency Medicine (located at CAMLS) under the leadership of executive director, Bruce Moeller, PhD 
• 2025 David Wein, MD, MBA named Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs
• 2025 Haru Okuda, MD named Vice Chair of Academic Affairs