Department of Emergency Medicine

A study by UVM researchers and colleagues finds mental health care lagging after firearm injury, which increases risk for serious mental health conditions.

(JUNE 7, 2023) Greater efforts are needed to connect children with mental health services after a firearm injury, according to a study by a research consortium of Children’s Hospital Association professionals that included Christian D. Pulcini, M.D., M.Ed., M.P.H., assistant professor of emergency medicine, Healio reported.

The Larner College of Medicine medical Class of 2023 Honors Night on May 15 featured recognition and awards for graduating medical students, faculty, and staff.

(APRIL 26, 2023) Health care professionals play a critical role in promoting safe firearm storage, Associate Professor of Pediatrics Thomas Delaney, Ph.D., — who does suicide prevention work at the Larner College of Medicine — told Vox.

Christa Zehle, M.D., senior associate dean for medical education, has announced the appointment of Katie Wells, M.D., M.P.H., as the inaugural director of social medicine in the Office of Medical Education at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, effective April 3, 2023.

(FEBRUARY 23, 2023) Stephen Leffler, M.D., M.H.C.D.S., professor of emergency medicine and president and CEO of the UVM Medical Center, and Sunil Eappen, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of the UVM Health Network, spoke to The Other Paper about UVMMC’s request for state approval to build a new surgery facility at its current Tilley Drive complex in South Burlington.

(FEBRUARY 15, 2023) Christian Pulcini, M.D., M.Ed., M.P.H., assistant professor of emergency medicine, and Rebecca Bell, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, commented to NBC5 in response to news that thousands of free gun locks will soon be available to the public across the state.

(FEBRUARY 2, 2023) WCAX-TV joined Sarah Schlein, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine and director of wilderness medicine education, and students for a backcountry rescue drill with Stowe Mountain Rescue.

(JANUARY 27, 2023) Benjamin Smith, M.D., clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine, was interviewed by VT Digger for an article about COVID-19’s impact on inpatient mental health care and emergency departments.

(JANUARY 19, 2023) Katherine Dolbec, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine, was among more than 200 medical professionals on hand to help anyone in need of assistance at the 2023 FISU World University Games, NBC5 reported.

(JANUARY 9, 2023) Daniel Barkhuff, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and a physician in the UVM Medical Center Emergency Department, shares some of the grueling challenges of his work environment in a candid opinion piece in VT Digger.

(DECEMBER 28, 2022) Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Christian Pulcini, M.D., M.Ed., M.P.H., an attending physician in pediatric emergency medicine at the UVM Medical Center and Children’s Hospital, published a commentary titled “We Can Prevent Firearm Tragedies — a Call to Action” in VTDigger.

(DECEMBER 8, 2022) Joseph Kennedy, M.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine and director of toxicology education, was quoted in a WVNY-TV story on a new tool firefighters can use to save lives—the Cyanokit.

(NOVEMBER 10, 2022) Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Daniel Barkhuff, M.D., a Navy SEAL veteran and the founder and board president of Veterans for Responsible Leadership, was among veterans featured in a segment on Vermont Public's Vermont Edition program about deployment, return, and the transition to civilian life. (Click on headline for more.)

“Remember the view, and breathe,” Sarah Schlein, M.D., FACEP, advised her student, Nina Feinberg ’23, as Feinberg prepared to descend a steep rock face in Vermont’s west Bolton woods. Clutching the rope clipped to her waist harness, Feinberg took a deep breath and backed down the crag, with fellow medical students cheering her on. After a few hesitant steps, she looked around: “Okay, I’m fine, it’s really pretty.”

(OCTOBER 19, 2022) Stephen Leffler, M.D., professor of emergency medicine and president and chief operating officer of the University of Vermont Medical Center, was interviewed by VT Digger about overcrowding in the hospital’s Emergency Department.

(OCTOBER 13, 2022) Sarah Schlein, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine, is a lead investigator and co-author of research on the gender distribution of key leadership roles at the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) published in WMS’s official journal, "Wilderness & Environmental Medicine" (WEM). The research was featured in an Elsevier article on PHYS.ORG.

(OCTOBER 11, 2022) Michael McMahon, M.D., stroke medical director of Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital, was quoted in a Press-Republican article highlighting the hospital’s Gold quality achievement award for treating stroke.

(SEPTEMBER 8, 2022) Stephen Leffler, M.D.’90, M.H.C.D.S., FACEP, professor of emergency medicine and president and chief operating officer of the University of Vermont Medical Center, wrote a commentary in VT Digger about the value of academic medicine.

Emergency medicine is relatively new; it began to take shape in the mid- to late-1960s, when the American Medical Association established an emergency medicine committee and the American College of Emergency Physicians was founded. However, it wasn’t until 1979 that the American Board of Medical Specialties finally recognized the field as a specialty.