Welcome to the Department of Medicine
Excellence is our Standard
Welcome to the Department of Medicine of the Emory University School of Medicine. The department is steeped in a rich tradition of excellence built on the legacies of such leaders as Drs. Eugene Stead and Paul Beeson, and more recently Drs. Willis Hurst and Juha Kokko. We are proud of that tradition and endeavor today to remain on the cutting edge in discoveries in medicine, education, scientific and clinical investigation, and clinical care. Central to our success is the stimulating atmosphere of scholarship, the outcome of our role as one of the county's leading research institutions.
We are guided by a strategic plan that focuses our efforts to enhance the teaching, research, and clinical service missions of the department. The clear strength of the department is an outstanding faculty of physicians and scientists within academic divisions that include: Rheumatology; Cardiology; Digestive Diseases; Endocrinology; General Medicine; Geriatric Medicine & Gerontology; Infectious Diseases; Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine; and Renal Medicine. The faculty, many leaders in their respective professions, has been crucial to our success in implementing these plans across the divisions.
The Department of Medicine is known for teaching excellence, as evidenced by the continuing contributions of Drs. Willis Hurst and Juha Kokko, both former chairs. Our Residency Training Program is the signature educational component of the department, and it is complemented by superior sub-specialty fellowship training in each of the divisions. A broad range of hospital and outpatient clinical teaching is conducted at six university-owned or -affiliated hospitals.
Moreover, our access to a large and varied patient population provides residents and fellows with intriguing and often unique training opportunities. Our goal is to ensure a program dedicated to excellent teaching in the context of superb clinical care. Our residents recently received a 100 percent pass rate on the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) exam, a reflection of our success. The faculty, fellows, and residents also conduct a significant portion of clinical teaching for Emory medical students.
A distinguished faculty performs world-class research and serves as mentors to trainees pursuing careers in academic medicine. The Department of Medicine faculty receives the largest portion (20 percent) of the School of Medicine's extramural research funding and account for 16 percent of the university's sponsored research. To maintain our leading position in research, and building on the strengths in our current programs, our strategic plan illustrates future focused research growth in the following thematic areas: Aging; Cardiology and Vascular Biology; Diabetes; Genomics; Inflammation and Immunology; Minority Outcome Research; and Nephrology and Hypertension. We maintain a sustained effort to recruit the best researchers in these areas and to invest in these programs. We also enjoy close collaborations with other on-campus and sister institutions, including the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Cancer Society.
The provision of superior clinical care is the hallmark for the Department of Medicine at Emory. We are proud of our nationally ranked programs in Cardiology and well as the superb care given to patients with diabetes at Grady Memorial Hospital. The Atlanta VA Medical Center is recognized for its clinical programs in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and the treatment of HIV/AIDS. These areas reflect the comprehensive range of our clinical programs. Excellence is our standard in delivering care to patients.
I invite you discover the opportunities and explore the programs of the Department of Medicine.
R. Wayne Alexander, M.D., Ph.D.
R. Bruce Logue Professor and Chair