International Emergency Medicine

Jeffrey Thompson, MD had a calling to medical missions in Africa. Having previously served in several African countries, Dr. Thompson was invited to Myungsung Christian Medical Center (MCM General Hospital) to teach and work clinically with physicians and medical students. Dr. Thompson left abroad in December 2017 and will be returning December 2018.  

During this time, Dr. Thompson has made it his mission to improve the practice of Emergency Medicine in Ethiopia. Drs. Dennison Gillen and Christopher Schwarz joined Dr. Thompson in August 2018 to educate physicians, residents, and nurses in disaster medicine and mass casualty incident. As part of this training, Drs. Gillen and Schwarz organized and directed a mass casualty incident drill in the Emergency Department.

Future focus will be on development of a mass casualty incident protocol for Myungsung Christian Medical Center. We look forward to continuing our work in Ethiopia!

In late March 2016, UBMD Emergency Medicine returned to Vietnam.  Faculty, fellows, and residents from the Department of Emergency Medicine traveled to Hanoi to present at the 2016 Scientific Assembly of the Vietnam Society for Emergency Medicine (VSEM). Topics included spinal motion restriction in trauma, "pit crew" management of cardiac arrest, hypotensive resuscitation in penetrating trauma, and pediatric rapid sequence induction.  Presenters included Dr. Brian Clemency (EMS Fellowship Director, Drs. Johanna Innes & Kaori Tanaka (EMS Fellows 2015-16), and Drs. Jennifer Caldwell and Michael O'Brien (Chief Residents, 2015-16). 

Since 2016, the University at Buffalo Emergency Medicine Program has played a key role in supporting the growth of emergency medicine in Vietnam through an ongoing collaboration with the Vietnam Society of Emergency Medicine (VSEM). Each fall, faculty, fellows, and residents from the program travel to Vietnam to participate in VSEM’s annual conference, which is held in a different host city every year. There, they join colleagues from around the world to deliver lectures and lead hands-on workshops focused on a range of topics including nursing, ultrasound, EMS, and medical student education. Through this longstanding relationship, the program has contributed to the development of emergency medicine as a specialty in Vietnam, offering educational support, clinical training and knowledge exchange. This engagement underscores a shared commitment to improving patient outcomes and strengthening emergency care systems globally. 

Faculty who have participated include: Dr. Kaori Tanaka, Dr. Johanna Innes, Dr. Michael O'Brien and Dr. Brian Clemency

Fellows/Residents who have participated include: Dr. Stavros Lalos (EMS fellow 2024), Dr. John Kiel (EM Resident 2017), Dr. Tom Le (EM Resident 2017), Dr. Johanna Innes (EMS Fellow 2015), Dr. Kaori Tanaka (EMS Fellow 2015), Dr. Jennifer Caldwell (EM Chief Resident 2015), and Dr. Michael O'Brien (EM Chief Resident 2015)