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Department of Emergency Medicine

Explore a dynamic environment where evidence-based care, education, and innovation elevate emergency medicine every day.

Welcome to the Medical University of South Carolina's Emergency Medicine Department in Charleston, South Carolina.

Mission

Our mission is to provide exceptional, evidence-based emergency care that saves lives and improves patient outcomes while advancing the field through research, education, and innovation. We are committed to delivering compassionate and comprehensive care to patients from various backgrounds, fostering a culture of excellence, and serving as a leader in emergency medical education and research.

The first choice in the delivery, education, and advancement of emergency medicine

Our Three Pillars

Our goal is to align the three pillars of academic medicine – clinical care, education, and research – in an integrated emergency care system that addresses the rapidly changing healthcare needs of our patients.

Clinical Care is the fundamental corner stone, and first pillar, to our program. We provide critical emergency services at the Main Adult Emergency Department and the Ashley River Tower (ART) Emergency Department not found elsewhere in the region. MUSC is the only level 1 adult and pediatric trauma centers credentialed by the American College of Surgeons in the state. Similarly, MUSC provides the highest level of comprehensive cerebrovascular care throughout the south. Tertiary care services are available for all conditions, making MUSC the state's quaternary care center. The MUSC Pediatric Emergency Department is similarly a regional tertiary care center providing the highest level of care to children & adolescents throughout the state and the front door to the MUSC Children's Hospital. Our commitment to compassionate care is not limited to the Lowcountry. Emergency Medicine has partnered with the MUSC Center for Global Health and OneWorldHealth to provide care across the globe with particular program focus on the countries of Burundi, Nicaragua, and Uganda.

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Education is the second pillar of our program. Our residency program continues to recruit phenomenal physicians to join our program. Our residency and fellowship training programs are engaging, interactive and widely recognized on the national level for the quality of the teaching and education. Our faculty have extensive experience in a multitude of specialties, including: simulation, emergency ultrasound, global health, critical care, informatics, hospital administration, EMS, toxicology, and research. Our residents are well prepared for their Emergency Medicine futures regardless of which career path they choose.

Emergency Medicine Research is the third pillar of our program and continues to grow exponentially. Our Division received a NIH/NINDS StrokeNet Regional Coordinating Center award for SC-CoAST which creates collaboration to perform cutting edge research in cerebrovascular emergencies. Additional funded research areas include cardiology, toxicology, infectious disease, informatics, and neurosciences. Residents and fellows are encouraged to participate in research, and research methodology is a critical part of the residency curriculum.

MUSC Emergency Medicine is a leader in Emergency Care throughout the state and region and is committed to providing compassionate and expert care to our patients. Thank you for your interest in our program.

Explore Our Research
Professional Portrait

Diann M. Krywko, M.D., FACEP

Chair and Professor, Emergency Medicine

A message from the chair

Welcome to the Department of Emergency Medicine.

As we enter our ninth year as a department, we do so with a clear sense of purpose and a bold vision for what emergency medicine can and should be. We are not only growing, but we are also evolving into a model academic department that integrates exceptional clinical care, transformative education, and impactful research to meet the needs of our patients and communities both today and in the future.

Our educational mission is central to our future. We are cultivating the next generation of emergency physicians through a growing residency program, with expansion to 12 residents per class positioning us to train 36 residents annually by 2029. We are broadening our impact through medical student education and a dynamic portfolio of fellowships, including Global Health, Emergency Ultrasound, and our newly launched Telehealth fellowship. Our goal is not simply to train excellent clinicians, but to develop physicians who will shape the future of healthcare, locally, nationally, and globally.

Our clinical mission continues to expand in both scope and sophistication. Across our campuses, we are seeing sustained growth in patient volume alongside meaningful improvements in operational performance and patient outcomes. Even amid the national challenges of healthcare delivery, our teams have remained agile and innovative, reducing left-before-treatment rates to well below national benchmarks while enhancing the patient experience. These achievements reflect a deeply held commitment: that access, efficiency, and compassion are not competing priorities, but essential and inseparable elements of high-quality emergency care.

At the same time, we are reimagining how care is delivered. Through the continued advancement of our Emergency Medicine Telehealth Division and other highly innovative projects, we are extending our reach beyond traditional walls. We are bringing timely care to patients in new ways while improving throughput, access, and system sustainability. These innovations are steppingstones toward a more connected, responsive, and patient-centered emergency care system.

Looking ahead, our research enterprise represents one of our most exciting frontiers. We are intentionally building the infrastructure, talent, and culture necessary to become a leading academic force in emergency medicine scholarship. With new faculty recruitment, the launch of interdisciplinary research initiatives, and a renewed focus on academic rigor, we are laying the foundation for discovery that improves care, advances knowledge, and elevates our discipline.

The foundation to all of this is our commitment to our people. We are fostering an environment where collaboration thrives, where provider wellness is prioritized, and where every team member is empowered to contribute meaningfully to our shared mission. Leadership within our department extends beyond our walls, as our faculty actively shape institutional strategy and influence the direction of emergency medicine at the national level.

The future of emergency medicine demands innovation, adaptability, and purpose-driven leadership. We are proud to be building a department that not only responds to these demands but helps define them.


Sincerely,


Diann M. Krywko, M.D.
Professor and Chair

Contact Our Department

169 Ashley Ave
MSC 300
Charleston, SC 29425