Earlier this month, USF’s College of Medicine and Tampa General Hospital received approval to start a new residency program in emergency medicine. The program will allow medical students to train locally in emergency room medicine. The approval was granted by the Residency Committee for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Peter Fabri, USF associate dean of graduate medical education, was involved in obtaining accreditation for the program.

“I think it will be a major enhancement to USF and TGH, where virtually all the training will take place,” Fabri said.

Fabri said the program will provide graduating medical students with an opportunity to work in Tampa. He said some of the students have already applied for training programs.

The ER residency program was under discussion for several years by the three organizations before a plan was finalized.

The three-year residency program will begin in July 2003 with six students and will continue to accept six students per year.

The program is the result of an accordance between USF, TGH and Team Health. Team Health is a company that provides physician management and staffing for Tampa General’s Emergency Care Center including more than 200 departments around the country.

Kelly O’Keffe, a Team Health physician serving as medical director for TGH’s Adult Emergency Care Center and Minor Emergency Center, said he will join USF’s faculty and serve as program director for the new residency program.

In addition to O’Keffe, Team Health physician David Orban will join USF as director for the Division of Emergency Medicine. Both men will be working for the university as well as for Team Health.

O’Keffe, who was a program director for the military for five years said he is looking forward to the program, which he said will not be solely research-oriented.

“Our focus will be on producing top-notch emergency medicine physicians,” O’Keffe said. “There will be a strong clinical emphasis, and TGH is the perfect setting to create that kind of environment.”