Emergency medicine physicians are trained to manage a wide range of medical emergencies, and their departments serve as a central hub, coordinating care with other health care professionals to provide the best possible outcome for patients. Emergency medicine plays a pivotal role in saving lives, reducing disabilities and preventing complications, making it an indispensable part of modern health care. 

Given South Dakota’s rural landscape, many patients face significant distances between communities and health care facilities. This geographic spread poses challenges in providing timely emergency care, increasing the demand for emergency physicians who can serve these areas. 

To bolster that workforce, the USD Sanford School of Medicine (SSOM) has laid initial groundwork to develop a Department of Emergency Medicine within the medical school that will help build a pipeline of emergency medicine residents and physicians for generations to come.  

Thanks to funding granted by the South Dakota Legislature in its 2025 session, USD is moving forward with establishing a dedicated emergency medicine department at the medical school, complete with its own chair and staff. With this new department, medical students will benefit from focused training and resources, better preparing them to meet the critical needs of South Dakota's communities.

This significant development underscores the state's commitment to advancing health care education and addressing the growing demand for specialized emergency medical services.  

After receiving their M.D., medical school graduates advance to various residency programs for supervised medical training. These programs require an additional three to seven years of specialized training, depending on the chosen specialty. 

Spearheaded by Sanford Health, in partnership with the USD SSOM, the newly accredited emergency medicine residency is scheduled to begin training in July of 2026. Residents will train at the Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, a Level 1 Trauma Center that provides the highest level of trauma care for patients in the region, and at Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center for training in rural emergency medicine. Both are essential experiences for the comprehensive training of rural emergency physicians.

Medical students are increasingly drawn to emergency medicine, and this residency is well-equipped to offer the high-quality education and practical experiences needed to excel in this specialty. The three-year residency program will train six residents per year. By July 2028, 18 residents will be training in the emergency medicine residency program. 

Dr. Abigail Polzin has been named program director of the residency and has been leading the efforts of preparing the curriculum and faculty for accreditation. Nedd Brown, Ed.D., dean of Graduate Medical Education at the SSOM, is supporting the development of the medical residency program in tandem with the academic department’s creation.

“Our aim is to expand the number of residency programs available for our medical students, working closely with our clinical partners,” Brown explained. “The desire for emergency medicine has always existed, and now is the time. As our medical school has expanded, we need to establish new departments to support this growth.” 

Emergency medicine has traditionally been managed by the Department of Family Medicine, a practical arrangement for modestly sized medical schools. However, with the growing interest among medical students and the evolving health care landscape, and with Sanford Health’s development of an Emergency Medicine Residency, it is beneficial to establish a dedicated emergency medicine department within the medical school. This will enable more specialized training, focused resources and enriched educational experiences, ultimately better preparing students to meet the demands of this critical field.

“Having this emergency medicine department housed within the Sanford School of Medicine offers more recognized and standard support for our medical students who want to go into emergency medicine,” said Dr. Tim Ridgway, dean of the Sanford School of Medicine.  

In the past, SSOM students needed to leave the state for emergency medicine residency training. In the last five years, 19 SSOM students have matched into emergency medicine residencies outside South Dakota. 

“Having our own department gives us the best chance to keep the medical students-turned-physicians in South Dakota,” Dr. Ridgway explained. “Statistically, we know that close to 80% of our students stay in the state if they complete both residency and medical education in South Dakota. Those stats demonstrate that we will be able to keep the emergency physicians we train here in the state. 

“Setting the infrastructure to build this department is a significant step,” he continued. “It’s the first new department the SSOM has added since 1987, when neurology branched out from internal medicine.” 

Establishing a dedicated emergency medicine department in South Dakota can significantly enhance patient care, reduce service gaps and improve overall health care outcomes.

“The simple equation is that the more residency programs we offer, the greater the number of physicians remain in South Dakota to practice,” said Brown. “Training residents in South Dakota will produce physicians who are well-prepared to serve the diverse emergency medicine settings across our state."

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