The Discipline of Emergency Medicine is a close-knit and collegial academic unit, comprising eight full-time clinical faculty based in St. John’s. Additionally, we have 81 part-time faculty, with 38 located in St. John’s, 13 in rural areas, 27 in New Brunswick, and 3 in Prince Edward Island. Our faculty bring a breadth of expertise and engage in a diverse range of clinical activities, including emergency medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, rural and remote locum practice, occupational health, global health initiatives, and EMS administration.

Beyond clinical care, our faculty are actively involved in research, education, and leadership at local, national, and international levels. We are deeply engaged in teaching at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with a particularly strong role in the CCFP(EM) program. This program offers exceptional hands-on training opportunities, facilitated by a high faculty-to-learner ratio. Our teaching portfolio encompasses a range of modalities, including didactic instruction, simulation-based training, Point-of-Care Ultrasound (PoCUS), and mentorship in scholarly activities.

The Discipline of Emergency Medicine is recognized as a national leader in PoCUS education. Notably, we were the first in Canada to develop an interdisciplinary PoCUS training program that integrates postgraduate residents from multiple specialties. For further details, please refer to the Point-of-Care Ultrasound section.

Our faculty are engaged in ongoing research and scholarship across a broad spectrum of topics, including gender equity, diversity and inclusion, PoCUS, simulation-based medical education, prehospital care, rural telemedicine, geriatrics, and communication barriers in healthcare.

In addition to academic and clinical contributions, our faculty have participated in international medical missions in Haiti through initiatives such as Project Broken Earth, STIMMA, and Haiti Village Health. Closer to home, we collaborate with rural physicians across Newfoundland and Labrador to enhance emergency medicine education, delivering training in advanced airway management, procedural skills, and PoCUS.

Welcome to Emergency Medicine at Memorial University!

Dr. Gillian Sheppard
Associate Professor and Chair of Emergency Medicine