Dr. Hedges is the Vice Dean of the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine since April 2005. Before moving to the Dean’s Office, Dr. Hedges served as Chair of the OHSU Institutional Review Board, the OHSU Health System Medical Board and the OHSU Department of Emergency Medicine.
As Professor and Chair of Emergency Medicine, Dr. Hedges helped form the Center for Policy & Research in Emergency Medicine, established emergency medicine fellowship programs, and recruited clinician-scientists to participate in research programs. Under his leadership, the OHSU Department of Emergency Medicine was recognized by the NIH as one of the top ten research grant supported academic departments of emergency medicine.
Dr. Hedges has served as President of both the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine. He is the founding editor of Academic Emergency Medicine and has served on the editorial board of numerous journals in emergency medicine. Dr. Hedges was elected to the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine (IOM) in October 2000.
Dr. Hedges is internationally recognized for his contributions to the development of emergency medicine as a scientific discipline. His text Clinical Procedures in Emergency Medicine helped define the discipline and set the standard for evidence-based practice texts addressing clinical procedures.
Dr. Hedges has served on numerous regional and statewide bodies addressing emergency preparedness and emergency response. His expertise in emergency department operations and trauma care has been instrumental in multi-hospital response planning efforts.