Chattanooga Native Dr. Benjamin C. Smith Named Chair of Emergency Medicine

The University of Tennessee Health Sciences College of Medicine - Chattanooga has named Benjamin C. Smith, MD, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Smith steps into the role after serving as interim chair of the department since January 2025.

Dr. Smith has played a key role in training future emergency physicians since the College of Medicine - Chattanooga welcomed its first emergency medicine residents in 2008. Over the past 18 years, Dr. Smith has helped train more than 120 emergency medicine physicians, many of whom now practice in communities across Tennessee. In addition to his role as chair, he will continue to serve the department as professor and program director for the Advanced Ultrasonography Fellowship.

"Since the beginning of our emergency medicine residency program, Dr. Smith has been a driving force behind its success," said James Haynes, MD, dean of the College of Medicine - Chattanooga. "His commitment to our learners, patients, and community has helped strengthen our regional campus and expand our impact throughout Tennessee. His vision, dedication, and passion for education make him exceptionally well-suited to lead the department into its next chapter."

Known nationally and internationally for his work in point-of-care ultrasound education, Dr. Smith has dedicated much of his career to helping physicians learn skills that improve patient care. In 2021, he was named the American College of Emergency Physicians' Outstanding Speaker of the Year. He also co-founded Core Ultrasound, an educational platform now used by more than 250 institutions around the world, including UT Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Penn Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Stanford Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and more.

Dr. Smith earned his medical degree from UT Health Sciences in Memphis before completing his emergency medicine residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Working alongside affiliated hospital partner Erlanger Health, he will guide the department's continued growth in education, research, and patient care while helping prepare the next generation of physicians to serve communities throughout the East Tennessee region.

Dr. Smith, a Chattanooga native, said his role as chair is a commitment to the community he calls home.

"Chattanooga is growing, and our department is growing with it," he said. "I want our emergency department to be the most trusted in the region."