Every second counts for a severely injured patient rushed into an emergency room. Ronald Stewart, M.D., a 1985 graduate of the Medical School, sees firsthand the uncertainty and distress trauma patients and their families can experience. As associate professor of surgery and director of trauma and emergency surgery for the Health Science Center and the University Health System, Dr. Stewart proves every day he is someone patients and their families can trust. He says his mission is to save lives and bring hope to the injured patients he sees.
Dr. Stewart’s compassion, hard work and dedication to his patients, students and the field of trauma and emergency surgery earned him the Health Science Center’s 2005 Distinguished Alumnus Award. Representatives from the Medical School’s Alumni Association presented Dr. Stewart with the award during commencement ceremonies in May.
“This is the end of medical school, but the beginning of your life in medicine,” Dr. Stewart told the group of graduating medical students. “On this most hopeful of days, I challenge each of you to lead your own lives with a sense of trust and to find ways to instill true hope into your patients’ lives.”
After completing an internship and residency in surgery at the Health Science Center in 1991, Dr. Stewart completed a fellowship in surgical and trauma critical care at the University of Tennessee. He has served as a faculty member at the Health Science Center since 1993 and consistently proves to be a leader in his field. In 1998 Dr. Stewart, along with Roberto Villarreal, M.D., assistant professor of family and community medicine and director of the South Texas Health Research Center, founded the South Texas Injury Prevention and Research Center. Dr. Stewart now serves as the board chair. The center, funded for more than $300,000 per year, is dedicated to conducting effective injury prevention programs, including the award-winning teenage DWI prevention program “Shattered Dreams.”
Last year Dr. Stewart helped lead the creation of the Trauma Institute of San Antonio, Texas (TRISAT), an initiative to integrate trauma care at all three major trauma centers in San Antonio.
In 2003 medical students selected him as the outstanding faculty member of the year. A year later he earned the Presidential Clinical Excellence Award presented by Health Science Center President Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D.
Dr. Stewart continues to inspire his colleagues and students with his passion and determination, and brings hope for a promising tomorrow for future health care professionals and patients alike.
Contact:
Natalie GutierrezPhone: (210) 567-6814
E-mail:
gutierrezn@uthscsa.edu
