Ruth E Berggren, M.D.

Ruth Berggren, M.D., MACP, directs the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics at UT Health San Antonio. In this role, she teaches ethics and professionalism while nurturing empathy and humanitarian values. The Center focuses on four areas: ethics and professionalism; global health; community service learning; and the medical humanities (literature, music and art).

Dr. Berggren arrived at UT Health San Antonio in fall 2006 after an eventful stint at New Orleans’ Charity Hospital, where she stood by her mostly uninsured patients in the HIV ward during Hurricane Katrina until all were safely evacuated six days later. She reflected on the experience in articles published in the New England Journal of Medicine and a commencement address to the Health Science Center School of Medicine. Her determination to inspire humanism in medicine and effect change through her own experiences led to her being named director of the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics in October 2007.

The daughter of public health physicians, Dr. Berggren spent her childhood at Haiti’s Hôpital Albert Schweitzer, named for the Nobel Prize-winning physician and humanitarian known for his philosophy of reverence for life. During medical school, she was named an Albert Schweitzer Fellow and traveled to the West African nation of Gabon to work at the hospital established by Dr. Schweitzer. Her involvement in global health and ties to Haiti continue today. Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Dr. Berggren was active in relief efforts along the Haitian-Dominican border. She lectured widely on these experiences and on disaster preparedness for the American College of Physicians, Centers for Disease Control, American Medical Association, Pan American Health Organization and medical schools nationwide.

• Professional Background

  Education

  • 1988 - MD - Medicine - Harvard Medical School
  • 1984 - BA - Biology (With High Honors) - Oberlin College
  • Internship - Medicine - Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Clinical Fellowship - Infectious Diseases - University of Colorado Health Science Center
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship - Infectious Diseases - University of Colorado Health Science Center
  • Residency - Medicine - Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital

  Appointments

  • 9/2011 - Professor/Clinical - University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Medicine, San Antonio
  • 10/2007 - Director - UTHSCSA, Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics, San Antonio

• Instruction & Training

  • 8/2013 - Present, Leadership in Global Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center
  • 3/2012 - Present, Practical Ethics for Healers, The University of Texas Health Science Center
  • 6/2011 - Present, Foundation in Global Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center
  • 11/2009 - Present, Preparing for Global Health Work, The University of Texas Health Science Center
  • 9/2009 - Present, Indian Health Care Precep, The University of Texas Health Science Center
  • 9/2009 - Present, Intro to Clin Sci I, The University of Texas Health Science Center
  • 9/2009 - Present, ELEC5044 Preparing for Community Service Learning, UT Health Science Center San Antonio
  • 12/2008 - Present, Project Hispaniola, UT Health Science Center San Antonio
  • 12/2008 - Present, Literature and Medicine II, The University of Texas Health Science Center
  • 9/2008 - Present, INTD 4007 Community Service Learning, The University of Texas Health Science Center
  • 1/2008 - Present, Elective in International Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center
  • 1/2008 - Present, On Becoming a Doctor, The University of Texas Health Science Center
  • 9/2007 - Present, Literature and Medicine I, The University of Texas Health Science Center
  • 9/2007 - Present, Literature and Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center
  • 8/2007 - Present, On Becoming a Doctor ? Foundations, The University of Texas Health Science Center
  • 4/2007 - Present, MEDI 4151 Poverty, Health and Disease
  • 9/2006 - Present, Infectious Disease Attending

• Research & Grants

  Research profile

• Publications

  Abstract

  Yan C and Berggren RE. Patient Notes: Using a Music Enrichment Elective to Teach Medical Students to Write SOAP Notes; 2015 Oct. (American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, 17th Annual Meeting). Yan C, Noble S, and Berggren RE. The 6-Word and 55-Word Story: A Self-Reflection Process for Healthcare Professionals in 30 Minutes or Less; 2015 Oct. (American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, 17th Annual Meeting). Berggren RE and Stone M. Access Care Texas: ACT Together for Health; 2015 May. (Institute for Health Care Advancement; 14th Annual Health Literacy Conference). Stone M, Rosenfeld J, Michalek J, and Berggren RE. The Impact of Community Service Learning on Medical Students; 2015 Feb. (Innovations in Health Science Education Conference Austin, TX). Rosenfeld J, DowdellK, Bropleh P, Ascher J, and Berggren R. Prevalence of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Knowledge, norms and behaviors in Bateyes in Dominican Republic; 2015 Jan. (Consortium of Universities in Global Health International Conference 2015). Brooks J, Adams A, Moraga-Lewy N, Bendjemil S, Berggren R, Rosenfeld J, Berggren RE. A Case Study Evaluation of Community Health Clubs in Port au Prince, Haiti; 2014 Oct. (UNC Chapel Hill Water and Health International Conference).

  Book Chapter

  Berggren RE Usatine R. Global Health. In: Berggren R and Usatine R. Color Atlas of Internal Medicine. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Global Education Holdings LLC; 2015. p. 32-48. Berggren RE, Usatine R. Global Health. In: Berggren R and Usatine R. Color Atlas of Pediatrics. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Global Education Holdings LLC; 2014.

  Journal Article

  Navuluri N, Haring A, Smithson-Riniker K, Sosland R, Vivanco R, Berggren R and Rosenfeld J. Assessing Barriers to Health Care Access Among Refugees Living in San Antonio, Texas Texas Public Health Journal 2014 Jan;66(3):5-9.

• Clinical

  Provider profile

  Board Certifications

  • American Board of Internal Medicine/Infectious Disease
  • American Board of Internal Medicine