Angela Fulgham Gardner, M.D.

Biography

Angela F. Gardner, M.D., FACEP, is Professor, Vice-Chair of Administrative Affairs, and Chief of Operations, Quality and Patient Safety for the Department of Emergency Medicine at UT Southwestern. She served as the President of the American College of Emergency Physicians, the national specialty society for emergency medicine, from 2009 to 2010. In that capacity, she was involved in the formation of the Affordable Care Act, earning her the distinction of being named #83 on the list of “Top 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare in 2010. She received the John G. Wiegenstein Leadership Award in 2015, the highest honor in the specialty of emergency medicine, presented by the American College of Emergency Physicians. She is also a recipient of the James E. Hayes Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Emergency Medicine and the Texas Tech Emergency Medicine Outstanding Alumni Award.

Dr. Gardner served on the Board of the National Trauma Institute for eight years, including four years on the Science Committee. She also served in a number of leadership roles in the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), including President, Vice-President and Secretary/Treasurer. She served on the ACEP Board for 10 years, and continues to be active on the Federal Government Affairs Committee, the Quality and Patient Safety Committee, and the Communications Committee. 

Dr. Gardner is a former President of the Texas College of Emergency Physicians, was instrumental in achieving tort reform in Texas, and received a commendation from the Texas Legislature for her work in 2009.  

An active and energetic spokesperson on behalf of emergency medicine, Dr. Gardner is the author of “Gardner’s Gate,” ACEP’s first blog, which she started in 2006. She is currently posting on ACEP’s new blog bank, “The Central Line” and was honored as Wellsphere’s Outstanding Health Policy Blogger in 2008. Dr. Gardner remains an active social media presence, with the Twitter handle “ACEP headliner.” 

Dr. Gardner was chair of National Report Card Task Force in 2006, when ACEP presented the first-ever state-by-state look at the support for emergency medical services across the nation, and was a representative to the subsequent Report Cards, released in January 2009 and December 2013 and subsequently published in peer reviewed journals. 

Dr. Gardner served as the national spokesperson for Doctors for Medical Liability Reform in 2005, served on the Media Experts Panel for the University of Texas, and was on the editorial board of VITALCARE magazine.  

An active member of the Dallas County Medical Society since moving to Dallas in 2009, Dr. Gardner serves as a Delegate to the Texas Medical Association (TMA). She has been involved in TMA as a contributor to the Daily Headlines and as a reference committee member and chair.  

Dr. Gardner is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at UT Southwestern. Dr. Gardner earned her medical degree at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas and completed her residency in emergency medicine at the Texas Tech Regional Academic Health Center in El Paso, Texas. She attended college at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.