Pamela J. Okada, M.D.

Biography

Pamela J. Okada, M.D., is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She specializes in pediatric emergency medicine and is the Interim Chief of the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Okada earned her medical degree at Tulane University School of Medicine, where she was elected into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. She completed a residency in pediatrics at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and received advanced training through a pediatric emergency medicine fellowship at UT Southwestern. She also earned a Master of Science in Clinical Science at UT Southwestern and a Healthcare Management Executive M.B.A. at UT Dallas’ Naveen Jindal School of Management.

Certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine, she joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 1996.

Dr. Okada is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Society of Pediatric Research. She is also a member of the Dallas County Medical Society and the Texas Pediatric Society.

She serves in several leadership positions at UT Southwestern, including as a member of the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Senior Council, the Medical Group Board and University Hospital Board, and the Clinical Advisory Committee. She also serves as President of the Medical Staff at Children’s Medical Center Dallas, Medical Director of Patient Experience for Children’s Health, and as a member of the Board of Directors for Dallas Physician Medical Services for Children Inc.

Dr. Okada’s research interests include neurologic emergencies from traumatic brain injury, infection, and seizures. She is the Site Principal Investigator for a National Institutes of Health-funded study on headache assessment in children for emergent intracranial emergencies and Site Co-Principal Investigator for the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network.

She is also Co-Course Director for the nationally recognized PEMQBook National Board Review Course, which is the only pediatric emergency medicine review board course available to date.

Dr. Okada has delivered international, national, and regional invited lectures; contributed to more than a dozen books; and published numerous academic articles, abstracts, and clinical guidelines related to her areas of expertise.

In 2019, she earned UT Southwestern’s Patient and Family Recognition Award.

Personal Note

When she’s not at work, Dr. Okada enjoys playing and running around with her four active grandsons; serving as a board member of various educational boards; reading about topics including coaching, communication, and patient engagement; and exercising, including boxing.