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David Della-Giustina, MD, FACEP, FAWM

Professor of Emergency Medicine
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Additional Titles

Vice Chair for Education, Emergency Medicine

Program Director of Emergency Medicine Residency, Emergency Medicine

Program Director of Educational Leadership Fellowship, Emergency Medicine

Program Director of Wilderness Medicine Fellowship, Emergency Medicine

Chief of Education Section, Emergency Medicine

About

Titles

Professor of Emergency Medicine

Vice Chair for Education, Emergency Medicine; Program Director of Emergency Medicine Residency, Emergency Medicine; Program Director of Educational Leadership Fellowship, Emergency Medicine; Program Director of Wilderness Medicine Fellowship, Emergency Medicine; Chief of Education Section, Emergency Medicine

Biography

Dr. David Della-Giustina is a Professor of Emergency Medicine and Vice Chair for Education. He is the Emergency Medicine Residency Program Director as well as the Program Director of the Wilderness Medicine and Educational Leadership Fellowships. He is a retired Colonel from the US Army with over 29 years of service to include combat tours in Afghanistan (2) and Iraq (2) with US Special Operations Command. His areas of expertise involve residency and medical student education, wilderness medicine, tactical and combat casualty care, leadership, point of care ultrasound and emergency orthopedics.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

Fellowship
Madigan Army Medical Center (2010)
Residency
Madigan Army Medical Center (1995)
Transitional Internship
Madigan Army Medical Center (1992)
MD
Uniformed Services University (1991)
BS
United States Military Academy (1987)

Research

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of David Della-Giustina's published research.

Publications

2024

2023

2022

2021

Clinical Care

Overview

David Della-Giustina, MD, is an emergency medicine specialist who cares for patients’ medical, traumatic, or surgical emergencies in the Yale New Haven Hospital Emergency Department. He has special expertise in wilderness medicine, including snake bites, heat injuries, lightning strikes, and gunshot wounds. He also has additional expertise in orthopedic and sports injuries.

Dr. Della-Giustina planned to become an orthopedic surgeon, but was drawn to emergency care in medical school, and he says it turned out to be the right choice. “The thing I love about my work is that with every patient I take care of, it’s likely one of the worst days of their life. They're scared, they're anxious, and they really want help—and I can help them,” he says.

A retired U.S. Army colonel with more than 29 years of service, including combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, he studied medicine in the Uniformed Services University and Madigan Army Medical Center, and practiced as a physician during his military tours.

“We developed the ability to manage and treat any injury or illness, with limited evacuation capabilities,” he says. “There is not much that I haven't seen or treated.” He learned that one of the most important things a physician can do in urgent situations is to listen to the patient and let them know that he understands what is wrong with them and what he needs to do to help.

“That allays a lot of fears,” he says. “I talk about my experience and expertise, as well as challenges I faced in the military when people had heart attacks or broken bones or developed pneumonia in austere settings. I say, ‘I've seen this before and I know what we need to do to make you better.’”

A professor of emergency medicine at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Della-Giustina is also the vice chair for education in emergency medicine at Yale and directs 76 physicians in a four-year training program to learn emergency medicine at Yale New Haven Hospital. He is also the program director of the Wilderness Medicine Fellowship.

Clinical Specialties

Emergency Medicine

Fact Sheets

Board Certifications

  • Emergency Medicine

    Certification Organization
    AB of Emergency Medicine
    Latest Certification Date
    2017
    Original Certification Date
    1996

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Contacts

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    Are You a Patient? View this doctor's clinical profile on the Yale Medicine website for information about the services we offer and making an appointment.