Peter Burke, MD, to Step Down as Chief of Acute Care, Trauma Surgery; Tracey Dechert, MD, Named Successor

Headshot of Dr. BurkePeter Burke, MD, chief of acute care and trauma surgery, will step down from clinical practice at the end of June. He will remain a member of the department of surgery’s research faculty.

Burke has been practicing for more than 30 years, nearly all of them at Boston Medical center (BMC). He joined the BMC/BUSM community in 1999, with appointment to chief and promotion to professor of surgery in 2008.

A highly respected clinician and colleague, Burke excels in all aspects of academic medicine. In recognition of his many contributions to BMC, he received the hospital’s 2019 Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence. He will return to basic science and clinical research integral to his work as a surgeon-scientist in July.

Headshot of Dr. DechertTracey Dechert, MD, will succeed Burke as chief of acute care and trauma surgery. Dechert joined BMC/BUSM in 2010 as assistant professor of surgery and was promoted to associate professor in 2018. Her established record of clinical excellence, superb teaching and leadership led to positions of increasing responsibility, including her appointment in 2019 as director of BMC’s Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) and chief of surgical critical care. Committed to education and mentorship, she previously served as associate director of the General Surgery Residency Program and currently serves as director of the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship.

Tejal Brahmbhatt, MD, will succeed Dechert as SICU director, chief of surgical critical care and director of the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship.