Dr. Bergen received her M.D. from Emory University School of Medicine in 1983. After completing a general surgical residency in 1988 and a fellowship in Trauma/Critical Care in 1989 at UT Southwestern, Dr Bergen joined the general surgery faculty. Her primary clinical interests are advanced laparoscopy, hernia and gastrointestinal surgery; her practice is based at UT Southwestern University Hospitals - Zale Lipshy and St. Paul. The focus of her academic activities is surgical education and patient safety. She was appointed Director of Student Education in Surgery in July, 1999 and served as Associate Program Director of the General Surgery Residency Training Program since 1996. Dr. Bergen completed the Surgical Education Research Fellowship sponsored by the Association for Surgical Education, a two-year program (April, 1997 April, 1999), to develop the educational research skills of surgeons. She is also a graduate of the Surgeons as Educators course. She has served on institutional committees, including the Admissions Committee, the Curriculum Committee and the Student Promotions Committee and as Chairman of the Medical Executive committee of University Hospital Zale-Lipshy. She has been instrumental in developing modules for learning/teaching basic technical and advanced laparoscopic skills in an inanimate setting and in establishing reliable and valid performance appraisal systems for faculty, residents and students. Educational research interests include: performance appraisal, teaching and learning technical skills, and gender related/life-style studies in surgery. In October 2005, Dr. Bergen became Chief Medical Officer of UT Southwestern University Hospitals with responsibility for Patient Safety and Quality among other administrative duties.
