Director of Emergency Medicine Education/ USF Department of Emergency Medicine
Born in Brooklyn and raised in North Massapequa on Long Island, Dr. James P. Gillen built a career defined by service, leadership, and compassion. Inspired early by volunteer work through the Key Club at Plainedge High School, he became the first person in his family to attend college and ultimately medical school. After earning his medical degree from West Virginia University and completing residency training at Geisinger Medical Center, Dr. Gillen developed a passion for Emergency Medicine while serving on helicopter transport missions across central Pennsylvania as an Emergency Medicine resident, caring for critically ill patients and victims of severe trauma in high-acuity environments.
Today, Dr. Gillen serves as Director of Emergency Medicine Education for the USF Department of Emergency Medicine at Tampa General Hospital and was recently appointed Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the USF Morsani College of Medicine. Board certified in Emergency Medicine for nearly four decades, he continues to practice full-time while mentoring the next generation of physicians. Over the course of his academic career, he has helped train more than 250 board-certified emergency physicians and currently oversees the education and development of 33 USF Emergency Medicine residents. His guiding philosophy is rooted in compassion and accountability: “Of those to whom much is given, much is required.”
Beyond medicine, Dr. Gillen is deeply devoted to family and community. He serves on the board of “The Phoenix-Tampa”, supporting individuals in early recovery throughout the Tampa Bay area. He and his wife, Marlene Gillen, a cardiology nurse practitioner at Tampa General Hospital, share more than 45 combined years of service at TGH. Together, they enjoy spending time with their four children, Jake, Lindsey, Whitney and Kirk, and their five grandchildren, Gwen, Livi, Cam, Isla and Harrison, along with traveling, working out, concerts, and evenings at home with their beloved dogs, Jack and Rosie. Their own love story began unexpectedly on E-Harmony, proving that even in the busiest emergency departments, life still finds ways to surprise you.
813-627-5931
Tampa Bay Area
health.usf.edu/medicine/emergency
