Current Environment: Production

Medical Services

Programs & Services

Languages

  • English

Education

Undergraduate School

Stanford University

1978, Stanford, CA

Graduate School

MPH

Harvard University School of Public Health

1983, Boston, MA

Medical School

Harvard Medical School

1983, Boston, MA

Internship

Boston Children's Hospital

1984, Boston, MA

Residency

Pediatrics

Boston Children's Hospital

1987, Boston, MA

Fellowship

Joint Program in Neonatology

Boston Children's Hospital

1990, Boston, MA

Certifications

  • American Board of Pediatrics (General)
  • American Board of Pediatrics (Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine)

Professional History

DeWayne Pursley, MD, MPH, is chief of the Department of Neonatology and director of the Klarman Family Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School (HMS). An elected member of the American Pediatric Society, Dr. Pursley’s interests include NICU resource allocation and utilization, and racial and social disparities in infant outcomes.  He is a member of the NIH Advisory Council for Child Health and Human Development and the board of directors of both the American Board of Pediatrics, where he was the past chair of its Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Sub-board, and the National Perinatal Information Center. He is a founding member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) NICU Verification Program, and in the past has served as chair of the AAP Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Section, co-chair of the AAP Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, and president of the AAP Massachusetts Chapter. He also recently led an AAP project to examine resource overuse in newborn medicine and serves on the steering committee for the Vermont-Oxford Network Newborn Intensive Collaborative for Quality project on antibiotic stewardship. A recipient of the HMS Dean’s Community Service Award, Dr. Pursley has also been recognized with the March of Dimes Massachusetts Chapter Franklin Delano Roosevelt Award, the Excellence in Mentoring Award from the HMS Office of Recruitment and Multicultural Affairs, and the HMS Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Award.

Publications

In the Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) our philosophy is to ensure that every patient receives the best care for the best possible outcomes. We consider our “patient” to be the baby and the family; we are constantly striving to serve the needs of both. This requires a team based approach with all members being essential. Newborns are the smallest and, at times, among the sickest patients receiving health care. Safe, high quality, family-centered care for these vulnerable patients requires collaboration among knowledgeable, highly skilled clinicians. I’m very privileged to be a member of the team, providing this care while training a promising generation of future physician leaders and contributing to research that will benefit future patients and populations.