For medical school, you attended the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, IL. Tell us about why it made the top of your list:
My parents met at Cook County Hospital in the 1940s when my dad was an intern and my mother an OR nurse. The school was steeped in family history, and I wanted to go to school in Chicago.
You completed your residency at Carolinas Medical Center here in Charlotte, please share with us how/why you end up choosing that location?
I did a student rotation at Carolinas Medical Center and could clearly see it was poised to be a top program. When I interviewed with my future mentor, Dr. John Marx, at Denver Health, and learned he was headed to CMC to be the new Chair, my rank list first choice was decided.
What do you enjoy most about your day-to-day practice?
Being placed next to the full strata of humanity rather than of a selected group of patients is what I enjoy most. The emergency department is the great equalizer, where the privileged, disenfranchised, self-entitled, forgotten, aged, young, and on and on bring all manner of medical and social problems to be considered. Thus far anyway, being part of the safety net of medicine has provided fuel for me and is not the incendiary agent to any burnout.
Tell us more about your role as Director of Medical Student Education with Novant Health Rowan Medical Center and partnership with Campbell University?
I feel strongly about medical education and for the past 5 years, I’ve led Campbell’s School of Osteopathic Medicine (Region 3) to work with medical students showing them all about emergency medicine. Our team works with up to 3 medical students per month with more than 25 students a year at Rowan Medical. It’s a wonderful program and it has been a great partnership between MEMA, Novant Health, and Campbell University.
Are you a member of any associations, societies, or organizations?
I am a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Wilderness Medical Society.
Have you received any awards or been recognized from your peers? If so, tell us about it!
Yes, I was awarded the Outstanding Teacher Award (Faculty of the Year), Carolinas Medical Center EM Residency and National Champion, Clinical Pathologic Conference in Emergency Medicine (CPC).
What was your dream job when you were a child?
I always wanted to be the catcher for the Chicago Cubs in the World Series.
Do you have any Hobbies, interests, or secret powers that are unique to you?
I fronted a rock band playing regular gigs for 19 years and enjoy the time when I am restoring vintage cars top to bottom in my shop.