Can you tell us a little about your professional journey and how you got into emergency medicine?

When I decided to explore going to medical school after starting my career in engineering, I volunteered at a small emergency department in my community. Watching the emergency physician there and all of the different patients who came in, I was hooked from the beginning. I guess EM imprinted on me in a very formative time in my exploration of a career in medicine. I got involved early in EMIG in medical school and had an amazing faculty advisor who was also EM… so I never looked back.

What motivated you to join the CORD Board of Directors?

Even as a young faculty member and new medical educator, I found the CORD community to be engaging and inspiring. Being a part of the organization allowed me to not only grow as an educator, but to be part of a group of like minded educators and gave me an opportunity to get involved and be a leader in the emergency medicine education community. I joined several committees and became highly involved in planning academic assembly, which was the meeting I looked the most forward to every year. After leading AA, I was inspired to join the Board to help drive the future direction of CORD and be a part of the group that continues to support program directors and medical educators in emergency medicine.

What do you see as the biggest challenges facing emergency medicine education today?

Program directors have many challenges with the changing landscape of resident education, from changes in recruitment, to the match environment, requirements to the board, and changes program requirements. It’s a very tumultuous time in emergency medicine, but I think together we can see these changes as positive moves for our residents and our specialty overall.

What advice would you give to new members looking to make the most of their membership?

Get involved! This organization is such a great place to make connections and get involved in projects that are important to programs across the country. Show up and raise your hand to volunteer to do something that you are passionate about and you never know where that opportunity will lead you.

What role do you think technology will play in the future of emergency medicine training and education?

Obviously the big buzz out there is AI. Artificial Intelligence has been growing at a rapid pace and is becoming so much more accessible to the general public. As educators, we will be charged with figuring out how to best harness this technology to make lives easier for ourselves and our patients. And, we need to be educated about this stuff ourselves because our residents and students already know more about it than we do!

What advice would you give to emergency medicine professionals aspiring to take on leadership roles?

Taking on a leadership role in your program, department or organization can be one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of your career as an emergency medicine physician and educator. My advice is to also learn from the wealth of knowledge around you and draw on the community of CORD to help with those challenging management questions that come up along the way. The shared experiences we all have can be a very valuable and powerful support system as you grow in your career as a clinician, educator, and leader.

How can members stay informed about the latest developments and opportunities within CORD?

Join the CORD communities, zoom into the CORD Connects, and definitely attend the CORD Academic Assembly!