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DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE NEWSLETTER

Spring 2023

With the appearance of Spring comes the arrival of a brand-new class of EM Residents and Fellows! I am so grateful for the Education and Fellowship teams for the extraordinary efforts that go into application review, interviews and ranking. Year after year, their hard work has consistently resulted in attracting amazing people who come to Utah for training. And, what follows, is one of the most satisfying things imaginable... To watch those around us flourish and grow, become even more accomplished and confident... it truly is part of the heart and soul of what we do. 

Our Department's commitment to mentorship not only elevates our trainees, but extends to many of our amazing staff who also 'grow up' in our department, starting as HUC's or EMT's and coming back to us as RN's, nursing leaders, APC's, or physicians. This is a joy that cannot be quantified... and is the result of a culture that looks to elevate the people around them. Our ED staff are key to not only training the fantastic nurses and EMT's of tomorrow, but they are also an integral part of our trainee education. Importantly, many of these lessons are centered around effective teamwork and developing a deep appreciation that we cannot do our jobs alone. 

With the arrival of new friends, also come the impending departure of our graduating residents. The 'happy & sad' months... happy as our seniors take their next steps, but so very sad to see them go. Their final shifts in the Department bring the elation of new opportunity, the satisfaction of being able to rule the board and move the department, but also the humility to recognize the learning curve doesn't flatten anytime soon, at least for those first few years out of training. 

For this year's graduating seniors, the last few years have been a different journey... years filled with more than the usual amount of uncertainty and change. The chaos has likely caused many of us to reflect on the intensity of what we do every day, yet it has also taught us the importance of what we do each day. For those leaving us, I hope you take with you a greater appreciation of all that surrounds you; your family, friends, colleagues, and the beauty of the place you call home. Additionally, I hope that these experiences will cement in the acknowledgement that challenges can be the source of great opportunity, and that when we work together towards a common goal, we can accomplish very difficulty things. 

I hope you will all join me in congratulating our departing senior class and welcoming in a new class of bright and talented young physicians! 

Please read on to enjoy the Departmental highlights from the last few months! 

-Christy Hopkins, MD

Professor and Department Chair

• HELIX: Moving Day is here! Meetings will transition to the new HELIX space starting in June!! We want to thank the EM Administrative team for all their help getting the office ready for the big move! 

Please welcome Michelle Metzger as the new Nurse Manager for University Main Campus Emergency Department!

Michelle Metzger graduated from the University of Texas in Arlington with a BSN degree, then started her nursing career as a new graduate in the Emergency Department at Memorial Hermann Southwest in Houston, Texas. She served as Clinical Coordinator and led the Emergency Department team at night. She spent six years at Memorial Hermann, and achieved many process improvements. She then worked in Las Cruces, New Mexico, first as a charge nurse at Mountainview Regional Medical Center, then as an ED Manager. The responsibilities of that position gave her insight into different leadership perspectives in a hospital setting. During COVID, she took a position at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas in order to care for an ill family member. She worked there for almost two years as a trauma nurse in the Emergency Department before returning to Mountainview as an Emergency Department Director. In this position, she worked very closely with the hospital administration in developing processes to improve hospital throughput, employee satisfaction, and patient experience. 

Michelle is married with two children, and has visited Utah every year since her kids were very little. Her family loves to hike in the summer and snow ski in the winter. Michelle is very excited for this next chapter in her career and to be a part of the University of Utah Emergency Department team! 

Please welcome Kim Sheriff as the new Nurse Manager for South Jordan Emergency Department! 

Kim Sheriff recently accepted the nurse manager position at South Jordan Emergency. Kim began her nursing career 23 years ago in intensive care medicine and then transitioned to emergency medicine spending 10 years at South Jordan Emergency department. Kim has worked in various leadership positions throughout her nursing career; from charge nurse, preceptor, educator, and clinical nursing coordinator to most recently, Sugarhouse Specialties nurse supervisor. Kim brings a passion and commitment to the patients and teams she serves and loves being back at South Jordan Emergency Department. 

Resident Research Grant: 

We are excited to announce the release of our inaugural Emergency Medicine Resident Research Grant! As a department, we are motivated to invest in and provide research mentorship and experiences to our trainees that will adequately prepare them for a future career in academic emergency medicine. 

Emergency medicine is a relatively young medical specialty with a growing need for emergency medicine professionals trained in research methods to advance research in our field. This funding opportunity represents an important step in our commitment to meet this need. 

This opportunity will be offered twice a year to interested applicants. We encourage residents to identify an emergency medicine faculty mentor and begin developing your proposals! Please reach out to our Research Director Austin Stevens or Dr. Austin Johnson with any questions. 

AIUM Ultracon UU EM Representation: 

The DEM ultrasound team had 4 oral abstracts, 4 posters, 2 invited panels, and 2 invited lectures, several of which were presented by students and residents mentored by Drs. Jennifer Cotton, Megan Fix, and Patrick Ockerse.

Dr. Troy Madsen will be leaving the University of Utah to take a position at IMC running their clinical research program. Dr. Madsen has been an integral part of our faculty, serving as the Director of Clinical Research and making invaluable contributions to the field of emergency medicine. 

Dr. Madsen has been a key figure in numerous research trials, particularly in the area of respiratory viral surveillance, ED-initiated Buprenorphine, primary palliative care for EM, Anticoagulation options, and opioid screening. His research trials have accounted for an average of just under 50% of our total research funding over the past 5 years! He has an impressive 89 peer-reviewed publications to his name, a testament to his dedication to advancing medical knowledge and improving patient care. 

Beyond his impressive research achievements, Dr. Madsen has also been an outstanding educator, serving as a touchpoint for resident instruction on research practice. He has always been available as an open resource to help every faculty member achieve their goals and has been a great mentor and colleague to many. 

One of Dr. Madsen's other notable contributions has been his role as the host of the "Who Cares About Men's Health" podcast, which has become a trusted source of information for many patients. He has also been our key emergency medicine media spokesperson, providing expert commentary on various health issues. 

Dr. Madsen's departure will be a great loss to our department, but we know that he will continue to make significant contributions to the field of emergency medicine wherever he goes. We extend our best wishes to him for all his future endeavors and express our gratitude for his numerous contributions to our department and the medical community in general. 

See our most recent Emergency Medicine FY2023 Q3 Research Newsletter for more! 

Congratulations to the 2023 Medical Education Scholarship, Research & Evaluation (MESRE) Section Award Winners!

• Best Oral Presentation in the Category of Research: Jacob Robson, Kristin Vaughan, Megan Fix, Ashley Hall, Sarah Groves, Michelle Adsitt, Patrick Bowles, Katherine Anderson

"Application of a competency-based assessment rubric during early student patient encounters--are all our students truly above average?" 

A big thank you to Dr. Allison Beaulieu for heading up the Department's EMIG efforts! This is a fantastic opportunity to better connect and showcase our specialty with interested students. 

Dynamic Duo to head up the DOEM required EM Clinical Clerkship-- part of the core curriculum for the School of Medicine! Dr. Alyrene Dorey (Director) and Dr. Christine Raps (Asst. Director). Looking forward to students starting in late June! 

Welcome New EM Resident Chiefs!!

Dr. Alex Franke

Dr. Ellie Gilbertson

Dr. Ellen Wiitala

Dr. Amanda St. Martin

EM Clinical Educator of the Month! Each month, our residents vote collectively to recognize outstanding teaching over the past 30 days. Faculty from all teaching locations and specialties are included in the selection process. 

For May 2023: We are honored to award Dr. Gerard Stephen Doyle (what.a.name!) as the first-ever EM Clinical Educator of the Month! 

Gerry hails from the great state of Alabama. He received his MD from University of Vermont and trained at Medical College of Wisconsin for residency. He has been a pillar in U Of U EM education for nearly 20 years, serving as APD, medical student rotation director, and publishing research on education, trauma, orthopedics, and badass case reports. GerBear is one of our favorite grumpy old men in the department - always bringing coffee and good conversation, providing incredible teaching while pushing us to be autonomous, and crushing low-acuity patients on his own to give residents bandwidth to focus on critical care. 

Other resident comments include: 

"Your mentorship and teaching is rivaled in excellence only by the quality of your legendary hugs. Thank you for all that you do for us. None of us would be where we are without your dedication!" -PGY1 

"Gerry Doyle is singularly one of the most gifted educators and mentors that I have had the privilege of working with. I am so grateful for his presence and influence on my career." -PGY2

"Gerry is the G.O.A.T. of terrible dad jokes. It's a sure bet that a shift with Gerry will be full of good (and sometimes awkward) laughs and so many clinical pearls. My mood is lifted when I see him on the schedule. Thanks for everything, Gerry!" -PGY3

New Residents class of 2026!   *See end of newsletter for individual bios!

June will be the last month we may see some of our Senior EM Residents. It is always with a heavy heart we wave goodbye, but we can't wait to see the amazing things that you pursue during your career! 

Allison Abma: Branson, MO

Scott Berndt: University of Utah Health; Global Health Fellowship

Rowan Kelner: University of Utah Health; Education Fellowship

Ben Moody: Sagewest Medic Center (Riverton, WY)

Jared Patel: Yakima Memorial Hospital (Yakima, WA). "Thanks to all the techs, nurses, support staff and attendings for making the past three years someof the best years of my life, I can genuinely say I love going to work because of all of you. Working in the ED at the U has been an unforgettable experience, I will miss everyone!" 

Jordan Rode: University of Utah Health; Ultrasound Fellowship

Ryan Schumacher: St. Anthony, Summit Medical Center (Frisco, Colorado). "So stoked for this next step, but so sad to leave such a rad and smart crew here. Many thanks to everyone in the department for all of the support along the way! If you find yourself in Summit County CO at any point, please give me a shout!" 

Benjamin Verseman: University of Utah Health; Ultrasound Fellowship

Shahrzad Woodbridge: St. Alphonsus (Boise, Idaho). "I'd love to give a screaming shout out to the ED faculty, co-residents, nurses, techs, pharmacists, APCs and everyone else I've had the pleasure of harassing over the last three years. You've all truly become family and have helped me learn so much. I wish I could take you all with me!" 

 

Wilderness Medicine Fellows: 

Mitchel Faulkner

Hanna Loewenberg

Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellows: 

Nate Coggins (UCLA) 

Liz Albert (Maine Medical)

Education Fellow: 

Rowan Kelner (University of Utah Health)

Ultrasound Fellows: 

Jordan Rode (University of Utah Health)

Ben Verseman (University of Utah Health)

EMS Fellow: 

Brent Klapthor (San Diego)

Sports Medicine Felows: 

Dennis Jackson (Henry Ford)

Genevra Stone (Harvard)

For more on the new fellows-- see our last Department of Emergency Medicine newsletter: 

Winter 2023 DOEM Newsletter 

Congratulations to Dr. Scott Youngquist!! 

Dr. Scott Youngquist has been awarded the Emergency Physician of the Year award by the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services!! 

This award is presented to individuals who demonstrate outstanding performance and dedication in Emergency Medical Services. 

Dr. Youngquist was nominated for this award by the crew and staff of Salt Lake City Fire Department and VECC911. His exceptional performance and efforts have made a significant difference in the field of emergency medicine. It is a proud moment for us to have such an accomplished physician in our faculty. 

Event Medicine Highlights: 

A big shout out to Nathan Roll, and the physicians and EMT’s from University of Utah! Thanks to the team’s hard work the University has a growing presence in event medicine!

Accolades From UFC: “As you can imagine, we have very specific EMS needs for the safety of our athletes. Nathan and the event medicine team not only fulfilled our requirements with ease, they went above and beyond to make sure everything was done accurately, efficiently, and with a positive attitude. It was both refreshing and enjoyable to work with such a competent team. In my current role, I work with EMS worldwide, and I know I speak for all of us in UFC Medical when I say that Nathan and his team’s professionalism and overall performance were the best we’ve ever seen!”

On the Road Again! 

Check out the new EMS Physician wheels! This vehicle allows our EMS fellows to respond to EMS incidents. 

EMS Fellowship Director: A big thank you to Dr. Graham Brant-Zawadzki for assuming the Interim Directorship for EMS while we complete a national search for a replacement for our esteemed colleague Dr. Stoecklein. 

Dr. Hill Stoecklein will be leaving our department to pursue a new opportunity in Jackson Hole. He has made significant contributions to our department and the wider medical community including serving as the EMS fellowship director, Medical Director for Mountain West Ambulance, Tooele County, and Associate Director for the Salt Lake City Fire Department. 

Dr. Stoecklein was named EMS physician of the year in 2021, a well-deserved recognition of his expertise and contributions to the field. He has also been a key member of our department QI committee, where he has helped to implement changes that have improved patient care and safety. His leadership as the site PI for the LITES-PAIN trial has potential to discover important findings that will inform future pain management protocols. 

Above all, Dr. Stoecklein is someone who always us all to be better. He has pushed us to be our best selves, both personally and professionally, and we are all better for having had the privilege of working with him. While we will miss him dearly, we are grateful for the time we have had with him and for the legacy he leaves behind. 

Dr. Chris Kelly successfully obtained accreditation for our US fellowship! We are now officially an EUFAC accredited fellowship! 

Dr. Jennifer Cotton took a group of medical students and residents, including Dr. Jordan Rode, to AIUM (American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine) conference where the US section and Department of Emergency Medicine were represented with multiple abstracts and research presentations. 

Congratulations to Dr. Arion Lochner and Dr. Brian Opferman for passing their Critical Care Echo Boards! 

Recent US section publications: 

https://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(22)01247-1/fulltext

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acem.14692

The Department of Emergency Medicine is proud to announce that Dr. Jane Yee will be taking over the Directorship for the Global Health fellowship. This highly successful fellowship has been cultivated by Dr. Matthew Fuller who has built fellowship opportunities throughout the world. 

Dr. Yee graduated from the DOEM's Global Health Fellowship in 2021, completed the ACEP teaching Fellowship in 2020 and is a Master's Candidate in Public Health. 

Dr. Yee has been working to foster a partnership with Indian Health Services to help provide high quality emergency care and education to patients with significant barriers to health care. We welcome her passion and talent in this new role! 

For anone wanting to work with IHS in Shiprock, please contact Dr. Yee for more information! 

Dr. Hank Song recently returned from Huaraz, Peru, where he spent two weeks helping teach two courses in wilderness first aid for over 140 mountain guides, guides-in-training, and members of the general public. Initially run by the University of Colorado and local medical group Kausay in partnership with the Peruvian Association of Mountain Guides (AGMP), the wilderness first aid course is attended by students from all over Peru and South America, including Mexico, Chile, Panama, Brazil, and beyond. 

The course is taught in a remote mountain lodge at the foothills of the Cordillera Blance. Dr. Song helped teach classes on the fundamentals of wilderness first aid and run medical simulations of mountain disasters (all in Spanish!). In the few days of down time between courses, he even got to summit two peaks! 

Dr. McIntosh traveled to Basel, Switzerland to present at the International Society of Travel Medicine World Congress. The Congress assembles authorities from around the world to advise and establish protocols on topics in travel medicine. Scott spoke on the topic of hypothermia in the “Hot, Cold, and Deep” Symposium. 

Carl Skinner, MD will join us July 1 as our third medical toxicologist. He will take call for the Utah Poison Control Center and see toxicology consults at the University Hospital and Primary Children's Hospital. Look for a full bio and introduction soon! 

During the 2022-2023 academic year we hosted a record number of rotators on our toxicology rotation: 

• 12 EM interns

• 3 Pediatric emergency medicine fellows

• 8 medical residents (internal medicine, pediatrics, med/peds)

• 15 MS4s including one of our new interns Brennan Enright!

As part of the new required EM rotation for medical students, all rotators will spend a day at the Utah Poison Control Center learning about toxicology and the resources the poison center has to offer. 

ED Substance Use Monitoring

• Opiates, fentanyl, and stimulant amines continue to be the most common  positives in ED urine drug screens

• Utah patients continue to use novel psychoactive substances. Recently found compounds include desethyl isotonitazene and deschloro-N-ethyl katamine. 

Amelia Barber

University of Colorado

I grew up in the small mountain town of Estes Park, Colorado. I had early exposure to community medicine and broad community engagement. I knew I wanted to return to a rural area. I studied Neuroscience at Colorado State University and obtained my EMT. I worked in my hometown ED for four years through college and knew I was going to apply to medical school to practice emergency medicine. My love for the idiosyncrasies of the undifferentiated patient, community involvement, and high-performance compassionate care of emergencies only grew during my time at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. I'm thrilled to now be training in emergency medicine in Utah! I hope to practice rural cirtical access emergency medicine after my training with incorporation of some of my other medical interests. EM rules! 

Josh Berko

Nova Southeastern University

I grew up a Florida man, playing in the springs, swamps, and beaches while worshipping Tampa Bay Lightning hockey. I met my wife in high school and now we share a pup who loves to adventure with us. I enjoy no shortage of opportunity which started off as pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering and taking classes in scuba diving and beekeeping, but ultimately led me to EM. I'm stoked to continue my journey at the U, meet awesome people, and explore the Wasatch! 

Felix Braun 

University of Wisconsin

I was born in Davos, Switzerland, and in the first ten years of my life my family moved across the Atlantic Ocean three times. After stints in California, Germany, and Canada, my parents finally settled in Madison, WI, where I attended middle and high school. The mountains called me to Colorado College for my undergraduate degree. I studied molecular and cellular biology, and then proceeded to take four years before entering medical school at the University of Wisconsin. During this time, my pursuits included varios research positions, working as a phlebotomist for the Red Cross, and making wine in Napa Valley. 

Rachel Brehm 

University of Oklahoma

Raised in Southwest Missouri, with lakes abundant, I grew up on the water, skiing constantly. I did undergrad at the U of Arkansas and got a degree in Mathematics, which I promptly ignored and went into tech/business. Working as a consultant in medical software, I spent several years traveling the states for work and internationally for pleasure, working out that itch to "see the world while I'm young!". Well, spoiler alert, that itch never goes away, but it does become balanced by an appreciation for consistency. I stepped down from consulting and moved to Utah to "be a ski bum for a season" before "getting my MBA". Spoiler alert #2, I do not have an MBA. In those glorious, low-responsibility years, I barista'd, ski patrolled and confirmed my suspicion I could never again live in a high humidity state. I also finally succumbed to my lifelong urge to apply to medical school. The rest is history! 

Brennan Enright

University of Arizona, Phoenix

I grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis where I spent all my time outdoors and developed a love for skiing. Yearning for a home mountain that was more than 150 feet tall, I moved to Seattle for undergrad where I got into every mountain sport I could. I joined a SAR team while there and by working alongside several ER docs on the team I found what I wanted to do with my life. After a couple post-undergrad years teaching adaptive sports and traveling, we moved to my wife's home state of Arizona and fell in love with the desert landscape. We're so excited to be moving to Utah to get the best of both worlds: mountains AND desert! 

Ashlynn Felker

Washington State University

I was born and raised in North Pole, Alaska... and yes, there is a Santa Claus house and I lived 3 miles away from it the majority of my life! Throughout high school, I always knew I wanted to go to college, but had no idea what I wanted to do with my life until switching my degree three times until finally deciding on a career in medicine. During that time, I was in the Alaska Air National Guard (ANG), and once my husband received orders to move to Washington state, the opportunity to become a military medic in the Washington ANG arose! This opportunity enhanced my desire for a career in medicine where I was eventually accepted into Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. My experiences in the military and love for learning have paved my desire to become an emergency medicine doc. I am beyond grateful to be moving to Utah to receive amazing EM training in a location I know I will thrive! 

Christina Gibbs

University of Washington

I grew up in a rural underserved mining community in North Idaho and, after five years and four degree changes, graduated with a degree that I was proud of, only to then decide I didn't want to be an engineer. Wildland firefighter? Sorority girl? Waitress? Scribe? Bioengineer? Phone Solicitor? CNA? I've been all of those and more and couldn't be prouder to add EM Resident at the University of Utah to that list. 

Ethan Grant 

Texas Tech University

I was born and raised in rural West Texas! I grew up loving the outdoors and took the first chance I had to go to the mountains. Medicine has fascinated me since I was young, but scribing in an emergency department gave me an appreciation for the real impact ER docs can have on their patients' lives. I was always drawn to the undifferentiated patient, and the pace, procedures, and results are what solidified my decision to purse EM. 

Will Harousseau 

Emory University

I was born in France in a small town outside of Paris. I moved to New York when I was about seven years old. There, I spent most of my time playing soccer. I traveled to Atlanta for my undergraduate education to be closer to my family in Georgia. Our family owns a farm in southern Georgia which is one of my favorite places on earth! Atlanta has subsequently been my home for the last twelve years. 

Cara Lembo 

Tufts University

I grew up outside of Boston and moved a whopping 60 miles west for undergrad at Amherst College where I discovered a love for geology (class outside what could be better?!) and running long distances. Geology took me to the mountain west, Iceland, and, eventually, New Zealand where I spent a year and a half after college doing paleoclimatology research and picking up as many new outdoor hobbies as possible. An existential crisis later, I found myself back in Massachusetts for med school. During my fourth year, I realized that emergency medicine is about as close to geology as medicine gets, and I am so excited to join the team in Utah!

Mike Mc Elligott 

University of Limerick

I am from Limerick, Ireland where I grew up and did all of my schooling. When I was younger, I played a lot of rugby but, over the years, I began transitioning into more mountain-based activities. I have a passion for anything involving mountains including rock climbing, mixed/ice climbing, skiing etc. I wanted to become a doctor since I was young and along the way I found my home in the ED. Even though I took a rather convoluted route getting here, I could not be happier chasing the ultimate dream of combining work with passion.

Sofia Tuttle 

University of Utah

I grew up in Georgia, where I completed my undergrad in Biomedical Engineering and fell in love with the mountains while growing up around the Appalachians. Seeking a change of pace from metro-Atlanta, after college I moved to Utah for “just one year” as a ski instructor. I then spent several years teaching kids to pizza/french fry, became an EMT, and dipped my toe in the water of wilderness medicine by volunteering with Salt Lake County search and rescue. I was then lucky enough to matriculate into medical school here in Utah, where emergency medicine quickly stood out as the best fit for me. I guess luck strikes twice as I am incredibly excited for the opportunity to continue my medical training here for residency!