2023 - 2024 Pediatric EM Committee Leader Spotlight
Richmond M. Castillo, MD, MA, MS, Chair-Elect of the EMRA Pediatric EM Committee, 2023-2024
Program: Northwestern University
Your goal as an EMRA leader: To collaborate with present and future PEM leaders, inspire EM-trained residents to pursue a career in PEM, and improve access to PEM education tools
If I weren't an emergency physician, I would be: I would be a professional food critic
Favorite life hack for night shifts: Get a full night sleep the night before, nap before shift, tea, coffee, tea, coffee, tea, coffee, etc.
Rebecca Leff, MD, Chair-Elect of the EMRA Pediatric EM Committee, 2023-2024
Program: Mayo Clinic
Your goal as an EMRA leader: My goal as an EMRA leader is to provide a community for those who love pediatric emergency medicine to come together to learn and help each other grow, whether that means collaborating on projects, finding mentorship, or creating virtual spaces to meet and learn together.
If I weren't an emergency physician, I would be: A Foreign Correspondent
Nitin Kuppanda, MD, Vice Chair of the EMRA Pediatric EM Committee, 2023-2024
Program: St. John's Riverside Hospital
Your goal as an EMRA leader: My goal is to bring more awareness to the opportunities within pediatric emergency medicine and the importance of pediatric considerations during disaster responses.
Harrison Wermuth, DO, Vice Chair of the EMRA Pediatric EM Committee, 2023-2024
Program: SBH Health System Bronx
Your goal as an EMRA leader: To establish mentorship and professional opportunities for those interested in Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowships. Moreover, I will promote Pediatric Emergency Medicine Research and provide up-to-date management strategies for Pediatric Patient Management. As Emergency Medicine Physicians, we encounter Pediatric Patients in our daily practice. I feel strongly that we need to have the up-to-date resources, knowledge, and tools to provide the best possible patient care to our Pediatric Population.
Top 3 traits of a great leader:
1. Integrity
2. Empathetic
3. Self-Aware
If I weren't an emergency physician, I would be: Equity Trader
Favorite life hack for night shifts: Sour Strips
Kellan Etter, DO, Asst. Vice Chair of the EMRA Pediatric EM Committee, 2023-2024
Program: Virginia Tech - Carilion Clinic
Your goal as an EMRA leader: My previous stint with EMRA sparked my interest in medical student outreach and education. I worked on a few different projects with the Pediatric EM committee in this regard, and I'm eager for the chance to continue developing these initiatives to make sure students have the opportunity for scholarship and mentorship in PEM. With residency, I've also begun to further hone other pursuits and niches. I am incredibly interested in pediatric head trauma and traumatic brain injury, and I think there is an opportunity to hold workshops and talks with thought and research leaders regarding new developments in the identification and treatment of TBI in these patients. When I first started with EMRA on the Medical Student Council, I was in awe of all of people who suddenly became my colleagues--students, residents, and fellows who were at the forefront of the profession, who were talented beyond measure, and whose resumes and life stories were straight from a Hollywood script. I can't wait to get back in the game to bring these initiatives to life, and hopefully impact a future EM physician like my former colleagues did me.
What's the last non-textbook you read? I'm almost done with Over My Dead Body by Jeffery Archer. Next up is Croatia: A History from the Middle Ages to the Present Day by Marcus Tanner.
Yunfai Ng, MD, Asst. Vice Chair of the EMRA Pediatric EM Committee, 2023-2024
Program: Mount Sinai Morningside - West
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