2023 - 2024 Pediatric EM Committee Leader Spotlight EMRA

Richmond M. Castillo, MD, MA, MS, Chair-Elect of the EMRA Pediatric EM Committee, 2023-2024

Richmond Castillo.jpg 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

Rebecca Leff.jpg 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.

Why did you get involved in a professional society? EM physicians can diagnose a child with measles in one room and manage an adult stroke patient next door. But in order to help fully reach our potential as the next generation of EM physicians to improve acute-care internationally, we need training to learn how to take these skills to the global stage, whether that means participating in PEM-simulations so we can replicate them for those who don't have access, research skills, career guidance, or a place to tune in to learn more about our passions. Most importantly, we need community: a place to discuss our struggles with others who have overcome them and meet mentors who can help us take our careers to the next phase. Building off prior roles in health and human rights leadership, I want to be an EMRA leader because I want to facilitate training and foster community for trainees in our specialty, so that as a community we can fulfill our role in improving acute-care on the global stage, with all the unique talents our diverse community holds.

What is the best advice you have ever received? Listen intently. Don’t just hear the words and syllables—listen so you can understand and relate. Listen to learn.

What is something that people don't know about you? I played rugby for the Israeli national team. El El Israel!

If I weren't an emergency physician, I would be: A Foreign Correspondent

What is the last non-textbook you read? Hope in Hell: Inside the World of Doctors Without Borders

Nitin Kuppanda, MD, Vice Chair of the EMRA Pediatric EM Committee, 2023-2024

Nitin Kuppanda.jpg 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.

If you weren't an emergency physician, what would you be? Food Critic

What is your favorite hack for night shifts? Drink lots of water and stay on your feet.

Harrison Wermuth, DO, Vice Chair of the EMRA Pediatric EM Committee, 2023-2024

Harrison Wermuth.jpg 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

Kellan Etter.jpg 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.

Why did you get involved in a professional society? I was heavily involved with EMRA during medical school, and I know firsthand what the organization will do for people excited by the field of emergency medicine. From my first time meeting my committee members, the staff, and the Board, it felt like I knew these people forever. I am thrilled to be back surrounded by people who are passionate about EM, and who want nothing more than to help educate and inspire the next generation of emergency medicine physicians.

What is the best advice you have ever received? To quit. I didn't like that too much. Had I listened, I wouldn't be in medicine nor have done a lot of the things that I've had the chance to do and experience. Turns out the best advice I received was the advice I didn't follow.

What is something that people don't know about you? Tá Gaeilge agam. (I speak Irish.)

If you weren't an emergency physician, what would you be? Ideally: Jack Ryan Reality: a history professor, wishing he was Jack Ryan

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

2023 - 2024 Pediatric EM Committee Leader Spotlight