Sports Medicine Elective

For my elective block this year, with the help of one of our EM/ Sports Medicine faculty Dr. Chiampas and our senior program coordinator Chelsea, I was able to establish a sports medicine elective in the western suburbs of Chicago. I worked with Dr. Brian Babka, who is a sports medicine physician affiliated with Northwestern in the western suburbs who is also the medical director and  head team physician for Northern Illinois University Athletics.  At Northwestern, we all do a sports medicine rotation at our downtown site our intern year, but I am thankful I had the chance to explore a different experience in sports medicine. Compared to downtown, the western region spreads among many different localities from Dekalb to Warrenville to Geneva and provided a robust community sports medicine experience. The typical patients included various high school athletes from the surrounding region. It was track season and this was pre-social distancing, so a lot of the patients were runners who were in the midst of their seasons. Clinic days consisted of the initial evaluation of new patients and coming up with a therapeutic plan that was in line with the athlete's goals for the season. Mixed in was the assessment and treatment of patients (new and old) who were being treated for concussions and various other follow-up appointments. During down times in clinic, I was also able to tour the various facilities in the Northwestern West Region. One of the coolest things I saw was the Athletic Training and Sports Performance Clinic in the basement of the Warrenville location. It is a 2400 sq ft facility located just below the clinics. It is fully stocked with cardio equipment, weights, agility equipment, etc. All with the goal of helping athletes perform at or near 100% while in a setting with the direct observation of trainers, this facility also had video capabilities for analysis of athlete's mechanics and to further tailor rehabilitation. My experience on the elective was also supplemented by live sports team coverage of the NIU basketball team during games as well as collegiate athlete clinic during which we addressed the different medical needs of NIU college athletes.  Overall, I am grateful to Dr. Chiampas, Dr. Babka and the residency program for allowing me​ to do this elective in order​ to further explore my interest in sports medicine. ​

Abiye Ibiebele, MD

PGY3

Rocky Mountain Conference 2020

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I recently attended the Rocky Mountain Winter Conference on Emergency Medicine as a speaker in the resident lecture competition. The competition itself was a great opportunity to take a deep dive into the specifics of presentation skills. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed preparing for the talk and by how excited I am regarding future prospects of this type of non-clinical teaching. The conference itself was very casual and a validation of my decision to pursue emergency medicine as a career. I can’t imagine another specialty that would have a nationally known physician give a talk about a paradigm shifting approach to MI while wearing ski-pants aside from emergency medicine. I was also able to attend talks about the practical approach to refractory vfib, the AICD, and ultrasound in cardiac arrest. Given my interest in ultrasound, I chose to focus on much of the ultrasound content. The highlight of this for me was a lecture by Joseph Novik regarding the use of transesophageal echocardiography in the emergency department which dovetailed nicely with my recent elective time spent learning TEE in the operating room at NMH. I was able to meet further with Dr. Novik as well as with other ultrasound fellowship directors later during the conference as well.

PGY3 Matt McCauley

NAEMSP Conference

(from left to right) NUEM ‘19 Dr. Hashim Zaidi and PGY2 Nick Wleklinski present abstract: “Abnormal Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale and Finger to Nose Testing Identifies LVO and Hemorrhagic Stroke” at the at the 2020 NAEMSP Conference in San Diego, CA.

My time at NAEMSP (National Association of EMS providers) conference was an amazing experience and gave me a great opportunity to gain exposure to a field that I am quite interested in. Prior to the conference, I was interested in EMS, but did not have a great idea of what it fully entailed. While at the conference, there were multiple talks regarding the research being done in the field and the new protocols/programs being piloted around the country to help better pre-hospital care. Additionally, I was able to meet some of the local as well as national leaders in the field. I also gained some great tips and feedback regarding my poster presentation, which is something I did not have much experience with prior. Research has never been a huge interest of mine, but my work on this poster/project as well as seeing the other work being done by other leaders in the EMS field really piqued my interest in getting involved in EMS-based research. Moving forward, I hope to develop my poster/abstract into a manuscript as well as become more involved with the EMS community. Thanks to my time at the NAEMSP conference I feel like I have some good resources around the Chicago area to help foster my interests and help guide me towards an EMS fellowship ultimately. 

PGY2 Nick Wleklinski

Block Island Experience

I was fortunate to rotate at the Block Island Medical Center at the end of August through Labor Day weekend 2020. A vibrant time on the small island whose economy heavily relies on tourism, the clinic was the sole refuge for all medical care from primary care to emergency services. Day one I arrived to the clinic fresh off the ferry immediately jumping to cae for two altered carbon monoxide poisoned patients and from that moment on, for the next two weeks, I helped stabilize sick patients and facilitate immediate transfer off the island, to providing reassurance over simple urgent care concerns. The facility itself was staffed by a sole phenomenal physician, Dr. Mark Clark, and nurse, armed with iSTAT labs, bedside ultrasound, an EKG machine, and a self-manned X-Ray machine. It was a unique experience to work in a place where 24/7 you are the only medical provider care available for anywhere from 1,000 to 9,000 residents on the island with minimal resources at your fingertips to diagnose and treat. If someone came in with an ankle deformity after a moped accident I would receive them from the volunteer BLS-trained EMS providers, shoot the X-rays, perform a hematoma block, reduce and splint myself, at the same time using bedside ultrasound to diagnose flash pulmonary edema on another patient hypoxic to the mid 80s, placing him on BiPAP while calling LifeStar in order to quickly and safely transport this patient to the mainland for further care. My experience working on the island pushed me to use what limited resources I had and trust my clinical Gestalt in order to quickly and safely diagnose, treat, and transport patients, as well as exposed me to rural emergency care where you are not only have limited resources, but take care of a unique isolated, sick population where your management can be hindered by weather patterns and the community’s prioritization of supporting the tourism economy commonly triumphs over their own health. An absolute amazing experience involving rural emergency medicine, as well as an awesome time exploring the island and being welcomed in by the close community!

• Alex Herndon, MD - PGY3

Not broken? We can still FIX it: My experience at the Feminist Idea Exchange

When applying for residency, I prioritized programs with strong female leadership. Between the pre-interview dinner and interview day itself, I was taken by the number of impassioned, intelligent and hilarious women I met at Northwestern. My intern year was highlighted by my shifts working side by side with Northwestern’s powerhouse female physicians, and our program sponsored Women’s Nights.

As a PGY-2, I was given the chance to attend the FemInEM Feminist Idea Exchange Conference in NYC. I jumped at the opportunity and spent two days soaking up wisdom, advice and cautionary tales from national leaders in the field. Seminar topics varied widely and included skills for professional development, inherent and system wide biases, increased physician miscarriage rates, coping with childhood and workplace trauma, mommy guilt and more. I gained a new appreciation for the women across the country/world working to empower and propel females into leadership position, and those dedicating their practice to changing the status quo.

As emergency medicine providers, our careers can take us in a million directions. As a resident, it is hard to determine specific career goals without knowing the avenues available.  The FIX conference provided exposure to varying professional pathways and allowed me to better define my own professional priorities and think more clearly about my career trajectory beyond the clinical practice.  

• Chloe Renshaw, MD - PGY2

Not Your Typical EM Conference: My FIX Experience

Although women comprise over half of medical school graduates, they only make up about 30% of emergency medicine physicians and less than 10% of the EM academic leadership. But at FIX, it felt like they were all in one room, and it was awesome.

In September of 2019, I got the opportunity to attend FIX, which is the Fem in EM Idea Exchange conference. This conference comprises of two days full of wonderful TEDTalk-style speakers and great networking opportunities. The general atmosphere is one of mutual encouragement and support for female medical professionals, most of whom are in emergency medicine. This third year of the conference was held in New York City and grew from less than 100 attendees the first year to over 800 this year. Needless to say, it's a popular place to be.

While getting to hang out in NYC for a few days was certainly a perk, I think the most valuable part of this experience was taking the ideas brought up there and bringing them back to the program. I listened to inspirational talks on a wide array of topics ranging from what the medical sector can do to decrease carbon emissions to the importance of mentorship and how to improve care in the emergency department for patients undergoing miscarriages.  I went from being on the edge of my seat to holding back tears and standing ovations.  I don't think there's quite another conference like it out there, and I am very thankful to the program for giving me this opportunity. Now to take those ideas and put them into action!

• Andra Farcas, MD - PGY3

Winter Wellness in the Rockies

I’ve never been skiing. I’ve made it through 9 Chicago winters so voluntarily subjecting myself to snow and cold seemed foolish. On the other hand, I was in need of some nature time so presenting at the Rocky Mountain Winter Conference in Breckenridge, Colorado seemed like a great start. So, I thought of a topic related to my sports medicine interests, borrowed some ski attire, consulted my skiing/snowboarding friends, and was on my way.

I attended a pre-conference session on finding purpose and happiness, centered around the Japanese concept of ikigai. As the only resident in the room, I listened as attendings shared stories of resilience, burn out, frustration, and success, and then there was me: the representative of the millenial generation. I thought about how easily we forget about purpose in the chaos and details of the ER. Pressing pause and taking my search for meaning to the slopes was a great way to confront the coming year and deciding what my career will look like.  Some light thinking for two days of conquering the (small) slopes surrounded by natural beauty and much more talented skiiers. Despite my falls and bad knees, I felt a sense of flow, and as I focused, my frustrations quickly melted. Seeing my skills progress and feeling myself getting better was something I hadn’t experienced in some time. In a career where it seems there is no such thing as “good enough” mixed with a hint of Type A personality and the pressure to achieve more, there is little time to be proud of what we have accomplished. We need to do a better job of acknowledging our colleagues and supporting people’s successes and resilient behavior, especially during residency. All around, this conference was a great way to reset and recharge after a busy MICU month, and just in time to return to the busy ER for our Epic transition.

- Dr. Gabby Ahlzadeh, NUEM Class of 2019

Sun, Sand, and Career Development: One Resident's Experiences at NAEMSP 2018

In January of 2018, I was privileged to be able to attend the “National EMS Medical Directors Course and Practicum” at the National Association of EMS Physicians Conference in San Diego, CA. This could not have been possible without the generous support from the Spirit of 2010 Award from the Northwestern EM Class of 2010 or the Goldberg Charitable Trust Scholarship. At the course I was able to learn about the not only the fundamentals of emergency medical services (EMS) medical direction from experts in the field, but also the challenges facing the field currently and in the near future for those looking to work in prehospital medicine. The course did an excellent job covering a wide variety of topics from budgeting and finances of EMS to medicolegal case studies from recent case law involving prehospital care. Another highlight of the course was the frequent small group sessions going over challenging
prehospital cases that brought a wide variety of opinions and insights from across the country.
Additionally, and unexpectedly, we were privileged to work with a skills lab with fresh frozen cadavers and were guided through lateral canthotomies, perimortem C sections, difficult airway management, and resuscitative thoracotomies. This overall course and practicum helped refine not only concrete skills but also offered much in the way of leadership and professional development. The contacts made in this time were also invaluable to pursue a career in EMS and maintain relationships in relatively small community within emergency medicine.

Sincere thanks to the Class of 2010 for their support as well as the NUEM program leadership, chief residents, and program coordinators who helped make this opportunity possible!

Hashim Q. Zaidi MD, NUEM Class of 2019 (@hashimzMD)

PGY3 Hashim Zaidi, MD with NUEM Alum Ryan Huebinger, MD (c/o 2017) and NUEM faculty member Chris Richards, MD, MS at NAEMSP 2018.