Member Highlight: Sharon Bord, MD

Member Highlight: Sharon Bord, MD

Sharon Bord, MD
Assistant Professor
Associate Director, Medical Student Education
Department of Emergency Medicine
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

1. What is your most memorable moment of teaching?
   I would say that teaching is about lots of little moments, rather than one big memorable moment. From the thank you at the end of a shift from a student who is on their first rotation to sharing Match Day envelope opening with students who I have advised to seeing students years after they graduated at conferences presenting an abstract or giving a presentation. Putting all of these experiences together make my job worthwhile.
2. Who or what is your biggest influence?
   I think that my kids are my biggest influence. I have two girls, ages 4 and 6 and ultimately I want to be a wonderful role model for them. I want to teach them that they can do anything they want with their lives and to dream big. It is sometimes hard because with our job we can miss out on weekends, holidays and other special occasions, but they are starting to understand the importance of what I do and why I do it, and I think that this will only continue to grow over the years.
3. Any advice for other clerkship directors?
   Over the years I have learned to listen to the students. They generally have their finger on the pulse of the medical school and have the best understanding of how the different clerkship experiences compare to one another. Also, keep things fun and interactive! My goal is to get people excited about Emergency Medicine- who knows when a student will be in a position to save someone’s life. I want them to feel empowered and prepared to act quickly.
4. What is your favorite part about being and educator/director?
   My favorite part about being an educator is giving back. Being an educator is more than just reaching students on their clerkship. It involves teaching nurses, physician assistants and patients. To me it means setting a strong and positive example for those around me. And then, at the end of a shift or encounter receiving a genuine thank you- it can really make your day!
5. Any interesting factoids you would like to share?
   I got accepted into medical school off the wait list on August 8th- just 2 weeks before it was starting. Throughout medical school I was one of the hardest working students, mainly because I felt I had something to prove. All that hard work paid off when I was inducted into AOA graduation week. Following medical school I went on to an amazing training program at Boston Medical Center, and now am working as an educator at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. I am just so thankful that someone took a chance on me that early August day and completely changed the trajectory of my life!
   
   I tell students all the time, the hardest part is getting into medical school!