Developing a Clinical Skills Training Framework for Emergency Medicine Faculty
Emergency medicine (EM) constantly evolves with advancements in science, technology, and procedures, highlighting the critical role of academic faculty in teaching essential skills. However, faculty members may face challenges in staying current with high-acuity, low-occurrence (HALO) procedures, such as cricothyrotomy, due to time, resource, or exposure constraints. Acknowledging skill decay can also be difficult. This session will explore faculty development strategies for maintaining and enhancing proficiency in these vital procedures. Participants will examine successful development models, including leadership perspectives, quality assurance, and integrating skills curricula into busy schedules. Breakout discussions will generate actionable ideas for implementing sustainable faculty development programs.
Learning Objectives:
- Create and execute a targeted clinical skills session tailored to the needs of their emergency medicine faculty.
- Identify and evaluate various models of faculty development to determine which approach will be most effective for their groups.
- Describe factors that motivate or hinder faculty participation in development programs.
Presenters:
- Joan Noelker, MD, MACM
- Jessica Baez, MD, AEMUS-FPD
- Sally A. Santen, MD, PhD
- Liz Leenellett, MD, FACEP, CPE
- Susan B. Promes, MD, MBA
- Lawrence E. Kass, MD, MEd
- Nicolas Ellis, MD
- Katherine Leaming-Van Zandt, MD, MBS
- Robbie Paulsen, MD
- Douglas M. Char, MD, MA
- Erin McDonough, MD
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Joan Noelker, MD, MACM
Washington University in St. Louis
Dr. Joan Noelker is an Associate Professor and Associate Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Emergency Medicine (EM) at Washington University (Wash U) in St Louis. She has an MD from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and in 2017 she earned a Masters of Academic Medicine through the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. Dr. Noelker completed her residency training, including a chief resident year, as well as a medical education fellowship at Wash U. She served as Assistant Program Director for the EM Residency at Wash U for four years before transitioning primarily to undergraduate medical education. Dr. Noelker was part of the design team for the development of the Wash U Gateway Curriculum and currently serves as a Clinical Immersions Team co-lead and on the Competency Attainment Committee for the medical school. She has won numerous local and national awards for teaching and presenting, including the Rising Star Award for the New Speakers Forum at the ACEP Scientific Assembly, The Wash U Academy of Educators Rising Star Award, and the ACEP National Emergency Medicine Junior Faculty Teaching Award.
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Jessica Baez, MD, AEMUS-FPD
University of Cincinnati
Dr. Baez is an Assistant Program Director at the University of Cincinnati Department of Emergency Medicine. She completed Emergency Medicine residency and an Ultrasound Fellowship at the University of Cincinnati and focuses primarily on resident education.
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Sally A. Santen, MD, PhD
University of Cincinnati
Dr Santen is an education researcher and professor of Emergency Medicine, University of Cincinnati.
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Liz Leenellett, MD, FACEP, CPE
University of Cincinnati
Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Leenellett, Professor and Vice Chair of Academic Affairs and Inclusive Excellence at the University of Cincinnati, also serves as Chief of Staff for UC Health-West Chester Hospital and holds the W. Brian Gibler, MD, Endowed Chair for Education in Emergency Medicine.
Her training includes the University of Michigan's Inteflex program, the University of Cincinnati's emergency medicine residency, the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) fellowship, and Certified Physician Executive (CPE) designation.
In 2018, she founded the Emergency Medicine Program Of Women in leadERship (EMPOWER) and established the Leadership Excels with Achievement of Diversity (UC LEADs) endowment fund.
Dr. Leenellett's leadership has been recognized with the 2021 Ohio ACEP Physician Leadership award, 2022 UC College of Medicine Grace LeMasters “Lift While You Climb” award, 2022 EMRA Faculty Mentor of the Year award, and 2024 AAWEP Community EM Champion award. -
Susan B. Promes, MD, MBA
Penn State University
Dr. Promes is a tenured Professor at Penn State University Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and has served as Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine since 2014. Prior to 2014, she spent seven years at the University of California San Francisco where she served as Vice Chair for Education, the Emergency Medicine Residency Program Director and Director of Curricular Affairs in the GME office and prior to that was at Duke University as the inaugural Emergency Medicine Residency Program Director and Director of the medical school Capstone course. Her scholarly work has centered around topics germane to emergency medicine medical education and clinical guidelines for the practicing emergency physician. In addition to many peer review publications, she has edited multiple McGraw Hill board review books to prepare physicians for the emergency medicine board exam. She is an internationally recognized leader in academic emergency medicine and was chosen by the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine to be the editor of their new journal entitled Academic Emergency Medicine Education and Training. The journal debuted in January 2017. She was the recipient of the 2020 Hal Jayne Excellence in Education award from the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine and the 2024 Judith E. Tintinalli Outstanding Contribution in Education Award.
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Lawrence E. Kass, MD, MEd
Penn State Hershey Medical Center
I completed my MD at Boston University in 1987, and residencies in Internal Medicine (University of Maryland, 1990) and Emergency Medicine (York Hospital, 1993). I have been a practicing academic emergency physician since then and have been a medical student Acting Internship Director, Associate Residency Program Director, and Residency Program Director (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Penn State Hershey Medical Center). I have been at Penn State for the last 20 years, where I also obtained my Masters in Adult Education (2020). I am currently a co-director of the Junior Faculty Development Program of the College of Medicine and Vice-Chair for Faculty Affairs of the Department of Emergency Medicine.
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Nicolas Ellis, MD
Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Ellis is an Assistant Professor in emergency medicine at Penn State University.
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Katherine Leaming-Van Zandt, MD, MBS
Penn State Health/Milton S Hershey Medical Center
Dr. Kay Leaming-Van Zandt is Division Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Penn State Health/Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine. After graduating from The Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, she received her Masters of Biological Science at MCP Hahnemann University (now known as Drexel University College of Medicine). She graduated with her Medical Degree from New York Medical College, and then completed her residency training in Pediatrics, followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine, at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, TX.
In recognizing the importance of and the necessity for interpersonal and interprofessional delivery systems in healthcare, she has presented numerous local and national lectures and workshops on patient experience, service quality/culture, and relationship-centered communication. She has, also, published several peer-reviewed articles on patient communication assessment tool development/validation, physician communication skills, and pediatric-focused communication training. In collaboration with the Academy of Communication in Healthcare, she has developed a pediatric-specific, relationship-centered communication curriculum and trained over 2,000 healthcare professionals and medical trainees. She continues to facilitate relationship-centered communication skills workshops, including giving and receiving feedback and navigating difficult conversations/conflict, nationally as a faculty member of the Academy of Communication in Healthcare. -
Robbie Paulsen, MD
Washington University in St. Louis
Since her graduation from the University of Cincinnati emergency medicine residency program in 2014, Dr. Paulsen has served in a number of leadership roles including Fourth Year Clerkship Director, Assistant Residency Program Director, and Director of Junior Faculty Development while junior faculty herself. She joined the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Washington University in St. Louis in September 2023 and currently serves as the Associate Vice Chair of Mentorship and Faculty Development. Her academic work to date has been in assessment methods, systems of mentorship and coaching, and career advising.
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Douglas M. Char, MD, MA
Washington University St Louis
Vice Chair for Academic & Faculty Affairs, Washington University. Former Residency Program Director, Medical School Competency Assessment Committee, Former Director - Inclusion Diversity Equity and Advocacy, UME longitudinal curriculum, Medical Director - SOM Clinician Support Program, VIce Chair Exec Committte of the (SOM) Faculty Council
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Erin McDonough, MD
University of Cincinnati
Dr. McDonough is the Residency Program Director and Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. She completed her medical school education at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, graduating in 2004. She then trained at the University of Cincinnati, completing her Emergency Medicine residency training in 2008 (serving as Chief Resident in 2007-2008) and then a Neurocritical Care and Neurovascular Emergencies Fellowship in 2010. After training, she joined the faculty at UC as an Assistant Program Director for the Emergency Medicine Residency Program. She has served as Program Director since 2017.