Navigating the Storm: Inclusive Communication in Times of Crisis (ADIEM-Sponsored)

Crises are inevitable for emergency physicians and demand timely, unbiased, and supportive communication. Effective messaging during these times should comfort and inspire hope. However, in today's fast-paced media environment, the rapid flow of information often leads to misinformation and varied interpretations. This session will provide an adaptable framework for inclusive crisis communication. Nationally recognized leaders will offer evidence-based strategies and practical tools, with facilitated small group discussions using case-based scenarios to apply the concepts. The session will conclude with a sharing of insights from various perspectives, highlighting key takeaways. Participants will leave with actionable lessons they can implement within their own institutions.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
  • Explain the critical components of crisis communication
  • Apply crisis communication framework to real-life cases involving challenging crisis communication scenarios
  • Develop effective strategies for leaders to communicate in challenging times using a crisis communication framework

Presenters:

  • Nkele Davis, MD
  • Al'ai Alvarez, MD
  • Adedoyin Adesina, MD,MEd, FACEP
  • Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH, FACEP
  • Edgardo Ordonez, MD, MPH
Authors

  • Nkele Davis, MD

    Emory University School of Medicine

    Dr. Nkele Davis is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Emory University. She trained at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, and completed a two-year medical education fellowship at Emory University. She has a specific interest in mentorship and undergraduate medical education. She is the Assistant Clerkship Director for Emergency Medicine and Assistant Medical Education Fellowship Director. 

  • Al'ai Alvarez, MD

    Stanford Emergency Medicine

    Al'ai Alvarez, MD (@alvarezzzy) is a national leader and educator on wellness, diversity, equity, and Inclusion. He is a clinical associate professor of Emergency Medicine (EM) and Well-Being Director at Stanford Emergency Medicine. He co-leads the Human Potential Team and serves as the Stanford EM Physician Wellness Fellowship Director. He is the Chair of the Stanford WellMD's Physician Wellness Forum and Director of the Physician Resource Network (PRN) Support Program. His work focuses on humanizing physician roles as individuals and teams by harnessing the individual human potential in the context of high-performance teams. This includes optimizing the interconnectedness between Process Improvement (Quality and Clinical Operations), Recruitment (Diversity and Representation), and Well-being (Inclusion and Belonging). He is one of the 2021-2022 Faculty Fellows at the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign.
  • Adedoyin Adesina, MD, MEd

    Adedoyin Adesina, MD,MEd, FACEP

    Baylor College of Medicine

    Dr. Adedoyin is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Baylor Color of Medicine and an Associate Clerkship Director. She is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, and addressing health disparities and social determinants of health. She currently serves as a Diversity Inclusion and Equity Ambassador, Chair of education committee for Academy for Diversity in Emergency Medicine(ADIEM) well as several Undergraduate Medical Education committees. She’s been recognized for her outstanding contribution to academia which earned her accolades as the recipient of Norton Fulbright Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching and Evaluation and the ADIEMs Visionary Educator Award

    Her primary research interests revolve around the intersection of health disparities and medical education with a particular focus on tackling linguistic barriers, enhancing cross-cultural communication, and advancing recruitment and engagement strategies for the EM work. She has received several seed grants for research in these areas.

  • Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH, FACEP

    Assistant Professor

    Emory University School of Medicine

    Dr. Gipson is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Emory, practices clinically at Grady Memorial Hospital, and is the founding health policy fellowship director for her department. She is president of ADIEM (2024-25) and served as co-chair of the education subcommittee of the equity & inclusion committee of SAEM. She recently completed a term as the National Medical Association (NMA) Emergency Medicine Section Secretary. Dr. Gipson’s OpEds discussing health equity and advocacy have been published in The Boston Globe, The Hill, The Progressive, and she’s been quoted in The New York Times. She is an avid public speaker having collaborated with the African American Policy Forum as a Critical Race Theory Summer School lecturer, Spencer Stuart’s Black History Month Speaker, Texas Speech-Language Hearing Association (TSHA) keynote speaker, SiriusXM's Urban View podcast guest, and many others. Dr. Gipson is a participant in the AAMC’s 2025 Healthcare Executive Diversity and Inclusion Certificate (HEDIC) Program and is an emerging health equity thought leader.

  • Edgardo Ordonez, MD, MPH

    Baylor College of Medicine

    Dr. Ordoñez is an Associate Professor of Emergency and Internal Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). He received his medical and public health degrees from Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School and School of Public Health. He completed a combined emergency and internal medicine residency at Christiana Care in Newark, Delaware. Dr. Ordoñez has been an Inclusion and Equity Ambassador at BCM since 2016. His advanced training includes being a Center of Excellence in Health Equity, Research, and Training Junior Faculty Scholar from 2019-2020 and a fellow in the inaugural Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) DEI Leadership Fellowship in 2022. He was also a participant in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Leadership for Health Equity Program. He is the Director of Health Equity and Community Engagement for the Henry JN Taub Department of Emergency Medicine and the Health Equity Curriculum Thread Director for BCM’s School of Medicine. Nationally, he serves as Immediate Past President of the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine’s (SAEM) Academy for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Medicine, the SAEM Equity & Inclusion Committee, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, and the Council of Residency Director’s in Emergency Medicine (CORD) Diversity and Inclusion Committee. His interests include workforce diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, healthcare delivery, health equity, social determinants of health, and mentorship.

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