As summer marks the end of the academic year, a new chapter begins. We are preparing for the arrival of our new interns and fellows while sending our seniors off with bittersweet goodbyes. The Class of 2021 rose to the challenges of the past year and demonstrated an unwavering ability to lead. We have no doubt they will continue to soar as attendings and look forward to their contributions to our specialty. 

There seems to never be a shortage of exciting news, and our faculty have been making waves this summer. FCEP’s immediate past-president and our Chair of Emergency Medicine, Dr. J. Adrian Tyndall, has been selected as the next Dean and Executive Vice President at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Tyndall became faculty at UF in 2006 and assumed Chair of the Emergency Department in 2008. Since then, he has established outstanding interdepartmental relationships, vigorously advocated for emergency medicine, and oversaw the department with grace. We are so thankful to Dr. Tyndall for his innumerable contributions. 

Dr. Mary Patterson, a professor of pediatric emergency medicine, will be assuming the role of interim chair. Beyond caring for our tiniest patients, Dr. Patterson is the Director of the Center for Experimental Learning and Simulation, as well as the Associate Dean of Experimental Learning in the College of Medicine. She has worked tirelessly in the simulation lab with residents, and we are so excited to see what great things Dr. Patterson will accomplish next.

Special announcements for the Pediatric Emergency Department continue! Our beloved Dr. Jennifer Light was recently awarded the UF Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Light was involved in the creation of the Pediatric Emergency Department and has been faculty at UF for over 20 years. Under her guidance, the Pediatric Emergency Department has thrived and is constantly striving for that next level of excellence. With that being said, the department’s application for a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship has recently been approved by the UF GME Committee and is pending review by the ACGME. Drs. Carolyn Holland and Tricia Swan have worked diligently to make this happen, and their passion for education has not gone unnoticed. We are so thrilled and look forward to meeting our UF PEM Fellows as early as next year. 

Perhaps most importantly, our department has been doubling up the wellness in our continued efforts to return to post-COVID normalcy. Our PGY-2s worked hard and played even harder as they rented a beach house for their virtual SAEM conference. We have initiated post-conference, micro-wellness events for residents and faculty, which has included brewery hopping, annihilating our PD’s in paintball, and lots of arcade games so far. Residents also recently enjoyed a day at Rainbow Springs filled with grilling, swimming, and kayaking. We have many more exciting things planned as our interns are onboarding. 

We’re halfway through the year, and things have been bright here at UF! We look forward to what the rest of the summer has in store for us. 

Congratulations to the Class of 2021:

Kathryn Dasburg, MD
Sports Medicine Fellowship, Duke University
Durham, NC

Terri Davis, MD
UF, Gainesville
Gainesville, FL

William DeMayo, MD
AdventHealth Ocala
Ocala, FL

Martin Dun, MD
Marshfield Clinic
Eau Claire, WI

Caitlyn Emigh, MD
Pursing time off

Lauren Fisher, MD
EMS Fellowship, UF Gainesville
Gainesville, FL

Aaron Frankel, MD
Pursing time off

Taryn Morris, MD
Negotiating offers in Texas

April Pinto, MD
Attending, UF Gainesville
Gainesville, FL

Joseph Pinto, MD
Global Health Fellowship, UF Gainesville
Gainesville, FL

Christopher Purcell, MD
Administration Fellowship, USF
Tampa, FL

Priscilla Shen, MD
UF, Gainesville
Gainesville, FL

Chanteil Ulatowski, MD
EMS Fellowship, UF Gainesville
Gainesville, FL

Shannon Williams, MD
Baptist Hospital
Pensacola, FL