As the academic year winds down, it is bittersweet to say goodbye to our seniors while simultaneously preparing to welcome our newest interns. Dr. Michelle Hernandez will be one of two ultrasound fellows at our program, and she will be joined by Dr. Thomas Lawyer, who is coming from AdventHealth East Orlando’s EM Residency. Drs. Maria Chamorro and Amber Mirajkar will stay on as Research Fellows. Dr. Keegan McNally is heading to Brown University as their new Simulation Fellow. Dr. Mary Cate Slome is joining the faculty at UHS Wilson Hospital, part of SUNY Upstate, as the medical student clerkship director and clinical faculty. Dr. Emily Drone matched into an Pediatric EM Fellowship at Orlando Health. Last, but not least, Dr. Sherwin Thomas will be joining the ED staff at AdventHealth Ocala. We wish them all the best of luck!

Rising vaccination numbers and easing mask restrictions are beneficial for our didactics. Always innovating, our attendings now have one didactic day a month for simulation, socially distanced at UCF, as well as one didactic day per month in person for small group learning. We also make time for excursions, such as working with Osceola County EMS and Fire Rescue in extraction simulations at a junkyard. There, the senior class observed how EMS operates in the field, from removing a car around an entrapped patient to intubating said entrapped patient. Then, our residents got to do it themselves. It was an amazing experience we owe to EMS Medical Director, Dr. Ayanna Walker, and Osceola County.

As Florida continues to open back up, our residents have started volunteering again. Our residents staffed the medical tent at the EDM festival in June. Our faculty are very supportive of our community efforts, even allowing volunteering activities to count as clinical hours.

Speaking of faculty, we are excited to announce the addition of Dr. Judy Lin, MD, FACEP as our Ultrasound Fellowship Director. She is coming from Maimonides Emergency Medicine in New York City, where she was Director of Fellowship Ultrasound Education. Dr. Lin completed her EM residency and ultrasound fellowship at Georgetown University Hospital. We are looking forward to her expertise. Furthermore, we would like to congratulate Dr. Ariel Vera, who has become our new Associate Program Director, taking over from Dr. Tracy MacIntosh. Dr. MacIntosh was selected as UCF College of Medicine’s Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. Luckily, both will remain as core faculty in our program.

Although SAEM was virtual again this year, we had a blast participating, specifically in Sonogames. Drs. Emily Drone, Michelle Hernandez, Mark Rivera, and Martin Morales represented us during the games. We look forward to participating next year, too! ACEP is right around the corner, and we are eagerly preparing, with multiple residents having submitted abstracts. Our residents continue to be prolific in scholarly activity with several abstracts submitted to ACEP. Many thanks to Dr. Latha Ganti for coordinating all our efforts.

There are many bittersweet changes on the horizon as the academic year comes to an end. However, we see it as a promising new beginning instead. Congratulations to all the graduating seniors, and good luck to all the incoming interns! 

Congratulations to the Class of 2021 List:

Maria Chamorro, DO
Research Fellow, Osceola Regional
Kissimmee, FL

Emily Drone, MD
Pediatric EM Fellowship at Orlando Health
Orlando, FL

Michelle Hernandez, MD
Ultrasound Fellow, Osceola Regional
Kissimmee, FL

Keegan McNally, MD
Brown University, Simulation Fellow
Providence, RI

Amber Mirajkar, MD
Research Fellow, Osceola Regional
Kissimmee, FL

Mary Cate Slome, MD
Medical Student Clerkship Director & Clinical Faculty at UHS Wilson Hospital, part of SUNY Upstate
Binghamton, NY

Sherwin Thomas, MD
AdventHealth Ocala
Ocala, FL