FIX Scholarship Winner - Valerie Pierre

Name: Valerie Pierre, MD
Residency Program: Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center
Graduation Date: June 2021

This photo highlights the importance of mentorship - an integral aspect of my journey in emergency medicine. As I reflect on my matriculation into emergency medicine residency, and the successes, triumphs and failures during my training, I can truly say that my mentors’ support has been a source of encouragement for me. More specifically, I have been fortunate to have strong female mentors who came before me. They continually share their wisdom and experience gained in overcoming the many barriers throughout their journeys in emergency medicine and encourage me to persevere in a primarily male-dominated field. This knowledge that my story is not unique serves as daily inspiration for me.

FIX Scholarship Winner - Natassia Buckridge

Name: Natassia Buckridge, MD
Residency Program: SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Graduation Date: June 2023

There is something so exciting about sizing up a tree, mastering the climb, and looking out at the landscape from atop it. I like to envision my journey to emergency medicine as the ascent up a large, complex, identity-shaping tree. Reflecting on my first few days of elementary school as a new immigrant in New York City, I stood at the base of this tree. I was uncertain about this climb. I remember feeling that sense of otherness too, with my thick Jamaican accent and thrifted clothing. I became a U.S citizen some ten years later and a physician eight years after that. I didn’t always know where the next step up the tree would lead me. I did pick up gear along the way that makes the climb easier– rope (mentors), harnesses (colleagues and friends), and spurs (resilience and grit).

AAEM/RSA FIX Scholarship Winner - Aaryn Hammond

Name: Aaryn Hammond, MD
Residency Program: Johns Hopkins University
Graduation Date: June 2019

RSA is proud to share the following essay from one of the 2017 FemInEM Idea Exchange (FIX) Scholarship winners, Aaryn Hammond, MD. Congratulations, Dr. Hammond! 
 
“Just go so you can say you went.” I can still hear my mother’s advice echoing in my head 4 years later. Specifically, this was the advice my mom gave me as I contemplated cancelling my interview for residency at Johns Hopkins, as I explained to her all the reasons it wouldn’t be a good fit and therefore a waste of time. I’ve since discovered that my “reasons” were actually disguises for what I now consider to be my personal version of “imposter syndrome” ...the very syndrome that plagued me with thoughts of inadequacy in the face of accomplishments that almost prevented me from achieving my dreams. In considering all the ways the “imposter syndrome” has reared its ugly head, I think back to the high school student that considered forensic science because as a doctor I could potentially hurt someone...the medical student who loved but yet feared Emergency Medicine because I could never be a “Master of all trades”, and finally to the graduate of two historically black universities afraid to interview at Johns Hopkins because why would they want me? This photo reminds me of all that I can do and be when I push myself to persist beyond my fears. This photo, taken on the final day of my intern year, is a constant reminder of what it means to be a black female emergency physician. It is evidence of the victory over fear and a testament of overcoming in pursuit of one’s destiny.

RSA FIX18 Scholarship Winner - Heather Boynton

Name: Heather Boynton, MD
Residency Program: University of California San Diego Medical Center
Graduation Date: June 2019

RSA is proud to share the following essay from one of the 2018 FemInEM Idea Exchange (FIX) Scholarship winners, Heather Boynton, MD. Congratulations, Dr. Boynton! 

Photo Title: Where My Witches At

On Halloween nine years ago I met my fake husband. I showed up at my best friend’s house dressed as Accident Prone. I had been working at an orthopedic clinic and used the time to craft a costume that included a full leg cast, two short arm casts and a cast hat. Who needs a cast hat? A 30-year-old who had an early midlife crisis, quit her life in foreign policy, broke her clavicle skiing, got out of a terrible relationship and was now going to a Halloween party. It got hot at the party and I took off and lost the cast hat. My fake husband was my best friend’s idea. Long story short, I told her the only not-insulting time I had been hit on was in Germany, when men asked me what books I was reading. She produced a German for the Halloween party. He wore a strange costume. We took a picture with Jesus and Mary, and I thought that was the end of that. Now he’s my fake husband. “Fake” because we never got married. “Husband,” because we have a nice life together, and a 7-year-old daughter who thinks of my EM colleagues as her friends, not mine. Last Halloween my daughter and I dressed as witches. You’d think it would get old, to keep saying, Where my witches at? It doesn’t. It’s the best. It’s like code, for strong and powerful lady people. We were and we are. Wiiiitches.

AAEM/RSA FIX Scholarship Winners - Women in EM: Essay Two

Kimberly M. Brown, MD

Author: Kimberly M. Brown, MD
University of Tennessee Health Science Center (Memphis)

RSA is proud to share the following essay from one of the 2017 FemInEM Idea Exchange (FIX) Scholarship winners, Kimberly Brown, MD. Congratulations, Dr. Brown! 

Author Bio: Kimberly M. Brown, MD is a senior emergency medicine resident at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN. She was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI, then left the Midwest to complete her BA in Biology from Fisk University in Nashville, TN. Loving the warm weather, she moved to Gainesville, FL and completed a Master in Public Health from the University of Florida. She completed her medical education at Ross University School of Medicine. After completing residency, she will start a fellowship in neurocritical care at the University of Tennessee.

“YOU’RE Doctor Brown?” my elderly patient incredulously asks. I turn my badge around to squint at it and then look at my embroidered scrubs to double check. “That’s what it says on here!” My patient and her family members laugh. My patient touches my hand and tells me, “I am so proud of you.” Being black and female, I'm no stranger to a surprised reaction to my initial introduction. However, this time was different.

AAEM/RSA FIX Scholarship Winners - Women in EM: Essay One

Trisha Morshed, MD

Author: Trisha Morshed, MD
UCSD Department of Emergency Medicine

RSA is proud to share the following essay from one of the 2017 FemInEM Idea Exchange (FIX) Scholarship winners, Trisha Morshed, MD. Congratulations, Dr. Morshed!

Author bio: Trisha Morshed is an Emergency Medicine Resident at UC San Diego. She is originally from Portland, Oregon and went to undergraduate and medical school in Arizona. Her professional interests include a passion to make a difference both locally and globally. She is the Resident representative on the Board of Delegates of the San Diego County Medical Society, a physician group that meets regularly with local legislators for medical advocacy. She is also excited about global health and has been involved in international collaborative research as well as overseas projects to improve access to healthcare in resource limited settings. Trisha is a strong advocate for work/life balance and physician wellness-- on her downtime, she can be found traveling, playing outdoors, and practicing partner acrobatics.

When I was growing up, I was always told by my parents that with hard-work and perseverance, I could make my dreams a reality. I realized my passion for emergency medicine during third year of medical school during a shadowing experience, and feel so fortunate to find a field where I look forward to going to work most days and can’t imagine myself doing anything else. I have never felt that my gender hindered me at any point previously in my life; however, was surprised when I entered my residency at a place which is predominantly male, at how much I noticed the difference between how I was perceived differently from my male colleagues.