Every year the IU School of Medicine Emergency Medicine residency program leadership team recognizes the contributions that members of our community have had on the program with Impact Awards. After receiving a number of deserving nominations, we are happy to announce the Impact Awards for 2019-2020.
IMPACT Award - COVID Response: IU Emergency Medicine Community
As the program directors discussed this year's impact awards, we felt it would be appropriate to recognize the extraordinary efforts that have been commonplace during our response to the unprecedented COVID pandemic we faced this spring. IU School of Medicine and our department adopted a motto, 'The only way out is through. The only way through is together.'
With this spirit in mind, we want to recognize the courage and resilience displayed by every member of the IU Emergency Medicine community during the pandemic response. This award is for everyone who spent countless hours in response meetings, advocating for provider safety, developing clinical protocols (and revising them the next day), spending time listening to one another's fears, caring for patients in the ED and supporting their colleagues and loved ones.
Our response to COVID continues, and we are by no means 'out.' However, optimism for the future abounds largely to the impact we have all had on one another over the last three months.
IMPACT Award - Recruiting: Brooke Henderson
Culture is a key part of any residency experience. The family-like feel that IU Emergency Medicine prides itself on is only as strong as those who participate in it. We have a strong group of residents who contribute daily to this culture, and we highlight one such resident now. Brooke Henderson has truly gone above and beyond her pursuit of the residency experience. She is others-focused and well-respected by her resident and faculty colleagues.
Any of the residents involved in recruitment have heard the phrase "recruitment is the lifeblood of the residency." I think it would not be unreasonable to say that recruitment is also the lifeblood of Brooke Henderson. She is literally LIVING for it. While O and R may be a visible vehicle for Brooke's contribution to the residency, this IMPACT award is much more than that. Her constant positive attitude, zeal for her practice, and dedication to her colleagues deserve strong recognition.
We look forward to her contributions as chief resident and are thrilled that we get to spend another two years training her.
IMPACT Award - Leadership: Katie Pettit
This year's last Impact award goes to Dr. Katie Pettit. When trying to categorize Katie's impact on the residency program, it is difficult to narrow it down. If I am forced to choose one it would be mentoring, she has been an outstanding mentor to residents, faculty, and fellow PD team members. To limit her impact on the program to just that one area would grossly underestimate her contributions. For the last six years, she has served as an integral part of the PD team, a constant thought a number of transitions. When anyone isn't sure how to proceed or needs a reminder (usually Butch) on how we handle something, Katie is the one we lean on.
She exemplifies all of the ideals that we strive to instill in our residents, hardworking, clinically skilled, an effective communicator, a scholar and a friend. While this is her last year as part of the PD team, we are excited to see her extend her impact beyond the residency to all of our department education programs. It is also helpful that we know that next time we need her assistance, she won't be far.
IMPACT Award - Advocacy: Kimi Chernoby
The Advocacy Track is designed to train residents in identifying barriers and systemic issues in health care and then ultimately translating that into community engagement and action through research, health policy, and health systems improvement. As a member and prior chair of the Advocacy Track, she has proven to be a fierce voice for her patients and colleagues in medicine by recognizing the power that law and medicine can have when their forces are combined.
In addition to giving multiple Advocacy Vulnerable Patient Series Grand Rounds presentations to bring attention to important causes, she is constantly educating others on topics in a unique way that ultimately brings people together toward a common goal. For example, after presenting the evidence regarding shift work on the health of pregnant residents, she was able to help implement a new scheduling policy that was widely supported by fellow residents. This policy has directly influenced other specialties and training sites across the nation to do the same. She also authored a resolution allowing minors to consent for pregnancy-related healthcare that was signed into law. Dr. Chernoby is truly a force, and we are excited to see what her career will bring. Thus, we award Dr. Kimi Chernoby with the Impact Award for Advocacy.
IMPACT Award - Mentoring and Wellness: Julie Welch
Mentoring is an exercise in selflessness - often behind the scenes, one-on-one, and with no associated glamour or self-promotion. That is precisely how a great mentor prefers it. The job of a mentor is centered around the well-being and success of others. Amidst this pandemic, one particular mentor heeded the call for a leader in wellness and has excelled in this role. With her guidance, the Wellness Committee has arranged COVID compliant activities, provided mental health resources, and gave gifts as a token of appreciation to our team members for their relentless efforts during this unprecedented time.
Her talent for guiding others and elevating their voices has left a lasting impression on this program that will absolutely continue - both through her direct continued efforts and through all of the people she has made an impact on. Dr. Julie Welch has always been an outstanding leader, mentor, and friend for residents and faculty. We are so fortunate to have Dr. Welch in our ranks. Thus, we award Dr. Julie Welch with the Residency Impact Award for Mentoring and Wellness.
