The accomplishments of the Yale Department of Emergency Medicine (DEM) faculty were acknowledged in spades this spring, here on campus and across the country. At YSM Commencement, Sharon Chekijian, MD, MPH received the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award for demonstrating the highest standards of compassion and sensitivity in her interaction with patients, Basmah Safdar, MD, was accepted into a national leadership program, and four Emergency Medicine (EM) faculty were honored with awards from the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM) at the national meeting of the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM23). The awards reflect their commitment to promoting the recruitment, retention, advancement, and leadership of women in academic EM.
The awards include:
Gail D’Onofrio, MD, MS, Albert E. Kent Professor of Emergency Medicine received the AWAEM Legacy Award for outstanding contributions through clinical work, teaching, mentorship, role modeling, or administration.
Sharon Chekijian, MD, MPH, associate professor, received the AWAEM Catalyst award for outstanding contributions through clinical work, teaching, mentorship, role modeling, or administration with great local or regional impact.
Rachel Liu, BAO, MBBCh, associate professor, received the AWAEM Mid-Career Faculty Award for significant career achievements in academic emergency medicine through research, education, service, advocacy, or administration, and/or who has worked to promote the role of women in academic emergency medicine.
Pooja Agrawal, MD, MPH, associate professor, received the AWAEM Social Advocacy Award for significant contributions towards social justice and advocacy on behalf of our patients or community within emergency medicine.
Nominated by the Yale School of Medicine Office of the Dean, Basmah Safdar, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine, was accepted as a Fellow in the 2023-2024 Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) Program at Drexel University College of Medicine. This highly competitive fellowship program provides leadership training with extensive coaching, networking and mentoring opportunities aimed at expanding the national pool of qualified women candidates for leadership in academic medicine.
“We are honored that our faculty continue to shine on a national scale,” said DEM Chair, Arjun Venkatesh, MD, MBA, MPH. “We are proud not only of their outstanding individual talents and accomplishments, but of the department’s decade long commitment to mentorship, and research and wellness support.”