The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine has named Ashley Booth Norse, M.D., professor and associate chair of operations in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine Jacksonville, as the next chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine. Norse, who will start on Jan. 6, 2025, also will serve as clinical service chief for emergency medicine for UAMS Medical Center.

“Dr. Norse is known nationally and in Florida as an ardent emergency medicine physician, leader and patient advocate who has strived to improve standards and performance in her field and medicine more broadly,” Steven Webber, MBChB, College of Medicine dean and UAMS executive vice chancellor, said in an Aug. 26 announcement to faculty.  “She will be an outstanding leader for our excellent programs, faculty and staff in Emergency Medicine.”

A faculty member at University of Florida (UF) Health Jacksonville since 2005, Norse also currently serves as medical director for the UF Emergency Department and ED Observation Unit, as well as director of Physician Assistant Services, Governmental Affairs, and the Emergency Medicine Administrative Fellowship in the department.

Norse received her medical degree from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans in 2001. She completed her residency in emergency medicine at the University of Florida/Shands Hospital (now UF Health) in Jacksonville, serving as chief resident during her final year. Norse continued her training with a fellowship in health care policy at the University of Florida before joining the UF Health faculty as an assistant professor.

In addition to her academic and clinical roles at UF Health, Norse has held numerous national and state roles. She is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians (FACEP) and currently serves on the ACEP Governmental Affairs, Reimbursement and State Legislative Affairs committees. She is also vice-president of the Florida Medical Association and serves on its Board of Directors. She is a past-president of the Duval (Florida) County Medical Society and the Florida College of Emergency Physicians.

Norse’s scholarly work has included numerous publications and regional, national and international presentations. She has received many honors for teaching and professional service, including the Administrator of the Year Award from the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine; Medical Director of the Year Award from the American Association of Women Emergency Physicians; the Martin J. Gottlieb Award for Outstanding Advocacy in Emergency Medicine from the Florida College of Emergency Physicians; and multiple faculty awards from UF Health Jacksonville.

Faces of UAMS: Ari Filip

Meet Ari Filip, M.D., Medical Director of the Arkansas Poison and Drug Information Center. He completed his residency at UAMS, left for a fellowship but came back to UAMS to work in the center. Watch and learn what brought him back as well as everything the center is doing to help address multiple public health challenges.

A shout-out to Dr. Travis Eastin, Associate Professor and Director of the Education Division in the Department of Emergency Medicine, on being selected for the 2022 Association of Academic Chairs in Emergency Medicine (AACEM) Chair Development Program. He becomes the department’s second participant for the highly competitive program, which is known for developing future leaders in academic emergency medicine. The acceptance comes on the heels of Dr. Gregory Snead’s selection last year – a real credit to the department, chaired by Dr. Rawle A. “Tony” Seupaul, and the caliber of our Emergency Medicine faculty.

By Linda Satter 

The Emergency Medicine Interest Group at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) recently received top honors nationally from the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association  (EMRA). The UAMS group was named the EMIG of the Year.

EMRA is the largest and oldest independent resident organization in the world and has a membership of more than 16,000 residents, medical students, fellows and alumni. It recently announced the prestigious honor in its newsletter along with a photograph of 32 members of the UAMS team who participated in a local cleanup event – one of numerous events the group participated in during the 2020-21 academic year to earn the national honor.

“This award was established to recognize the outstanding achievements of the most productive Emergency Medicine Interest Groups on a regional and national scale, along with the hardworking student leaders who provide a diverse range of valuable Emergency Medicine-related learning and networking opportunities to their student members,” according to EMRA’s website.

Paige Dailey and Morgan Sweere served as co-presidents of the UAMS group, which has more than 100 members.

Dailey, who held office as a fourth-year medical student, now has her medical degree and is a first-year resident in the Department of Emergency Medicine at UAMS. Sweere, a third-year medical student, also plans to specialize in Emergency Medicine, though not everyone in the interest group plans to make a career out of emergency medicine.

Ethan Clement, a third-year medical student who is now junior president of the UAMS group, said Dailey and Sweere “did a lot of hard work that resulted in a UAMS group being awarded EMIG of the Year.”

The group participates in activities and events throughout the year to further the skills and knowledge that are endemic to emergency medicine but useful in many other medical specialties. Because Emergency Medicine isn’t a required rotation for medical students, the basic skills honed during some interest group activities are often especially beneficial for students focused on other medical specialties, Dailey and Sweere said.

Among the learning and network opportunities that Dailey and Sweere organized and painstakingly documented – one of the requirements of the award – were simulation events, Journal Club events, presentation scenarios and monthly faculty lectures covering a variety of emergency medicine specialties.

At simulation events, participants practice emergency techniques on mannequins, such as intubation, establishing a central line or splinting.

During Journal Club events, interest group members discuss articles on emerging research in the emergency medicine field, with students giving presentations about different components of the research.

In the presentation scenarios, students discuss the steps they would take when a patient presents with a particular scenario – say, an 85-year-old patient complaining of weakness. Students discuss what tests they would order and ultimately what kind of disposition plan they would create.

“That’s really good practice for us,” Sweere said.

The interest group also participates in community events, such as helping with neighborhood cleanup efforts or perhaps volunteering in a food bank or with a clothing drive.

“We wanted to get our group really involved,” Dailey said. To that end, she said, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic created quite a challenge.

For example, the group had to obtain special permission from the dean’s office and agree to follow strict mask-wearing mandates to hold some activities in person, such as simulation events involving mannequins.

Despite those obstacles, Sweere said, “One of the nice things about it was that medical students are generally very motivated to get involved.”

“We still had a lot of turnout,” Dailey said.

That turnout helped the UAMS group obtain the national title.

Meryll E. Bouldin, M.D., assistant professor in the UAMS Department of Emergency Medicine, was the faculty advisor for the UAMS EMIG group for the 2019-2020 academic year.

“I’m very proud of this group,” Bouldin said. “They have grown tremendously since I have known them and have to be one of the most active and impactful interest groups on campus. Their student leadership team is very innovative and driven to provide the best content and resources to the rest of their classmates.”

“When COVID brought things to a halt, this group pushed forward, continuing to enhance their curriculum even though things had to be virtual. This national award is a HUGE deal and it couldn’t have gone to a more deserving group.”

Zachary Lewis, M.D.

• Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
• Co-Director, Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship/Pediatric Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship
• Co-Director, Emergency Ultrasound Education

Zachary Lewis, M.D., has excelled in clinical care, education, patient advocacy and more in his three years on the faculty in the Department of Emergency Medicine.

“We are very proud of Dr. Lewis’ leadership in many areas, exceptional dedication to the educational goals of the department, and passion for improving the experience of patients and providers at UAMS,” wrote his nominator, Gregory Snead, M.D., vice chair and chief of the Division of Emergency Ultrasound. “We certainly see him as a ‘rising star’ at UAMS.”

“Zach has a way of finding simple solutions to address challenging problems in education and the clinical environment for patients and providers,” Snead wrote. “He is a vocal advocate who can help patients foresee and overcome many of the challenges that exist as they navigate complex care systems.”

“Dr. Lewis is an outstanding and compassionate clinical teacher frequently recognized by the residents for his use of evidence-based care and his patience in teaching many of the most complex procedural aspects of our specialty,” Snead added.

Emergency Medicine Chair Rawle A. “Tony” Seupaul, M.D., said Lewis stood out as exemplary while still a medical student and continued to impress as a resident and then ultrasound fellow. “Zach will likely be a full professor here at UAMS in the near future and will likely win more awards because he is that deserving. He is respected by everyone he works with, and everyone he educates.”

Dr. Carly Eastin, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, has been elected as the incoming Chair of the Evidence Based Medicine Interest Group in the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. At UAMS, Dr. Eastin serves as Co-Chief for the Division of Evidence Based Medicine and Research in the Department of Emergency Medicine and as Director for the EBM component of Practice of Medicine in the College of Medicine. Congratulations.

Our new employee lactation room is ready to use. The room has a computer and phone, refrigerator, hand sanitizer, and bleach wipes, as well as a comfortable chair. We’re excited to be able to offer this private, comfortable room for the new moms in our department. Thank you to everyone who helped make this project a reality.