About Benjamin Azan, MD

Emergency Physician
Lincoln Medical Center
Founder/Editor of foambase.org

How I Work Smarter – Mapping It Out


How I Work Smarter Nominations
(Jul 17, 2014-Mar 22, 2015)

Today we are taking a break from our regularly schedule program and going meta. FOAM clearly helps break down borders, but sometimes, a look at a map really brings it home. These connections were launched when Dr. Michelle Lin tagged 3 people for their “How I Work Smarter” perspectives, who then each tagged 3 people, and so forth. We have had enough responders (37!) to keep this going for many months. This has cascaded and created a broad virtual international community of smart-working clinicians. Below are more close-up views of the US, UK, and Australia map and a few more insights.

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By |2019-04-16T23:33:29-07:00Mar 29, 2015|How I Work Smarter|

I am Dr. Resa Lewiss, Director of Point-of-Care Ultrasound at University of Colorado: How I Work Smarter

Today we are back with Dr. Resa Lewiss (@ultrasoundREL), ultrasound guru and pioneer. She has championed ultrasound via each of the three pillars of academics. She is a clinical master of ultrasound, has taught its use worldwide, and has published extensively on the topic. To top is all off, she has taken institutional leadership as the past President of the Academy of Emergency Ultrasound of the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine and the current chair for the Ultrasound Section of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Plus, she has a TEDMed talk. Nominated by Dr. John Bailitz, Dr. Lewiss offers some pointers how she transduces work to success.

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By |2019-04-16T23:33:55-07:00Mar 22, 2015|How I Work Smarter|

I am Dr. Rick Body, Research Director of the Manchester Emergency Medicine & Intensive Care Research Group: How I Work Smarter

This weeks post takes us back across the pond to Manchester, UK, with Dr. Rick Body (@richardbody). Dr. Body is known in the SoMe world for his contributions to the fantastic St. Emlyn’s blog and Best BETs, a great resource which summarizes research into clinically usable information. His academic focus has been on research in cardiovascular medicine and decision-making technology/biomarkers. He’s a National Institute for Health Research Postdoctoral Research Fellow (yup, he has a PhD) and also research director of the Manchester Emergency Medicine & Intensive Care Research Group (aka EMERGING), a 12 person group dedicated to Emergency Medicine and Critical Care. On top of it all, he’s organizing the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Scientific Congress and European Congress on Emergency Medicine. He has graciously taken a few moments to shares his insights into how to navigate the information overload era.

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By |2019-04-16T23:34:48-07:00Mar 15, 2015|How I Work Smarter|

I am Dr. Jesse Pines, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Health Policy at George Washington University: How I Work Smarter

This week’s guest on the How I Work Smarter series is a master of efficiency and quality in the Emergency Department. Dr. Jesse Pines (@DrJessePines) is the principal investigator of UrgentMatters.org, a group dedicated to improving emergency care and hospital patient flow. He has the ear of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center and the National Quality Forum where, via policy, he’s helping to shape the future landscape of emergency care in the USA. While he has academically published extensively on health policy and workflow, he also takes the time to educate the public at large on the pressing matters in public health and emergency medicine via contributions to Time.com, Slate.comThe Wall Street Journal, and more. Dr. Pines shares his words of wisdom on how he works smarter.

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By |2019-04-16T23:35:05-07:00Mar 8, 2015|How I Work Smarter|

I am Dr. Haney Mallemat, ED Intensivist and Lecturer on the Go: How I Travel Smarter

Dear productivity aficionados, today we have a special treat. Dr. Haney Mallemat (@CriticalCareNow) is our guest. However, he has decided to go rogue and approached ‘how to work smarter’ from a very different angle. We are thrilled he did. Dr. Mallemat is a rising star in the world of critical care and emergency medicine. He started off by securing board certifications in Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Critical Care, and Echocardiography. Now, only 5 years out of his Critical Care fellowship, Dr. Mallemat already has a place among the FOAM greats and a position as Assistant Professor at University of Maryland. Those who have listen to him talk will know he has the rare ability to take complex topics and break them down into understandable concepts. This has earned him the “Outstanding Teaching Award” two years in a row (2012-2013) at his home institution. You can hear his great talks on the RAGE Podcast, EMRAP, Ultrasound Podcast, PHARM Podcast, to name a few. However, it’s not all podcasting. Dr. Mallemat also lectures both nationally and internationally, and today he graciously shares his wisdom about how to get from point A to point B, with style.

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By |2019-04-16T23:38:15-07:00Mar 1, 2015|How I Work Smarter|

I am Dr. Deborah Diercks, Professor and Department Chair at UT Southwestern: How I Work Smarter

Over the last 50 years, the rates of women graduating from medical school have increased leaps and bounds, from women representing 7% of US graduates in the 1960s to ~47% in the 2010s.1 The How I Work Smarter Series has had an appreciable yet still unbalanced number of women participants, with slightly more than 35% of posts from women leaders. However, in the top echelon of medicine, women are still dramatically under represented. According to AAMC, only 15% of department chairs are women.2 Dr. Deborah Diercks is one of these 15%. As the newly appointed Chair of UT Southwestern Emergency Department, she has not only taken on departmental leadership, but is also playing a key role in the creation of two entirely new hospitals whose emergency departments will be staffed by UT Southwestern. This is pretty much the definition of task overload, yet she still manages to publish regularly and completed her How I work Smarter entry faster than most. Impressive. She kindly took a moment to share a few pearls.

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By |2019-04-16T23:35:57-07:00Feb 22, 2015|How I Work Smarter|

I am Dr. John Bailitz, Director of Ultrasound and Collaborative Research at Cook County: How I Work Smarter

As the “How I Work Smarter” series matures, certain patterns emerge. One clear trend is that ultrasonographers have been present front and center. Today’s installment continue the course with Dr. John Bailitz (@AllInCoachMD) up at bat. Dr. Bailitz is an example to follow for future thinking EM clinician-academicians. While he has mastered the traditional avenues of academics via course leadership, publications, and national presentations, he has also embraced digital scholarship. He is the Chair of ACEP Online Education Subcommittee, blogs at How2TrainHeroes, and is on the organizing committee for SMACC 2015. He generously accepted Chris Nickson’s invitation to share his wisdom on how he works smarter.

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By |2019-04-16T23:39:11-07:00Feb 15, 2015|How I Work Smarter|
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