Global EM
Improving health equity and doing collaborative development work are mainstays of high quality global emergency medicine . Our Global EM faculty and residents strive to achieve thoughtful and collaborative clinical practice, research, teaching and education, and capacity building. We work in partnership with multiple academic and non-governmental agencies to support these goals. Our faculty specialize in global emergency care education development, and the University of Chicago Global EM Medical Education fellowship reflects their expertise.
Resident Global EM Opportunities
Improving health equity throughout the world, through both social and global EM, is a priority for University of Chicago residents and faculty. A formal global EM residency track begins in the EM2 year for residents with a strong career interest in global EM; all residents and faculty are invited to all track events. The residency track includes monthly didactics, quarterly journal clubs, and a culminating project for those formally enrolled. EM3s with a serious interest in global emergency care have the opportunity to take part in a global EM elective. All electives emphasize the residents’ learning, including provision of clinical care in a resource poor setting, tropical medicine and infectious diseases, and an enhanced understanding of the political, social, ethical, and legal complexities of international work. In exchange, residents are expected to support education and capacity building at the site. The University of Chicago EM residency provides funding for resident electives, in addition to preparation, teaching, supervision, and support throughout the elective. Recent elective sites have included Fort Defiance on Navajo Nation, University Hospital of Mirebalais, Haiti, JFK Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia, and Mitchell’s Plain in Cape Town, South Africa.
Global Health Faculty
Keegan Checkett, MD
Dr. Checkett worked on Navajo Nation as a hospitalist before switching to Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Chicago, and has worked throughout sub-Saharan Africa, including serving as core faculty for the Emergency Medicine residency at Muhimbili National Hospital in Tanzania (2012-2014). From 2014-18, Dr. Checkett served as a residency co-director for the first EM residency in Haiti, at University Hospital of Mirebalais in Haiti, for which she developed and helped implement the unique curriculum. She is active in the education group for the African Federation of Emergency Medicine, including as the managing editor of the Presentation Bank and lead editor-in-chief for the second edition AFEM Handbook of Emergency Care. Currently, Dr. Checkett serves as an Advisor in Emergency Care for Partners in Health and works in collaboration with the Haitian Society for Emergency Medicine. She is the director for the University of Chicago Global EM Medical Education fellowship.
Email: kcheckett@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu
Nicholas Ludmer, MD
After finishing residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Ludmer completed his fellowship in International Medical Education at the University of Chicago while pursuing his masters in Medical Education at the University of Illinois. During his fellowship, Dr. Ludmer worked on new educational initiatives within the Emergency Medicine residency program at the University of Mirebalais, Haiti, as well as helping to implement emergency care training initiatives in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia. As faculty, Dr. Ludmer continues to be involved with residency education in Haiti, as well as remote education in emergency care training in Sierra Leone and Mexico. His interests and focus within global health are education and capacity building.