Congratulations to Dr. Elise Lovell for being named EMRA’s 2016 Assistant Residency Director of the year.

The letter of support is amazing. Complied by Dr. Katie Iannitelli, it includes narratives from residents of all classes and really speaks Dr. Lovell’s impact on her residents and students.

Dr. Lovell exemplifies the ideals of an emergency physician, a truly caring clinician, and a residency program director, and it is her consistency in doing so that is most striking.  Everyday, she commits her time and focus on providing patients with the best care possible, while constantly working to better our residency program as a whole and each of the residents as individual physicians.  She is truly a role model, as a clinician, a program director and a person. Perhaps the greatest compliment any of her residents have offered, however, is a statement that sums up everything we all feel about Dr. Lovell.  “If my mother would come to the ED,” one of our second year residents said, “I would want Dr. Lovell to be her doctor.”

Some notable quotes from the letter:

“Dr. Lovell is an outstanding educator.  Her energy for her residents and their education is seemingly infinite.  She eats, sleeps, breathes, and lives for this residency and our education.  This residency is like a child to her–she never runs out of energy for caring for its members.”

“The reason that I think Dr. Lovell’s style and her constant barrage of constructive feedback works is because I know there isn’t anyone who has more passion and more energy for the program and for our development to be the best possible EM physicians we can be.  And it is because all of her actions come from a place of genuine care, not arrogance or ego, that she is one of the most, if not the most, valuable attending at our program.  I can’t think of someone I respect more as a person and physician.”

“Early in my intern year, Dr. Lovell took me through my very first chest tube procedure, which is unique considering that most of the chest tubes at our Level One trauma center are directed and supervised by our trauma colleagues.  Elise was incredibly patient, organized, and supportive with me during the procedure.  The patient was so tiny that I thought I was going to puncture straight through his right chest wall into his heart!  Yet, Dr. Lovell was by my side, providing the calming presence and encouragement I needed.  The chest tube was a success, wholly in part to Dr. Lovell.”

“Elise Lovell is a truly amazing physician. Her ability to care for patients, as well as her desire to teach residents, medical students, and her impact on young physicians is phenomenal.  One time Dr. Lovell and I saw a patient with severe anxiety who had a positive review of systems in every category.  My empathy was low.  Dr. Lovell’s compassion stood strong.  She taught me how to reassure the patient before examining her, how to be more compassionate, and did not cause the patient any further discomfort.”

“Dr. Lovell is the ultimate resident advocate and she is the greatest mentor, teacher, or coach that I (and I’m sure most of our classmates) have ever had.”

“Dr. Lovell cares about her residents on a personal level. During my intern year, my grandpa whom I was particularly close with passed away.  Three days later, I had a shift with Dr. Lovell and one of our patients died.  I probably took it a little harder than I usually would have and Dr. Lovell seemed to sense that.  After the shift, she rightfully identified that I seemed to take the death hard and asked why. When I explained that it hit close to home because my grandpa had just died, Elise didn’t flinch before spending time asking about my grandfather, his role in my life, why he was so special to me and making me feel better about our patient whose death was, unfortunately, inevitable.  It is easy to just say ‘sorry’ when a resident experiences a death, but Dr. Lovell’s ability and willingness to express support and compassion are what make her so unique.”

“Advocating for vulnerable patients in the ER and in our community is part of my physicianship, and Dr. Lovell is my ally to help me incorporate this into my practice. It started in the beginning of intern year when she had us complete implicit bias testing based on race, and discussed how understanding the results can improve our patient care.  In group settings, she always sets a tone of respect for diversity, and challenges generalizations that reinforce unhelpful stereotypes.”

In short, Elise Lovell is an outstanding educator, mentor, patient advocate and physician. We are proud to support her honor as an outstanding FemInEM!