Baylor College of Medicine Emergency Medicine Residency Program

03/27/2025

Congrats to Dr. Bowman!

03/13/2025

Grateful for the incredible collaboration between Baylor ER and Surgery attendings and the surgical team in preparing the next generation of physicians! Together, we volunteered to teach essential procedures to ~50 fourth-year BCM medical students in APEX, helping them gear up for intern year. From trauma simulations to chest tubes, intubations, central lines, lumbar punctures, and more—these future doctors are getting hands-on experience that will serve them well in residency. Huge thanks to Dr. Daniela Ortiz and Dr. Zane Quach for leading this invaluable session!

03/13/2025

03/09/2025

Please join us in congratulating the BCM EM Chief Residents for the 2025-2026 academic year:

Dr. Marzia Choudhury
Dr. Brianne Jennings
Dr. Kayleen Marquez
Dr. Curtis Wentz

During the selection process, we were faced with the significant challenge of just how awesome our PGY2s are. While choosing only 4 chiefs was not easy, it was necessary. I say without hesitation that any one of our PGY2s would have excelled in the position.

Thank you to everyone that voted, provided comments, or participated in the chief resident selection process. Your input is critical.

Finally, please join us in expressing our extreme gratitude to the outgoing 2024-2025 Chief Residents: Ghida, Lydia, Ciaura and Sidra. Residency is challenging at the best of times, throwing in a hurricane and a Houston “blizzard” certainly doesn’t make it any easier. Over the past year you have risen to every challenge placed in your path. The bar has been elevated yet again on what it means to excel as a chief, and our program is better because of the service they have provided.

03/07/2025

We'd like to extend a Ramadan Mubarak (Blessed Ramadan) to all who celebrate! Each year, Ramadan lasts approximately 29-30 days and follows the lunar cycle, which leads to the date moving earlier in subsequent years.

Ramadan occurs during the time when the Quran (the holy book of Islam) was revealed to the prophet Muhammad. It is a time of fasting, prayer, reflection, and charity. Fasting occurs from dawn till dusk and is intended to help practice self-discipline, sacrifice, and instill compassion for those who are less fortunate. The daily observance starts with the pre-dawn meal of suhur, before the day's first prayer, and concludes with the iftar at dusk, a moment shared with family and friends to break the fast. The culmination of Ramadan is celebrated with Eid al-Fitr, a festival that marks the end of the holy month.

There are exemptions to fasting, generally for children, the elderly, the ill, and those with certain health conditions for whom fasting could post significant health risks. Those of us in clinical roles need to be cognizant of the importance of humility and providing culturally and religiously safe spaces in healthcare. It also reminds us that while some patients observing Ramadan may be exempt from fasting, the choice to fast is personal and should be respected. The articles below, written by our EM colleagues, provide further considerations about caring for fasting patients during Ramadan.

https://www.aliem.com/caring-for-the-fasting-pt/

03/03/2025

Keep an eye out for measles, y'all.

For more info check out the CDC website:
https://www.cdc.gov/measles/hcp/clinical-overview/index.html

02/28/2025

Read more about Dr. Ynhi Thomas's FDA-FUNDED research & the first on the addictive potential of kratom. She is collaborating with Dr. Verrico, who is in the process of gaining a secondary appointment w/ the Henry J.N. Taub Department of Emergency Medicine.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-21/is-kratom-addictive-new-fda-funded-study-aims-to-find-out?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc0MDE2MDAzOCwiZXhwIjoxNzQwNzY0ODM4LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTUlZVM0NEV1JHRzAwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiI5QUEwQkRGOEM2REI0MEY3QjU0QTQ5RUY0RDMxM0E4QyJ9.VBUTV2LiR2pVVenvp0uu7rWy8cWKtgSAVhm-BiA0SOI&leadSource=uverify%20wall

02/27/2025

Hello Team:

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Jason Bowman has been awarded a prestigious K12 grant, a significant NIH career development award. This achievement marks him as our department's first NIH scholar, a truly remarkable milestone.

This grant will provide vital support as Dr Bowman advances his research, focused on breaking down barriers and delivering personalized, equitable care to our ED patients.

02/17/2025

What happens when you bring together a group of brilliant minds, a sprinkle of culinary adventure, and a lot of lamb? A fantastic Faculty Cooking Class filled with great food, laughter, and teamwork!

Here are some of the highlights from our time in the kitchen:

🔥 Friendly competition - who can grind jalapeños and cilantro faster? "technical difficulties" don't count

🔥 Delicious creations - flexing our culinary skills through observation and wine

🔥 Kitchen chaos - who torched the lamb?

🔥 Moments captured - see pictures attached and join in on the fun

A huge thank you to everyone who joined - your energy and enthusiasm made this event a success! Thanks for making delicious memories. Stay tuned for our next faculty social, and let us know if you'd like another round in the kitchen.

Until next time, keep those aprons handy!

02/01/2025

Hello everyone!

Thank you to all who ordered items off Amazon, generously donated money and volunteered their time to help last week!

Here's a summary of our impact.

We donated 6 items from Amazon (jackets, towels, blankets, snacks, activity books, etc) to the Beacon. We raised and donated $1600 to the Beacon. Mr. Marshall, manager at the beacon, called Dr. Ghanim to thank you all personally.
3 attendings and 2 residents helped prepare and serve breakfast to 224 people and helped prepare lunch at the Beacon.

Thank you for giving back to our community and helping contribute to The Beacon's mission of providing services to restore hope and help end homelessness in Houston.

Here's to continued service and passionate medicine!

01/24/2025

Kudos to Dr. Severe from one of our patients!

“I really appreciate the first doctor that I saw, Dr. Severe. Even though I had lots of complications, I still want to make it known that I really appreciate Dr. Severe.”

11/26/2024

Breast cancer has been the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in Hispanic patients since 2000. Although regular biannual mammograms are associated with significantly reduced breast cancer-related mortality rates, Hispanic women, in particular, experience disproportionately lower access to routine mammograms compared to non-Hispanic women. Previous studies have reported successful breast cancer educational interventions for Hispanic patients with Spanish as their preferred language in community outreach settings. However, the impact of educational interventions in promoting the scheduling of routine mammograms in Spanish-preferring women presenting to the emergency department (ED) has not yet been studied.

Edgardo Ordonez, MD's study is intended to deliver high-quality, culturally competent education on the benefits of mammograms for early breast cancer detection in Hispanic Spanish-preferring and Hispanic English-preferring females presenting to the emergency department to work towards breaking down disparities in cancer care.