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Joseph Blackwell
Hometown: Greenville, SC
College: Clemson University
Medical school: University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
Why you chose CMC: Growing up in Charlotte, I had the opportunity to volunteer in the ED at CMC, so I was exposed to the hospital and healthcare environment at an early age. During my 4th year rotation at CMC, my decision for residency was solidified based on the organization, faculty instruction, and the quality of residents I worked with and their satisfaction with the program. CMC has a strong reputation for producing phenomenal emergency physicians so I hope to be part of that legacy.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: My wife and I are excited about moving to Charlotte as this is an incredibly diverse area that has so much to offer. There is never a shortage of activities and I am looking forward to training where I grew up.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Teaching in an academic emergency medicine program and providing EMS medical direction.
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William Bost
Hometown: Richmond, VA
College: UVA
Medical school:UVA
Why you chose CMC: I loved the city, loved the program, and wanted an excellent clinical education in a busy trauma center. Since starting, I feel challenged and pushed every day by the accomplished and talented physicians around me. In spite of the excellent reputation of the program, attendings and residents are down to earth and have treated me like family. In my professional future, I know the reputation and network of this residency will be invaluable.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: People here are scary nice. Easy weekend trips to beautiful mountains and beaches. Great food, professional sports, and affordable living in the city. Living in Sedgefield, I have been able to bike/walk everywhere I need to go, including work.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Probably working in a community ED.
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Alexandria Holmes
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
College: University of Maryland College Park
Medical school: University of South Florida
Why you chose CMC: Long story short, CMC has the best of everything I was looking for in a program. I knew I wanted a strong county feel in terms of volume, with a healthy mix of academics and community as well. CMC gives you all three under one roof, not to mention the plethora of extracurricular opportunities in global health, ultrasound, education, administrative/QI initiatives, etc. CMC also just had that X-factor. It was really important for me to find a residency home filled with what I felt were "my people," so to speak, and I immediately felt that on interview. I knew that in coming here, within the program I would find the support of a family, the friends to have fun with outside of the hospital, and the mentors and peers that would push me to become the best ED physician possible.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Charlotte offers all the amenities of living in a city but with the perks of a suburban feel. I walk to work every day, and can also walk to fulfill any of my basic needs including a local farmers' market, coffee, Target, etc :) Anything else really isn't too far of a drive. There is a ton to do in the area - lots of breweries to explore, trails to hike, restaurants for foodies, anything that suits your fancy. Plus if you want to get out of Charlotte on a day or two off, it's within a few hours drive of several other awesome cities including Asheville, Raleigh/Durham, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, and Atlanta!
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Right now I see myself working predominantly in the community setting, at least in my early career. I really want the experience of hands-on practice for a couple of years after graduation. I'm really interested in quality improvement and administrative type work, and hope to be involved in those areas at the community hospital I end up working at. I'm considering eventually getting a Masters degree in either business or health systems engineering so that I can take these skills to the next level. This all being said, there are so many interesting people and projects going on here at CMC that I'll get to explore in the next couple years...so who knows, my interests may change!
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Jacob Leederkerken
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
College: University of Michigan - GO BLUE!
Medical school: George Washington University
Why you chose CMC: A myriad of reasons. Essentially CMC was a perfect fit in respect to culture, training, and location amongst other things. I had the opportunity to rotate at CMC as a 4th year medical student and was taken back by the family-like atmosphere amongst not only the faculty, residents, and hospital staff but also how quickly they made me feel as part of that family. Additionally, I was able to quickly see first hand the exceptional training at CMC with respect to its high volume, high acuity, and peds exposure. Above all that, the residents and faculty were always approachable and constantly found times to teach, even in hectic shifts! Furthermore, Charlotte is an amazing city with plenty of do, people are very friendly, and the cost of living is great.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: The city is constantly growing with new restaurants, breweries, as well as activities to do in the city. It is 2 hours from Asheville if you want a mountain getaway or 3 hours in the other direction if you want to hit the beach in Charleston, SC. It is also much closer to my wife and I's families making it easier to see them. Lastly, our dog is excited to have more room and a yard to run around in!
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: It is hard to say what 10 years will hold for me. I can see myself doing a range of things from working in the community with some administrative role within the hospital to living overseas pursuing Global Health initiatives. Wherever I find myself in 10 years, I have full confidence my training at CMC will be a pivotal reason I got there.
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Elissabeth Martin
Hometown: Little Rock, AR
College: Washington University in St. Louis
Medical school: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Why you chose CMC: While rotating here as a fourth year, I loved everything about CMC- the willingness of both faculty and upper levels to teach, the autonomy that I was granted, and the underserved patient population. But most of all I loved the people. The word “family” gets thrown around a lot, but that truly describes what I saw at CMC among both faculty and residents, and it was a family I wanted to be a part of.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Charlotte is unique because there is a smaller town feel despite living in a larger city. Everything is close (15 min or less) and doesn’t feel too spread out, but there’s still TONS of options for things to do! I’m always trying a new restaurant weekly! Overall, CLT is a vibrant, thriving city. I’m excited to watch its growth over the next three years.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I see myself working in a diverse urban area for an underserved community. I’m not certain whether or not it will be in an academic or community setting yet. Outside of medicine, I plan to travel around the world with my husband.
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Claire Milam
Hometown: Lebanon, IN
College: Butler University
Medical school: Indiana University
Why you chose CMC: After spending a month here as a medical student, I remember thinking that these are the people I want to be residents with, the physicians I want to learn from, and the patients that I want to serve. I feel like the people at CMC are fantastic at instilling confidence in its residents and students while still challenging and inspiring us to become better and better.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: I'm so excited to move to Charlotte; I am ready to take full advantage of a young city, full of parks and breweries of course, that is close to the mountains and the beach for those random days off. I also cannot wait to go to the White Water Center whenever I can.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I do not know. But! I can't wait to begin figuring it out at CMC with some awesome advisors and great opportunities.
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Elizabeth Olson
Hometown: Framingham, MA
College: Framingham State University and University of Massachusetts Lowell
Medical school: Wake Forest School of Medicine
Why you chose CMC: Carolinas is a program that really cares about being excellent. This means living up to its reputation for providing a robust, well-rounded clinical experience, while also going above and beyond to contribute to the EM educational community with projects like The Guidewire Podcast and Peds EM Morsels. As awesome as they are, rather than being intimidating or intense, the atmosphere is so kind and supportive. The interviewers were fun to talk to and I felt right at home with all the other highly-engaged, funny, motivated residents. The icing on the cake is how well CMC treats you, with easily the best benefits and perks I saw on the trail, including medical coverage for residents *and* families at no cost, retirement matching, and an absurdly generous food allowance. Joke's on them - I would have worked here for free. Carolinas was my dream program, and I'm so fortunate to get to live that dream.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Charlotte is a gorgeous city that's easy to live in, with cute suburban houses or hip uptown lofts and everything in between. There's so much to do - Restaurants, breweries, catch an indie movie at the art house theater 5 minutes from the hospital, see a concert, or explore the outdoors. Side note: Coming from Beyond the Wall, I had never seen a wild lizard until I moved here! Don't worry, they're small and cute.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I love EM for its flexibility, because it'll give me time for my side hustle: Improving medical education and bringing it into the modern age. Maybe I'll be the next Adam Rosh or Dustyn Williams, or maybe I'll be your friendly neighborhood clerkship director on my way to being Dean of Medicine. Whatever I decide, I can't think of a better launching pad than CMC EM!
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Jennifer Pallansch
Hometown: Lilburn, GA
College: University of Georgia
Medical school: Case Western Reserve University SoM
Why you chose CMC: I fell in love with CMC after doing an away rotation here. The faculty, residents, and resources are outstanding along with the commitment to education and to this community. More than anything, I liked the family feel of the program. Everyone is friendly and passionate about their work, and CMC’s amazing reputation is well-deserved.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Charlotte has a little bit of everything! There's a ton of great breweries, greenway trails, and events, and the city is beautiful and dog-friendly. I also really enjoy being closer to my family as well as having the mountains and beach a short drive away.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I'm still figuring out exactly what those years will look like! I am interested in the experience gained in a community center, but would also enjoy teaching and working at an academic hospital. I'll let you know when I figure it out.
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Gabriela Rivera-Camacho
Hometown: Ponce, Puerto Rico
College: Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, Ponce, PR
Medical school: Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, PR
Why you chose CMC: The people I met during the pre-interview dinner and interview day were amazing! I instantly felt as a part of the group and they seemed very happy. I also loved the opportunity to train in a place that included all the environments (academic, community and county) in one center.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Nice warm weather and mild winters! Lots of trees, BBQ, breweries, and dog friendly places.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Working in an academic environment, doing some shifts in PR every few months, and living in a house with a big yard for my future fur babies.
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Victoria Serven
Hometown: Stafford, VA
College: James Madison University
Medical school: LSU Health Sciences Center
Why you chose CMC: As soon as I left my CMC interview I texted my med school friends to tell them how much I liked the program. The way the residents talked and joked with each other at the dinner reminded me of my friends and I; they all seemed to really enjoy being around one other and finding a social residency program was really important to me. When I met the faculty on interview day I got the sense that resident education was a top priority for them and that they really push their residents to get the most out of the program. The last big box on my residency wish list was to work at a safety-net hospital that served a diverse, under-privileged patient population. CMC not only met that requirement but expressed a commitment to continually improving how these patient's receive healthcare. Overall, CMC exceeded my exceptions in all the things that were most important to me when searching for a residency program and I could not be happier with my decision.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: I love the size of the city, it’s not too huge or overwhelming but there is always something to do. Coming from New Orleans it was really important to me that I find a city with a lot of diversity and character and I felt an appreciation for both while I was in Charlotte. Lastly, Charlotte is very dog friendly and offers lots of affordable housing with a fenced in yards which was a must for my giant golden retriever.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Following residency I will start my career as a physician for the United States Navy. Whether I stay in the Navy after my scholarship commitment has been fulfilled or exit to join the civilian world is to be determined but I would really like to be involved in academics either way, so hopefully, 10 years from now I will be working as an EM doctor in a teaching hospital.
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Brian Shreve
Hometown: Westerville, Ohio
College: University of Colorado at Boulder
Medical school: University of Colorado School of Medicine
Why you chose CMC: I did a rotation at CMC during my 4th year and immediately knew it was the place for me. The people here are phenomenal, everyone I interacted with were so welcoming and friendly. There was a great balance of working hard and having fun. As a program CMC offers all you could ask for in an EM residency. Being a community program yet serving as the county hospital offers a wide patient population with high acuity and high volume. The academics at CMC are astounding as well given the caliber of the attendings at CMC. Having the Co-Chairman of the Committee of Tactical Combat Casualty Care, Dr. Callaway, on staff was another huge bonus for me.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Charlotte has a little bit of something for everyone. My family and I will never have a shortage of things to do in Charlotte, but if we get bored it isn't too far to the mountains or the beach. Add on the fact that the food is amazing (they have REAL sweet tea) and we're close to family and it makes Charlotte the perfect location.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Likely working in a Community ED that occasionally has medical students or residents that I can teach and doing some tactical medicine on the side.
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Tyler Siekmann
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
College: Ohio State University (Go Bucks!)
Medical school: Ohio State University College of Medicine
Why you chose CMC: I was lucky to have the opportunity to rotate at CMC as a 4th year medical student. From the start, I could tell CMC was a special place both inside and outside the emergency department. On shift, the combination of autonomy and individualized teaching by world-renowned faculty helped me grow as a student. Then off shift, I felt immediately welcomed into the CMC family by residents and their spouses. On interview day several months later, I got the cliché (but real) feeling I was returning home. This feeling combined with the program’s outstanding reputation and quality of training make CMC a place I am thrilled to be joining!
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: From my time in Charlotte thus far, it seems like a city that has it all. Excellent restaurants and breweries, close proximity to mountains, lakes and beaches and a cool downtown make this a place I’m excited to call home the next several years. Coming from Ohio, the warmer weather and closer proximity to family in the southeast seem like icing on the cake.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Still to be decided but I am leading towards a career in community practice with some element of resident or student teaching. I am also interested in EMS and event medicine but I am keeping all my doors open!
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Alyssa Thomas
Hometown: Chandler, Arizona
College: Rice University (Go Owls!)
Medical school: University of Arizona College of Medicine- Phoenix
Why you chose CMC: I had the opportunity to rotate at CMC during my fourth year and at the end of my rotation I was sold! I was looking for an EM program with a diverse patient population, awesome faculty, friendly and competent residents, and excellent training that would set me up for success for whichever career pathway I chose after residency--CMC had it all. Whenever I was on shift I felt supported by the faculty even as a medical student, and they all took the time out to get to know me. Everyone was genuinely happy to be working and I had a lot of fun hanging out with the residents outside of the hospital. Ultimately, it all came down to me realizing that in just that one month I felt like I was a part of the CMC family. I knew then that I did not want to leave, so luckily the feeling was mutual!
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Charlotte has everything! I was so surprised that after living in big cities, like Houston and Phoenix, that I could find all of the things I love doing in a city like Charlotte. Charlotte has the White Water Center, a lot of breweries and bars/clubs, great places to eat, professional sport teams, friendly people, and within reasonable distance you can go hiking or visit the beach!
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: This is tough. I have a never-ending list of interests, but I can see myself in academics or community medicine. I do have an interest in public health, specifically health disparities, and along the same lines diversity in medicine. Therefore, I can see myself continuing along this pathway in possibly an academic setting working with residents! But ask me again in 5 years :)
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Chelsea Wilson
Hometown: St. Petersburg, Florida
College: University of Florida
Medical school: University of South Florida
Why you chose CMC: After rotating at CMC during 4th year, I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else. I fell in love with the city, residents, attendings and most importantly the culture of the residency program. It’s a place where the residents are challenged and grow into the best emergency medicine physician, all while operating in a positive and nurturing environment. I loved that they embodied the idea of being a big family, purposing to spend time together after shifts and every week as a group.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Not too hot, not too cold. Amazing city with great food and beer scene. Charlotte also have the white water center which is only 20 mins away. Great hiking and outdoor adventures.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Probably working shifts at an academic center and pursing an educational leadership role in a residency program or medical school.
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