 |
Kaley El-Arab
Hometown: Arlington, TX
College: Southern Methodist University
Medical school: University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Why you chose CMC: Great people, incredible training and desirable location.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Tons of outdoor activities with mountains and beach within a few hours. Plenty of running trails, parks, ice cream shops and great restaurants.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I will hopefully have figured out my interests within emergency medicine and completed fellowship. I can see myself splitting time between community and academic emergency departments.
|
 |
Lucas Goss
Hometown: Clearwater, FL
College: University of Florida
Medical school: Florida Atlantic University
Why you chose CMC: I was fortunate enough to do an away rotation here and after that I was pretty much sold. As a medical student we had free parking right across from the ED, free lunch, free meal vouchers and even a lounge that had free drinks, coffee and snacks (talk about wellness). As nice as that was, the real reason that I chose CMC was the people. The camaraderie amongst the residents, med students and attending physicians here made me feel right at home. Adding in unreal training, an amazing city and the best craft beer made my decision even easier.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Charlotte gives you the best of all worlds. It’s an upper-mid size diverse city that’s rapidly growing in size. There are a ton of awesome areas to live with endless restaurants and places to socialize throughout your 3 years here. Additionally there are a lot of outdoor activities to do here and the city was very dog friendly for my golden retriever.
Lastly and most importantly, during interview season Charlotte was a clear winner in the craft beer and brewery scene.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: In ten years I anticipate working in academic Emergency Medicine after completing fellowship. By that time I will have 1-2 more golden retrievers, weigh at least 20 lbs heavier and have some strong dad jokes.
|
 |
Elzada Hasecic
Hometown: Kingman, AZ
College: The University of Arizona
Medical school: The University of Arizona, College of Medicine- Phoenix
Why you chose CMC: The program’s clinical attributes, dedication to training leaders in emergency medicine, high volume and high acuity, all initially drew me to interview at CMC but the people within the CMC family “sealed the deal”. I was moved how highly the residents spoke of the faculty and each other and their pride in the program was distinguishable. I knew that by training here I would be academically and clinically pushed to work harder than ever in order to become the best ED physician I can be, but I also knew that I would also have the boundless support of my co-residents and faculty.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: I love how there are so many places to go hiking and exploring only a short drive outside of the city and so many parks within the city! Charlotte is big enough to have all the amenities and resources that large cities have to offer but still has that small-town feel and all the best qualities of a smaller town (friendly people, manageable traffic, tons of local restaurants, etc). I also love that Charlotte has all four seasons but relativity mild winters.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Initially I imagined I’d end up in a community ED but there are several aspects of teaching and working at an academic hospital that are exciting to me as well, so we’ll see – maybe a combination of both! I also have a lot of interests within the field of emergency medicine so I look forward to narrowing these down with the help of our incredible and clinically diverse faculty.
|
 |
Anthony "AJ" James
Hometown: Columbus, GA
College: The University of Alabama
Medical school: Case Western Reserve University
Why you chose CMC: Even before rotating at CMC, I had already caught wind of what an amazing training opportunity this was; rotating only confirmed it! CMC is renown in the realm of emergency medicine, and I was looking for a program that would give me the tools to shape my future rather than handing me one that was pre-selected. I was also extremely impressed by the program’s commitment to diversity and how supportive faculty were of my interests in HIV testing and prevention.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Charlotte is a perfect mixture of city with more than enough open-air spaces and nature. Also, everything is 10-15 minutes away, no matter how far you’re actually traveling.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Probably working in a hybrid type community-academic site that seems to be all of the rage these days, figuring out how to better serve populations at increased risk for HIV infection when we see them in the ED. (Or hopefully that problem is solved by then and I’m forced to explore new research interests!)
|
 |
Breeanna Lorenzen
Hometown: Alpine, California
College: University of California, Berkeley
Medical school: University of Minnesota Medical School
Why you chose CMC: Amazing faculty that love to teach! You can find a great mentor in almost any area of EM you are interested in. You also gain experience in a setting that feels county, community and academic, but in one location! The residents are valued and supported. Feedback is listened to and small things go a long way (free parking, meal plans, etc.). I am constantly impressed by the upper-level residents who are amazing and are also still happy and excited about EM. We are a community that cares for each other and likes to have fun!
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: We have loved living in Charlotte over the last 6 months! If you are into hiking and camping, this is a great place to be. There are trails close by and mountains easily accessible an hour away in any direction. Charlotte itself is a very livable city with affordable housing, many great breweries and overall, very friendly people. Coming from Minnesota, the weather here is also a huge plus – you can run outside on most days!
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I have a passion for global health and hope to continue to incorporate global health into my work in the future. In addition, I really enjoy working in the MICU and can see myself doing a Critical Care or Palliative Medicine fellowship. I can also see myself practicing in a community setting, so we shall see!
|
 |
Quinton Nannet
Hometown: New Richmond, Indiana (where the movie, Hoosiers was filmed)
College: Purdue University
Medical school: Indiana University School of Medicine
Why you chose CMC: The people! It's almost annoying how cliche it is, but I felt at home and impressed on my interview meeting the residents and faculty. I firmly believe you are a product of who you surround yourself with and so I found identifying a group of individuals that embodies who I want to become to be the best way to create my rank list. The attributes may be different for everyone, but I wanted a group of sociable, empathetic, and hard-working individuals and found that and so much more at CMC. The culture of the residency flows into the hospital and I have been blown away by the fantastic relationships formed amongst the faculty, residents, nurses, consultants and all the Atrium employees. It makes residency genuinely fun and gets you excited to go into work every day. The other big attraction was training at a program that combines traditional county, community and academics. I felt that that combination allowed for the greatest diversity in patient demographics and acuity as well as a perfect springboard into deciding what type of environment I'd like to practice in long term.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Obviously, things are a little limited by COVID at the moment, but Charlotte has been everything I loved about growing up in the mid-west but more. The 16th largest city in the US boasts an incredibly friendly and diverse population, low cost of living, phenomenal weather and proximity to great beaches, mountains and rivers make it the perfect place to call home. There's always something to do, eat or drink which I know will only get better once we defeat the COVID!
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Hopefully no longer wearing masks everywhere! My career interests are still very broad and can see myself enjoying many of the fellowship options or jumping straight into practice. Fortunately, CMC provides the balance to keep all those doors open! I'm looking forward to teasing out what niche of emergency medicine I'll eventually call home over the upcoming year.
|
 |
Dominic Nicacio
Hometown: Seattle, WA
College: Arizona State University
Medical school: University of Washington
Why you chose CMC: Most importantly, I wanted a program where I could be confident I would receive the best opportunities to learn emergency medicine. CMC has excellent infrastructure for the EM resident, a strong reputation in the EM community and incredibly accomplished, down to earth faculty who are your mentors and teachers. One thing that stood out to me on interview day was how confident the 2nd and 3rd year residents came across and how fun and effortless their interactions were with each other. Another factor for me was wanting to live in a fun city where I could enjoy my time off, and I can promise that Charlotte will not disappoint. As a final perk, the benefits you receive being a resident here just make your life easy, definitely look into it!
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: I drove over 2600 miles from Seattle to make it out here and would do it again! North Carolina is a beautiful state with mountains, beaches and rivers all within a couple hours. I love the sunny, warm weather and the cost of living here is really nice! There are endless restaurants, bars, breweries, cool parks and trails to explore, you won’t be bored!
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: In ten years time, I think I will probably move back home to Washington State to be with my family, although I am definitely open to life’s possibilities. I plan on working in a community ED setting and staying true to my calling to medicine. On a separate note, after several years of hard work and long hours, I do look forward to a little bit of that work-life-balance that a career in emergency medicine can afford. Lastly, I plan to stay close with the great friends I’ve made here at CMC, my second family.
|
 |
Robert Nicholson
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
College: University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Medical school: Virginia Tech-Carilion School of Medicine
Why you chose CMC: I had the opportunity to do an away rotation at CMC as a 4th year medical student and really loved the program and people. I was amazed at how smart, humble and fun all of the faculty and residents were. Everyone was so welcoming and invested in my educational experience that I really felt that CMC was the perfect environment for my learning style. I am very thankful for the opportunity to train here because I know that I will be both pushed and supported as I work to become the best physician and leader that I can be.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: There is no shortage of good beer and the city's growth over the past 10 years has been unbelievable. For someone who grew up here, I feel like I moved to a new city and I still get to live close to my family. We're also lucky to live 2 hours from Asheville and 3 hours from Charleston so there are plenty of opportunities to take a quick trip to the mountains or beach.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I'm not sure where I'll be or what it'll look like, but hopefully I'll be building a family, adventuring with my dog, mentoring medical students/residents and taking care of sick patients.
|
 |
Courtney Owen
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
College: Vanderbilt University
Medical school: Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
Why you chose CMC: I rotated at CMC as a 4th year medical student and absolutely fell in love – the program has everything I wanted in an Emergency Medicine training program. CMC has an extremely high patient volume, complexity and acuity that I knew would prepare me to practice anywhere in the country upon graduating. The patients, residents, faculty and staff also come from diverse racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds and there is a culture of respect and willingness to learn from others’ different perspectives. In addition to the awesome teaching that happens on shift, there are so many opportunities to learn and develop your niche within the field through weekly academic presentations, research opportunities and rotations abroad. Above all else, what most attracted me was the fact that the residents and even the faculty and staff are like one big family who love hanging out and enjoying one another, and who look forward to coming to work every day to serve our patients and the Charlotte community.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Charlotte has all the benefits of a major city – an international airport, a diverse population, museums, art and culture, multiple major league sports teams, a thriving social scene, delicious restaurants and too many breweries to count – but it also has a welcoming, small town feel and an extremely affordable cost of living, even on a resident salary. It is also in an amazing location being only 3 hours from the beach and even closer to the mountains. No matter your interest, Charlotte either has it or isn’t far from it!
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: In 10 years I would love to be an Emergency Medicine faculty member at a program teaching residents and medical students, and a continued advocate for diversity in the medical field. Outside work, I hope I’m a loving partner to my husband, and awesome mom to any of our future children. I also pray I’m not still paying off medical school loans and instead spending any excess cash on a boat and/or yearly trips to Fiji. A girl can dream.
|
 |
Morgan Penzler
Hometown: Fairfax, VA
College: University of South Carolinas (Go Gamecocks!)
Medical school: University of South Carolina School of Medicine – Columbia, SC
Why you chose CMC: After rotating here as a fourth-year medical student, I knew I wanted to be a part of the CMC community. There is the perfect mix of academic and community medicine, high volume and complex patients, creating the perfect environment for residency training. The residents and faculty are incredibly hard-working, friendly, and enthusiastic about their jobs. There are so many fantastic opportunities to dive deep into EM specialties as well – especially global health, PEM and ultrasound. Hands down though, my favorite part of CMC is how supportive and close-knit the program is. There were always volleyball or kickball games being organized after shift, or people would head to explore a new restaurant or brewery on the weekends. I loved that significant others, children and pets would always be a part of these too! I could not be more excited to be a part of the CMC fam!
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: One of my favorite parts about Charlotte is the abundance of outdoor activities! There are endless parks, running trails and hiking trails in and around the city. The national whitewater center has amazing options for white water rafting, mountain biking, trail running and rock climbing (only about 15min from downtown too). There is also easy access to some spectacular hikes/backpacking opportunities in Linville Gorge and Pisguh national forest (only about 2 hours away).
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: TBD – there really are too many awesome options for EM physicians. I know I would love to be involved in global health medicine, and I anticipate using my time at CMC to explore some of their amazing rotations abroad. PEM, ultrasound and wilderness medicine are also high up on my list. I’m looking forward to exploring all the possibilities over the next year or two and figuring out which direction I’ll go!
|
 |
Eric Sabatini-Regueira
Hometown: Florianópolis/Brazil
Medical school: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina/Brazil
Why you chose CMC: My interview experience at CMC was incredible! I could see that residents and faculty here are a true family. After Match Day, I had a great first impression on our leadership and current residents, who were outstanding in helping me navigate the difficult waters of moving to a new country; making it clear that I had chosen the right place to be at!
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Charlotte is a great thriving city! The weather here makes for great outdoor experiences year-round, and being close to the beach and mountains is a plus. There are plenty of bars and breweries around the city, exploring new ones with friends is always a great experience!
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I’m very interested in doing an EMS fellowship after residency and having pre-hospital emergency medicine as a significant part of my work life. I believe a community setting with some medical student/resident teaching mixed in would make for the ideal practice setting for me. I also anticipate being involved with expanding and improving emergency medicine education and care abroad.
|
|
Ariana Trautmann
Hometown: Originally Montville NJ, but have lived in Tallahassee, FL since I was about 6
College: Florida State University
Medical school: Florida State University College of Medicine
Why you chose CMC: Initially, I was drawn to CMC for their strong reputation of producing amazing Emergency Medicine Physicians who really seemed to be able to handle anything that was thrown their way which was always super important to me when choosing a program. On interview day, I fell in love with the program even more. It was immediately apparent that the people here (attendings, residents, nurses and other staff) really were one big, happy family. Having come from a really big, really close-knit family and always having been a short drive away, finding a program where I could be a part of a family again was huge. Everyone here is incredibly willing to help others and help you learn no matter if they're part of your program or a completely different field all together.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Coming from Florida, we never had seasons. It was just hot and then occasionally cold. I’m getting to finally experience seasons here! There’s so many outdoor activities here that make having seasons and some cooler, pretty days, really nice! It’s also such a fun place to live. There really is something for everybody in Charlotte, from great food and cool breweries, to nearby areas good for kayaking and hiking, you can really stay busy with the time off you have.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Still not entirely sure. I’ve always loved pediatrics and may end up pursuing a PEM fellowship, but I’m still keeping my mind open and *hopefully* will have made a decision by the end of residency.
|
 |
Sean Trostel
Hometown: Marietta, GA
College: University of Georgia
Medical school: Medical College of Georgia
Why you chose CMC: CMC is the perfect blend of clinical intensity and academic opportunity, all at a 3-year program in an amazing city close to home. Of all the places that I interviewed, CMC was the most well-rounded, and the people here felt like "my people." When I interviewed here, it was plainly obvious just how close everyone was - not just the residents, but families and significant others as well. It was the only place I found where families and significant others showed up to the interview dinner without their resident partners! For a program with such a strong history and reputation, the residents and faculty here were the most down to earth and personable of the programs that I visited.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Charlotte feels like a younger, newer version of Atlanta where I grew up. There are so many great, affordable places to live within a 10-minute drive of the hospital. We never run out of great restaurants to try or new beers to drink. On off days, there are tons of outdoor activities - Crowders Mountain, the Catawba River, the Whitewater Center, Reedy Creek, etc.. For weekends off, we are just a couple of hours from the mountains, the beach, Asheville and many other great cities.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: After graduating, I'll either do a fellowship (possibly critical care) and enter academics or spend a few years in community practice before returning to academics, at least part time.
|
|
Marie Wofford
Hometown: Prince George's County Maryland
College: Spelman College
Medical school: UNC School of Medicine (Go Heel!)
Why you chose CMC: I spent the third year of my medical training at Atrium Health and also rotated with the CMC EM program during my fourth year of medical school. My experiences working with outstanding faculty, residents and staff solidified by interest and passion for coming to train at Atrium Health. The patient population, volume, and culture of the CMC EM program is unparalleled to any program I experienced on the interview trail. I found that the people at CMC were like family and family is very important to me!
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Charlotte is a charming, vibrant, and growing city. Coming from the Washington, DC metro area, I knew I wanted to live in a city with a diverse population and fun things to do! I love exploring new restaurants, running on trails, living close to wineries and being close to the airport so that I can travel and see family when time permits.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I chose EM because I love caring for all patients of all backgrounds. Right now, I am working towards becoming a competent physician with an appreciation of how social determinants of health affect marginalized populations. In the future, I plan on using my Master of Public Health to better inform my clinical practice of medicine in the community and potentially pursue fellowship to advance the health of all populations. I love being a lifetime learner, lifelong teacher and the numerous opportunities EM has to offer! Please check back with me in 1 year…hopefully I know what I want to do in ten years by then! One thing I do know, is that I will have my supportive husband by my side and maybe even a few kids.
|
