The AAMC team (as part of our Specialty Perspectives series) recently sat down with Sarah Jamison, MD, to learn more about her work. Dr. Jamison is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and social media physician-influencer located in the Bronx, New York. Learn more about Dr. Jamison’s work and emergency medicine below.
Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are those of the physician and do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the AAMC.
What attracted you to emergency medicine?
I was interested in emergency medicine before I even got into medical school. I was attracted to the specialty for a few reasons. The primary reason was the immediate gratification of helping people who needed assistance right away. Knowing that I was going to be helping people who only had seconds, minutes, or hours to be able to have some sort of intervention, drew me to the field. Second, was the variety of patients and pathology. We treat everyone from 0-100 years old and see any kind of cases that come in the door. Lastly, as a student who was working and attending medical school in an underserved community, I quickly saw how important the emergency department was for people who would otherwise not be able to receive quality care. For many people, the emergency room is the gateway to the American health care system.
Can you describe a typical workweek?
One of the things I like about the schedule in emergency medicine is that it varies. I’ve always been a night owl. I enjoy working night hours and off shifts. My typical week will include two to three shifts a week, these are typically eight- or 12-hour shifts. I’ll typically have two to three days off in the middle of the week. The schedule, for the most part, is not 9-to-5.
What parts of your job do you find most challenging? What parts do you find most rewarding?
While I enjoy the schedule, it can be challenging as well. Because it is shift work, working as an emergency medicine physician is 24/7, seven days a week, nights, weekends, and holidays. I enjoy working some nights, but there are times when I have to work on a holiday when I’d rather be enjoying life with my family. The other challenge I find is seeing patients that need resources that are much more nuanced than what the emergency room can provide. The emergency room can do a lot, but it can only do so much. It’s difficult to not be able to help patients in the way that I would want to given the boundaries that exist within the emergency room and emergency medicine.
Emergency medicine is busy and can be very stressful. There are some days where you may not be as busy, but in New York that’s not typical. But the work is so rewarding. People often ask me what it’s like to work in emergency medicine and I tell them, it can be stressful but it’s more fun than stressful.
What previous experiences have helped you most as an emergency medicine physician?
I didn’t have a linear path into medicine. I took three years off after graduating college and used that time to do some research and clerical work. When I made it into medical school, I did a lot of work regarding public health and social medicine. Although that’s not clinical per se, it helped me a lot in my career in emergency medicine by teaching me how to navigate different cultures, people, and perspectives. These are things you don’t necessarily learn from your science and medical courses. It gave me a more human approach to being able to relate to patients as people and not just patients.
How would you describe someone who could excel in emergency medicine?
The stereotypical emergency medicine physician is someone who really loves action, adrenaline, and traveling. But I think the type of person who would excel in this space is someone who is caring, flexible, and amenable to change. In the emergency room, you often find yourself working with bare bones. You have to be very resourceful and have the ability to think on your feet, make quick decisions, and work well under pressure. Someone who has the ability to tease out and manage multiple issues at once would succeed in emergency medicine. Very rarely do patients have just one issue you’re treating or dealing with. You’ll be managing multiple issues, some of which are not medical but social issues.
Can you share a project you found especially rewarding?
The project that I’m most proud of in my career is the Summer Enrichment and Mentorship Program, which is a program that I designed for Black and Brown medical students – particularly underrepresented in medicine – to give them an early exposure to emergency medicine. Studies show that underrepresented minorities are very few in medicine and particularly in emergency medicine, which is a shame because the emergency room serves such a diverse group of people. To increase the number of providers who look like the people they serve, I created the Summer Enrichment and Mentorship Program. The program is a six-week summer program with built in mentorship and clinical experience for first-year medical students who are underrepresented in medicine.
It’s been a trend that every year most of the students who participate are the very first doctors in their families. You’ll find that a lot of underrepresented minorities in medicine – like me – are often the first doctors in their families. They’re entering medicine with no real guidance or inside scoop. I’ve found that this program is somewhat of the inside scoop that a lot of these students are lacking. I’m extremely proud of it. It’s my greatest joy.
Are there any emergency medicine resources that our audience should be aware of?
The Emergency Medicine Residents' Association and American College of Emergency Physicians are wonderful resources for medical students and residents who are interested in emergency medicine.
To learn more about Dr. Jamison and her work, follow her on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. You can also visit her website for more information.
Visit the Summer Enrichment and Mentorship Program website to learn more about the program or apply for the next cohort.