The Full Story
Areas of Expertise
I earned my college degree at the United States Air Force Academy in 2001. Even though my major was biology, the core curriculum at the Academy encompasses military history, multiple types of engineering, military operations and doctrine, and computer science. For a science nerd like me, this was a fantastic education that allowed me to study many different aspects of science and engineering, while completing my prerequisites for medical school.
mass casualty and disaster management
Mass casualty incidents are commonplace from both natural and man made disasters. Millions of dollars are spent every year conducting training to respond to these events, but few people will ever be involved in more than one mass casualty incident response.
My Air Force deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan allowed me a unique perspective of serving as Immediate disaster team chief for multiple small and large scale mass casualty incidents. We were able to test and implement procedures to improve patient care and speed throughput, as incidents happened sometimes on a daily basis.
When I returned from deployment, I was able to apply those lessons learned to helping plan and execute mass casualty exercises here in the US. My real world knowledge of how incidents actually happen gives me a critical perspective on the gaps in mass casualty plans.
My mass casualty and disaster management skills allow me to offer the following expertise:
- Creation and critique of mass casualty response plans
- Mass casualty exercise planning and evaluation
- Personal disaster preparedness
- Presentations on various aspects of mass casualty response
leadership
I earned my college degree at the United States Air Force Academy in 2001. Even though my major was biology, the core curriculum at the Academy encompasses military history, multiple types of engineering, military operations and doctrine, and computer science. For a science nerd like me, this was a fantastic education that allowed me to study many different aspects of science and engineering, while completing my prerequisites for medical school.
The US Air Force Academy, besides being recognized as one of the best engineering schools in the country, is one of the premier leadership training institutions in the world. The purpose of the Academy is to train officers to lead our military, and much both theoretical and practical training occurs during your four years.
During my time at the Academy, I held various leadership roles, ranging from small intimate units to large groups. I was a Cadet Chief Master Sergeant, serving as one of the five highest ranking junior cadets in the Wing, responsible for the morale, welfare, discipline, and training of over 1000 cadets. I later served as an element leader for a group of 12 cadets, learning to be much more involved in the personal development of my subordinates.
Each level of leadership requires different skills, from strategic thinking to individual mentoring. The Academy is one of the only college experiences to teach this type of leadership, and I was privileged to be able to think about leadership from the very infancy of my career.
As my career has matured, I have continued to hone those leadership skills. My leadership speaking topics include:
- How to Push a Rope: How to Influence Your Boss So You Both Win
- Plugging Into the Right Outlet: Leveraging Your Leadership Sources of Power
- Energy Into Effect: How to Create Action After a Meeting
medical leadership
The military encourages leadership early in a physician's career. I served as the medical director for the Emergency Department at David Grant Medical Center, the Air Force's largest hospital.
As a young medical director, I was forced to learn negotiation skills and peer leadership techniques to effectively guide the medical care offered in our emergency department.
Drawing on my experience as a medical director, educational topics I offer are:
- Dropping The Hammer: How to Give Effective Feedback
- How to Start Grassroots Change in Your Institution
- Talk Nerdy to Me: How to Have Excellent Consultant Negotiations
- Fight to Win-Win: How to Negotiate So You Both Win
Clinical Topics:
- Burns: To the Nth Degree
- Redefining Reality in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Personal Development
I've had the unique opportunity to completely "start over" after leaving the military. Leaving a place of comfort and reputation is challenging, and I've learned a lot about establishing new friendships and relationships, as well as continuing to grow and develop personally. I'd love to share some of my insights.
- Ugly Naked: How to Learn to Dress Like an Adult When You Wear Pajamas to Work
- The Hidden Energy Boost from Mentoring
My husband and I chose when our children were little for him to stay home to raise our kids. Almost a decade of experience with a stay at home dad has created some interesting and heartwarming stories to share.
- Managing Your Director of Household Operations
Malcolm S. Forbes
“People who matter are most aware that everyone else does, too.”