October 2nd, 2021 by Love Tsai
On Sunday, September 26, 2021, NSS hosted its very first Clinical Conversations of the 2021 fall term with Dr. Kathleen Clem.
Dr. Clem is an emergency medical specialist affiliated with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, as well as a professor at Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine. She received her medical degree from Loma Linda University School of Medicine, where she also completed her residency. Dr. Clem also has extensive experience in hospital management, having served as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer for Adventist Health System (now Advent Health). Before coming to Dartmouth, Dr. Clem was Chair and Chief of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Loma Linda University, as well as the first female Division Chief in the Duke University Departments of Surgery and Division of Emergency.
During this virtual shadowing event, Dr. Clem presented a case study of a young, pregnant woman at a community emergency center. The woman was involved in a car accident case that had gotten routed to this community center out of necessity—in ideal circumstances, the patient would have had enough time to be transported to a trauma center. In leading the group of 39 students through this case, Dr. Clem revealed information in stages, building up a complete picture of the emergency room healthcare team that includes more medical disciplines in one room than any other specialty.
During the case study, students had the opportunity to learn about the technical side of emergency medicine such as the procedure of necessitative hysterectomy. Students also were able to learn about emergency medicine as a profession and a specialty. Dr. Clem noted that her interest for her work came because of her desire to have patient-facing, vital interactions as a healthcare provider, noting at the start of the presentation that “Emergency helps anyone at any time.” Lastly, Dr. Clem was also able to ask questions about the more emotional side of her job, from self-care after a busy and not always successful day on the job to making decisions when health outcomes seem bleak.
The NSS is grateful for Dr. Kathleen Clem and the time she had given to help support our undergraduates in their journey towards medicine. Clinical Conversations will continue this fall either virtually or in-person; more details can be found through weekly emails on the Listserv or by contacting one of our executive members or faculty advisor, Dr. Lee Witters.
