For this entry in our EMPower series, we spoke with the esteemed Judith Tintinalli, MD, MS, FACEP. Not only is Dr. Tintinalli wildly accomplished in the field of emergency medicine, but she is also charismatic, and it's a pleasure to learn from her. A huge fan of EMRA, Dr. Tintinalli shares her pearls as we get to know her a little bit better in this edition of EMPower.
Dr. Tintinalli is a professor and chair emeritus of the department of EM at UNC Chapel Hill. She graduated from the Wayne State University School of Medicine. She completed residency at the University of Michigan and earned a master’s in clinical research design and statistical analysis from that institution as well. She is a prior president of the ABEM, founding president of CORD, past president of AACEM, and former chair of the Liaison Residency Committee (forerunner of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education).
She is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of North Carolina Academy of Educators, ACEP’s James Mills Award, a National Education Award, and the Order of the International Federation of Emergency Medicine Fellowship. She is an honorary fellow of ACOEP, and ACEP renamed a prestigious award after her: The Judith E. Tintinalli Award for Outstanding Contribution in Education is presented to an ACEP member who has made a significant contribution to the educational aspects of the specialty.
Dr. Tintinalli is double-boarded in EM and IM and is editor-in-chief of the world’s largest-selling emergency medicine textbook, Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine. She is a prior board member and deputy editor of the Annals of Emergency Medicine. She’s editor-in-chief of AccessEmergency Medicine, the Mcgraw Hill digital library for emergency medicine, and Emergency Physicians Monthly. She is co-editor of EMS: A Practical Guidebook.
First things first, why emergency medicine?
I love everything about it. I would rather die than have a 9-5 job to begin with. I love the diversity, the challenge, the spirit, the teamwork. I've liked it since I was a medical student and had my first rotation in trauma in the ED. It hit me — that's where I want to be.
If you were restarting residency, what advice would you give yourself?
In my intern year, I took a lot of different rotations — cardiology, plastics, etc. — that I thought I would need in the ED. If I started today, I would do an EM residency. I wanted to get the most solid and best kind of degree I could.
What is the best career insight that you want to pass along?
A lot of changes are happening in emergency medicine. For me, looking back at the beginning, EM was difficult and there were challenges everywhere. Embrace the change and the challenges. You'll look back at them and be happy you did.
What keeps you coming to work every day?
Teaching!
What is your best time management tip?
(1) Working in the ED: Get really good at pattern recognition — asking the right questions, honing in on the decision-making for those issues. Try to be focused, and try to focus on one thing at one time. (2) For life: Make lists. By the item, I put a little box, and then I “x” the box and cross out the item. I love to see things done. That’s what we love about the ED. When your shift is done, you have completed something.
Share a few things that are on your desk right now.
Paperwork for a second family home in Durango, Colorado, that we just signed on. And EMRA PEM Essentials! I don't know how you guys do these books so well, but they are fantastic. Also, Tintinalli in your pocket app information.
What is the best on-shift snack?
It was always pizza!
What is the most recent book you read?
The Name of the Rose
What message would you give to EMRA members?
Get involved and stay involved. We know there are problems in emergency medicine. Let those be an accelerant for you. We are POWERFUL, and we have to learn to capture our power so we can apply it better. Problems accelerate our growth.
— Morgan Sweere, MD, MPH, EMRA Board Secretary and EM Resident Editor-in-Chief