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Javi Andrade
Hometown: Nogales, AZ
College: University of Arizona (Bear Down!)
Medical school: University of Arizona College of Medicine
Why you chose CMC: I loved everything about my rotation here, I would have been crazy not to choose this place. The people are awesome, the education is top notch, and the patient population in the ED is largely underserved which was very important for me when looking at programs. Many of the patients I saw/see now don't have a PCP and come to ED for their primary care so being able to help them and educate them on their health adds an extra component I think is important in my EM training. Also, while on shift everyone was super helpful, friendly, and willing to teach which was great as a student. I learnt so much with every patient and had a blast when working. On top of that I had a lot of fun meeting all the residents and hanging out with them outside hospital. I felt very welcome and got that fuzzy, warm family feeling everyone talks about when looking at programs.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Charlotte has all the perks of a big city but in a smaller city package. It's a young professional city with sports teams and so many different things to do depending on your interests. There are so amazing breweries scattered throughout the city and I've enjoyed trying all the different beers out. Also there is a lot of outdoor activities here which I enjoy, which includes the Whitewater center (so awesome), mountains to the West, and the ocean to the East. To top it off, the city is very dog friendly and most places you go to allow dogs, which is great and lets me take my puppers everywhere.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I can see myself still trying to think of something witty to put here. Outside of that my goals are to be involved with medical education and also helping the underserved. Social EM is a big up and coming movement so I hope to be involved with that locally wherever I work but also I hope to help underserved populations around the world and be involved with global health.
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Blake Bauer
Hometown: Panama City, FL
College: Florida State University
Medical school: Florida State University College of Medicine
Why you chose CMC: Two of the attendings at my home institution had trained at CMC, and I aspired to run a department as well as they did. Upon rotating here early 4th year, I saw immediately that this was a place where there is no shortage of sick patients, personable colleagues, and attendings interested in teaching. The residents and faculty had a great relationship between each other, and importantly, with the rest of the hospital. The "family" component that you hear a million times on the interview trail was so evidently a true description of the residents, and I immediately wanted to be a part of it.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: For me, Charlotte is an interesting blend. You can go to 5 different areas within a 5 mile radius and experience: authentic international cuisine from central/south America and southeast Asia, suburban life with cozy neighborhoods, urban-downtown-vibes with high rises and rooftop yoga, eclectic artsy dives with crazy coffee shops, and plenty of surrounding nature including Crowder Mountain, Lake Norman, and the National Whitewater Center! All of that, and not to mention there is no shortage of breweries!
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I'd like to practice community medicine for a while, develop some of my own approaches to practice, and slowly reintegrate into academic medicine. My wife and I are very close with our families back home in Panama City, and would like to stay in the southeast.
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Austin Costa
Hometown: Land O’ Lakes, FL
College: University of Florida (Go Gators!)
Medical school: University of Florida
Why you chose CMC: Hands down, the people. Everyone I met during my interview was extremely friendly and welcoming. The interview dinner felt like a big family reunion between residents. I also wanted a residency program that would provide me the opportunity to care for a variety of sick patients and a diverse patient population. CMC provides both of these and offers some of the best Emergency Medicine educators in the country.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: There’s always something going on around the city. Plenty of awesome outdoor activities from hiking to paddle boarding and white water rafting at The U.S. National Whitewater Center. Most importantly, GREAT craft beer scene with new breweries always popping up.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Likely working in a smaller city. Still undecided on the academic versus private practice route, but highly considering the possibility of a fellowship in sports medicine.
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Jeremy Driscoll
Hometown: Scottsdale, AZ
College: University of Arizona
Medical school: University of Central Florida
Why you chose CMC: The people. Easily my favorite interview dinner on the trail. All of the residents and faculty made me feel incredibly welcome during my entire interview experience. Even having not rotated here as a medical student, everyone was so wonderful and made me feel a part of their family. I interviewed at a lot of great residencies, but CMC was the most well-rounded program and felt that it would provide me with the highest caliber of resident education. Also, the CMC cafeteria easily has the best drink selection out of any hospital in the country.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Fun city with a young vibe. Breweries, breweries and more breweries. Did I mention, breweries? Great outdoors activities like Crowders Mountain and the U.S. National Whitewater Center. So many different events going on each week, it's hard to keep track! And food trucks galore... they even park outside CMC now!
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Not completely sure, but considering a fellowship in sports medicine. I would love to be a staff physician for a college or professional sports team.
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Ethen Ellington
Hometown: Corinth, KY
College: University of Kentucky
Medical school: University of Kentucky
Why you chose CMC: The faculty at CMC pride themselves on pushing you to become the best EM physician possible. At CMC you have the opportunity to train alongside highly respected attendings and incredibly intelligent, but equally humble, residents. On top of that, the entire program has a family atmosphere that I immediately noticed at the interview dinner. It was very important to me to have a program that supported me during the challenges of residency. CMC is also a huge supporter of resident wellness. The program provides you with meals, parking, and departmental social events to keep you sane during the stressful times of residency. CMC had everything I was looking for in a program and more!
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: The people of Charlotte are young and active. The city also has an amazing selection of craft beer; it feels like a new brewery is opening up every week. Charlotte has all the amenities of a large city but you can also find locally owned restaurants and cool hipster areas of town to explore. The location is 3 hours from the mountains or the beach- perfect for a weekend getaway.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Working at an academic center helping to teach residents. Hopefully, the owner of a small brewery offering up delicious brews to my city. Exploring the world during the free time. So many adventures to have, so little time.
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Christopher Gardner
Hometown: Waxhaw, NC
College: NC State University
Medical school: UNC Chapel Hill
Why you chose CMC: As a 3rd year medical student, I had the chance to rotate at CMC for all of my clinical rotations. It was here that I really caught the itch for emergency medicine, and I have this awesome program to thank for that. Even as an MS3, the residents and attendings here made me feel like a part of the team and encouraged me to challenge myself. From the strong program leadership, emphasis on teaching, high-volume setting with diverse patient pathology, and a culture with a strong "family feel", I knew that CMC was the place I wanted to train.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: I've been fortunate to call the suburbs of Charlotte my home for most of my life, and it's been incredible to watch this city continue to grow at such a rapid pace into the modern southern city it is today. The demographic is becoming increasingly young and vibrant, and I think in many ways the city is still finding new ways to define itself. There's no shortage of things to do around town when you aren't at the hospital, and you've got the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi (Mount Mitchell) and the beaches of Charleston all within a few hours drive.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: This is a tough one! I see myself working in the community for a few years at least, but I would like to have some involvement with an academic center in the future, ideally with a focus on ultrasound or global health. The beauty is, whatever new interests I develop over the next few years, I know I'll have the support and training to pursue those interests thanks to this program.
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Jessica Hoglund
Hometown: Toms River, NJ
College: University of South Carolina
Medical school: University of South Carolina
Why you chose CMC: I was initially drawn to CMC because of the excellent reputation here. I had heard that CMC trains top emergency medicine physicians, and of course that appealed to me. The pre-interview dinner and the interview day itself confirmed all of the great things I had heard. I felt like I had truly met my new family. I remember feeling like if I didn't match at CMC, even with all the other excellent programs out there, I would have cried. Luckily, I didn't wind up embarrassing myself on match day. The people here are truly top notch, and it's a program I am proud to be a part of.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Having lived around Charlotte before college, I already knew it had a ton to offer. Charlotte is a young, active, and beautiful city. The food and beer are excellent, and there's always something going on. I love the local farmers market and the greenway that runs right by the hospital. I missed Charlotte when I moved away, and knew I had to find a way to return. It hasn't disappointed yet!
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I'm not totally sure how I'll get there, but I do see myself in academics in the future
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Kregg Laundon
Hometown: Durham, NC but grew up mostly in Chapel Hill
College: Villanova University '08
Med School: University of Queensland Ochsner Clinical School '16
Why you chose CMC: I really enjoyed the interview dinner and meeting so many other residents, as well as their significant others. They made us feel really welcome and it was great to be able to pick so many different people's minds about why they love CMC EM so much. It was also great for my wife to talk to CMC EM significant others and get a feel for what her life would be like in Charlotte.
I also remember more than one faculty member on interview day saying something along the lines of "We don't care if you want to be a chairmen of a hospital or the only doc in a rural Alaskan town, we just want you to be the best." It is great to be at a program that supports you to fulfill your goals whatever they may be, and even better to be at a program like CMC that has a track record of doing just that.
What you love about living in Charlotte: I love being in close proximity to the mountains and the beach. I love living in a place with four distinct seasons. I also love being in a city that is easy to navigate but also has enough bars, restaurants, breweries, and other events to keep me entertained when I need to be.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I know I will be seeing patients in some capacity. I have an affinity for international work and I would really enjoy being involved in a residency program abroad that trains locals to practice EM in their own communities - very similar to what CMC has done with Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In terms of where in the USA we will call home in 10 years, I honestly have no idea... but that's the way my wife and I like it
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Sean Murray
Hometown: Lake Villa, Illinois
College: Augustana College
Medical school: Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
Why you chose CMC: The family nature of the program was evident even before I arrived for my interview, when multiple residents reached out to offer their homes for interviewees to stay it while in Charlotte. Many family members of residents who could not make the dinner showed up to the night before dinner and it became quite clear how much of a tight knit group the residents and their families were. Combine that with the clinical reputation of the program here, it was an absolute no brainer that this is where I belonged.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Beautiful city with a lot to do—tons of parks to explore, lots of breweries to enjoy, mountains and ocean nearby—can’t ask for too much more than that. Charlotte is also an extremely dog-friendly city which was important to my wife and me.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Somewhere in academic medicine, either within a residency program or helping to teach medical students (or both).
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Colin O’Neill
Hometown: De Soto, KS
College: University of Kansas
Medical school: University of Kansas Medical Center
Why you chose CMC: At CMC the sense of family and communal feel is palpable. At the residency dinner there were as many spouses and kids as residents. My fiancé felt as included as I did and this was something I didn't encounter anywhere else.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Brewery on every corner. A wise man said that beer is proof that God loves us. If this is true God must reside in Charlotte.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Not sure, I'm caught between the lure of academics and teaching or practicing in the community to hone my personal skills. It is a story yet to be written
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Jennifer Potter
Hometown: Appleton, Wisconsin
College: Wake Forest University
Medical school: University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Why you chose CMC: I rotated at CMC as a 4th year medical student and fell in love with this program. The faculty are not only some of the best in the EM world, they also care about their residents and rotating medical students. I appreciated that faculty were easy to approach, enjoyed teaching, and allowed me to have more autonomy with patients. I was most impressed by the residents! I found myself wanting to be just like them during my month at CMC. They were knowledgeable, professional, cool under pressure, and enjoyed teaching medical students. The Department feels like family at CMC and that is something I knew I wanted to be part of. I also appreciated that CMC wasn't just good at one thing--there are opportunities to get involved in all aspects of Emergency Medicine.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: My husband and I are loving Charlotte! There are so many restaurants, museums, dog parks, and events to explore. We found a house in a neighborhood about 15 min from the hospital and have found such a great community there as well.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I'm still deciding on what I want my little niche within EM to look like, but I plan to be involved in the pre-hospital EMS community. Whether that is as an EMS fellowship trained medical director or involvement on the teaching/training side in a less official role--only time will tell! I'm sure my time here at CMC will help to further clarify and shape my future path. In 10 years, I'll have a 10-year-old nephew (crazy) that I hope thinks of me as his biggest fan and the best aunt ever. I also hope to still be snuggling with my sweet Weimaraner, Rue
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Nicholena Richardson
Hometown: Bethesda, MD
College: UNC-Chapel Hill
Medical school: ECU Brody School of Medicine
Why you chose CMC: The residents! I loved the idea of living in the city of Charlotte, but what really sealed the deal for me was the residents. Everyone is so supportive, I felt at home here right away.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: The food and culture. There are so many options and so many amazing authentic restaurants, you can find something to satisfy any craving!
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: Academic medicine
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Angela Rombola
Hometown: Winter Haven, Florida
College: University of Florida
Medical school: University of Central Florida
Why you chose CMC: I rotated at CMC during my fourth year of medical school and immediately loved the program and the city. I was impressed with the confidence, competence, and overall happiness of the residents. My decision was reinforced at the interview dinner with such a great turn out from the residents - I could feel the sense of family and it felt like a good fit. CMC undoubtedly has a strong reputation as a well-established program, but the people here surpassed my expectations.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Having lived in Florida my whole life, I was ready for a change! Charlotte is a great city with tons to do! The added plus is the close proximity to outdoor activities, great restaurants and breweries.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I see myself working in a community hospital most likely somewhere in the southeast
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Logan Stark
Hometown: Oakley, CA
College: UC San Diego
Medical school: Florida International University HWCOM
Why you chose CMC: There is a great sense of camaraderie among the residents and faculty. The faculty are fully invested in your growth as a physician and as a person. I wanted a residency program where the residents were close and enjoyed spending time with each other outside of the hospital. Everyone helps each other and the upper levels are excited to share their knowledge and experience with the interns. On an academic level, CMC sees a wide range of pathology with a very high acuity. Another great aspect is that we see all patient demographics. You will see impoverished patients who haven't been to a doctor in years and then in the next room you could see a transplant patient or an oncology patient who is in the care of numerous sub-specialists.
What you love about living in/moving to Charlotte: Charlotte has the amenities of a big city, but doesn't have the crowded feeling of a big city. The neighborhoods around the hospital are very nice with a lot of cool places to check out.
What you see yourself doing in 10 years: I see myself working in a community ED while doing a few academic shifts each month.
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