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Recruitment Director's Message

Northwestern Emergency Medicine has demonstrated a commitment to training the best in emergency medicine, and diversity, equity and inclusion are core to that mission”

Aaron Quarles, MD, MPP
Recruitment Director 
Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine

At Northwestern EM, we train leaders.

Our charge is to ensure that NUEM graduates are prepared to lead inclusive teams in the delivery of high-quality, equitable care to patients among diverse communities. That mission requires providing not only excellent clinical training in a variety of care settings but also an intentional approach to professional development. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core to that mission.

We are privileged to stand at the front door of the communities we serve, and that privilege demands awareness of the many social comorbidities cloaking our patients as they present to the safety net for society. Adequately addressing health disparities requires a healthcare workforce and leadership that embodies the diversity of our communities.

At NUEM, we conduct a holistic review of applications with a focus on equity. There are no USMLE cutoffs. We strongly encourage applications from talented candidates who identify as women, URM, and LGBTQIA+.

We deliver care in one of the most diverse cities in the US, and we do so in teams representing that very diversity. Our residents, faculty, and staff live, work, eat, and play in the same communities as our patients.

Much like learning to manage the airway or resuscitate a septic patient, diversity and inclusion serve as yet another skill available for us to master. Read any business journal and you will see that diverse teams come out on top in profitability, problem-solving, and success. In medicine, there is no difference. Appreciating the differences which we all bring to Emergency Medicine will only enhance our specialty’s ability to care for our communities.

While at NUEM, you will also be exposed to world-class faculty in both the ED and off-service rotations. Opportunities to engage mentors of diverse racial, gender, and sexual orientations are presented throughout the department and larger McGaw and Feinberg communities. Those mentoring relationships often extend beyond Northwestern, reflecting the close ties we have with surrounding programs.

Recognizing the unique needs and challenges of diverse trainees and faculty, we have developed mentoring events focused on Women in EM, and URM in EM. Feinberg maintains a faculty, student, and trainee OutList and AllyList. We take pride in providing a diverse and inclusive environment wherein our residents safely care for patients and lead inclusive teams. Our department has developed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee made up of MDs, APPs, RNs, and other staff to ensure we live up to that charge.

The most meaningful experiences (and education) come from our patients. Communicating with the Spanish-speaking mother of a febrile infant; learning about the struggles of the disabled 25-year-old; sharing laughs with the 16-year-old who is shocked to find that a doctor listens to hip-hop; conveying my preferred pronouns to a transgender teen; praying with the Muslim family of a dying ICU patient -- NUEM has exposed me to an astonishingly diverse patient population over my career.

With a catchment area of over 1 million people, you will care for patients from all over the Chicagoland area, and quite frankly the world. Between NMH, Lurie, Lake Forest, Stroger, and Methodist (Gary), we literally see it all.

NUEM has demonstrated a commitment to training the best in emergency medicine, and diversity, equity, and inclusion are core to that mission. Come join us and see for yourself.

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