This is the time when we will develop new approaches to patient safety, quality, efficiency, and transparency. My background in data acquisition and analysis in emergency care will contribute to the ongoing decisions that the Board and the College will be making in fulfilling mandates for the American health system. This is essential for the future of our specialty.

John T. Finnell, MD, MSc, FACEP (Indiana)

Current Professional Positions: fellowship program director, Clinical Informatics; chair, American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Academic Forum; member, AMIA Board of Directors; member, AMIA Education Committee; senior case examiner reviewer, item writer, and oral examiner, American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM); member, ABEM Case Development Panel

Internships and Residency: emergency medicine, UCSF Fresno

Medical Degree: University of Vermont (1991)

Candidate Question Response: We all wear many hats throughout our careers as physicians. My three hats would be emergency physician, educator, and research scientist in biomedical informatics. As an emergency physician, I’ve been practicing medicine since 1995 after graduating from UCSF Fresno as a chief resident. As an educator, I’ve found it rewarding to create and innovate within the fields of emergency medicine and, more recently, within clinical informatics. As a research scientist, I continue to explore and innovate with learners from high school to graduate programs. It is these unique attributes that will provide me with the skills to be your next ACEP Board member.

As a practicing emergency physician for more than 20 years, I will bring judgment and courage to help lead the Board. After graduating from residency, I moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota, to work alongside Bob Knopp and Felix Ankel to create a new emergency medicine residency training program. I was assistant and then associate program director until moving to Indianapolis in 2002. I serve as faculty for Indiana University’s emergency medicine residency program, and I work clinically at a Level I trauma and burn facility that serves Marion County residents.

As emergency physicians, we utilize our best judgment every day. Who’s sick? Who can be safely sent home? Can I trust this learner with this patient or procedure? In the emergency department, we must have timely access to relevant clinical information on medications, allergies, prior visits and hospitalizations, diagnoses, and previous laboratory and radiology data. We must have courage to make the tough calls when the answer isn’t always obvious and when there are considerable consequences if the call is wrong.