Shehni Nadeem, a (very) recent medical school graduate, has always had an interest in human connections and relationships, which is what led her to study medicine after completing her undergraduate degree in philosophy at Rice University.

“I fell into medicine because of my background with ethics, seeing all of the challenges that arise in healthcare,” she said. “Through this and several key volunteer experiences, I saw the incredible relationships physicians have the opportunity to establish with our community.”

As a first-year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine, Nadeem founded an extracurricular simulation program for students, where she recruited a team of classmates and coached them with current basic life support, advanced cardiovascular life support, pediatric advanced life support and advanced trauma life support protocols. She then went on to establish a curriculum, grow the student participation and coach teams year after year until she was eventually able to form the BCM Simulation Society, through which students have the opportunity to participate in simulation competitions locally, national and even internationally.

Because of her experience, Nadeem was asked to author a 150-page textbook for the Texas College of Emergency Physicians, “Introduction to Simulation: A Guide for Medical Students,” and has been asked to speak at other medical schools and undergraduate institutions about simulation.

In addition, she received an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship through which her work aimed to reduce educational disparities in postnatal care. Specifically, she established the SPEED (Sun Protection Education and Empowerment Discharge) Team to discuss sun safety for newborns. She also reviewed available social programs to help those with economic need and discussed appropriate immunization schedules for newborns in conjunction with mobile clinic vaccination schedules.

Nadeem begins her residency in emergency medicine at Baylor this July.

“I think that emergency medicine is the front line of the hospital. We see people often at their most vulnerable, and we have the very unique privilege to care for them during a time that can be chaotic, uncertain or otherwise frightening. I wanted the opportunity to really make patient experiences as positive as possible from the moment they set foot in the hospital. Additionally, the acute care setting speaks to my background in both simulation and philosophy: there is a clear focus on organizing chaos and focusing on good communication.”

During her time at Baylor, Nadeem has received numerous awards, including:

2016                            Baylor College of Medicine Student Leadership in Community Service Award (Graduation honor)

2016                            EMRA Alexandra Greene Medical Student Award

2016                            ACEP National Outstanding Medical Student Award

2016                            TCEP Community Service Award – Texas Two-Step CPR Training

2016                            HealthCorps Leadership and Public Service Award

2016                            EMRA Travel Scholarship to the Leadership and Advocacy Conference

2014                            First Place – Team USA – SESAM International SimOlympics Competition in Poznan, Poland

2014                            AMSA National SimLympics Competition Champion (First Place)

2013                            ASMA National SimLympics Competition (Second Place)

2012-2013                   Houston-Galveston Albert Schweitzer Fellow