I am Dr. Resa Lewiss, Director of Point-of-Care Ultrasound at University of Colorado: How I Work Smarter

Today we are back with Dr. Resa Lewiss (@ultrasoundREL ), ultrasound guru and pioneer. She has championed ultrasound via each of the three pillars of academics. She is a clinical master of ultrasound, has taught its use worldwide, and has published extensively on the topic. To top is all off, she has taken institutional leadership as the past President of the Academy of Emergency Ultrasound of the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine and the current chair for the Ultrasound Section of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Plus, she has a TEDMed talk. Nominated by Dr. John Bailitz, Dr. Lewiss offers some pointers how she transduces work to success.

• Name: Resa E. Lewiss
• Location: Denver, Colorado
• Current job: Director of Point-of-Care Ultrasound, Department of Emergency Medicine, Department of Radiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine
• One word that best describes how you work: Like a vector (velocity plus direction)
• Current mobile device: iPhone 6
• Current computer: 13” MacBook Pro, Solid state hard drive, Retina display

What’s your office workspace setup like?

Predictably unpredictable

What’s your best time-saving tip in the office or home?

Make a list, run the list, run the list again. Everything counts and checking off boxes gives a feeling of productivity.

What’s your best time-saving tip regarding email management?

• Be mindful of response content and response time.
• Err on the side of politeness. Tone and intention may be lost in email translation.
• Less is more and people do not read long and/or dense messages.

What’s your best time-saving tip in the ED?

• Ask friends and family to step out of the room (details otherwise would not be heard and the patient would not volunteer; I have been very wrong with the presumed relationship of the patient with the accompanying individuals).
• Patients are undressed and in a gown (details otherwise not be seen or smelled and the patient would not volunteer).
• Roll the ultrasound machine into the room real time (details otherwise would be missed and more tests ordered).

ED charting: Macros or no macros?

No macros. Scribes: A surprising opportunity to improve communication and educator skill sets. Most are pre-med and interested.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received about work, life, or being efficient?

• Love and giving can be boundless.
• Balance this knowing that you must take care of yourself – because if you don’t, nobody else will.
• Time is something that you must protect and curate.

Is there anything else you’d like to add that might be interesting to readers?

Never underestimate the power of nature, exercise, and the arts to inspire productivity, creativity and working smarter.

Who would you love for us to track down to answer these same questions?

1. Azita Hamedani, MD, MPH, MBA: Chair, Emergency Medicine Madison, WI
2. James Li, MD: one of the first people I knew to use ultrasound and amongst the first to use it on global health missions (former chief resident at Charity in New Orleans).

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