Nida (Joy) Emko, MD, FAAFP

 

Interested in Mentoring: I am interested in mentoring medical students, residents, and faculty members. I have been involved in mentoring medical students through the Veritas program for over 10 years and really love connecting with the students in small groups and individually. I also interact with students through Synthesis and the SAMM clinic, and it’s so exciting to see their growth from 1st and 2nd years, when they may not be very confident in their skills and knowledge, to 3rd and 4th years, when they are taking excellent care of patients and mentoring other students in their professional development.

What are your Areas of Interest?:   
Professional Interests:  I am interested in adolescent medicine; medical student education, wellness, and professional development; and care of underserved populations.

 

Personal interests:  I love cheering my two boys on at their various sporting events, going to Orange Theory Fitness with my husband to bond over challenging workouts, and traveling with my family.

Current Projects You Are Working On:
1) I am the medical director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Ministries (SAMM) student-faculty collaboeative practice, and I am faculty advisor for three community service learning projects involving mental health, healthy relationships, and nutrition for the residents at SAMM.
2) I am wrapping up a year-long fellowship with the Academy of Educational Scholars; my fellowship project is developing and evaluating a curriculum for 4th year students and family medicine residents titled Adolescent Medicine in Correctional Health Settings.
3) I am working on a QI project with Dr. Fozia Ali to improve billing and coding knowledge and confidence for our family medicine residents.
4) This year I became a co-faculty advisor for our school’s chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society; I have been learning a lot from the current and former faculty advisors about the ins and outs of being a GHHS advisor and how to best support the 4th year students with their humanism in medicine projects.

Additional Thoughts On Mentoring:  No matter what level of professional development and status you are, you can always be a mentor to someone else. My sons go to a Montessori school, and I love seeing students of different grades working together; even second and third graders work with the first graders on projects and collaborate on presentations. We have more knowledge and experience than we sometimes realize, and being able to guide people who may be lost or unsure is a win-win situation for both parties. I’ve learned a lot from students, residents, and faculty whom I have mentored; while I am helping them, I am also growing and understanding more.