Camilo E. Gutiérrez
Department
Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Academic rank and title
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Biosketch
I was born in Colombia to Physician parents (Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Pediatric & Adolescent) and surely enough followed the footsteps into medical education; finished my Medical School training at El Bosque University School of Medicine in Bogotá. At that time completed elective clerkships at Harvard Medical School and at Miami Children’s Hospital in Florida, followed by a year as Research Assistant at the Epidemiology Division of the Center for Disease Control at the National Institute of Health in Bogotá, while teaching microbiology at my Medical School and studying for the USMLE.
I completed my Residency Training in General Pediatrics at Miami Children’s Hospital in Miami, Fl. Followed by a very fulfilling Fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine in Columbus Ohio at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital (formerly Columbus Children’s Hospital) affiliated to The Ohio State University School of Medicine. It was interesting transformation moving from South Beach to Columbus to say the least!
I have an Attending Physician in the Pediatric Emergency Department and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine since 2008, where in addition to clinical work have the opportunity to work closely with Residents from the Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics, and BU Medical Students among other diverse trainees.
Outlook on diversity
Having the opportunity to train in different environments and experiencing first hand the hurdles as a Foreign Medical Graduate applying for Residency training, Fellowship and even Faculty positions in the US, I have a rather unique perspective of the importance of understanding the roles that social constructs play in our current educational climate. I firmly believe that mentorship plays a key role in supporting and encouraging others – not to follow – but to create their own steps towards their individual academic and personal goals. Finally, I support that a multicultural and socially open environment generates a surplus of knowledge, interactions and experiences that can only enrich everyone’s perspective.
Academic interests
During Fellowship, I developed further interest in Pediatric Trauma, advanced and difficult airway management, sedation & analgesia, and critical care management in the Emergency Department. Currently at Boston Medical Center I act as coordinator between Pediatric Emergency Medicine and the Pediatric Trauma Service, and as liaison between Pediatrics and Boston EMS.
Recently my interest has also focused increasingly in International Pediatric Emergency Medicine, having the opportunity to interact with counterparts in Latin America, through well established groups within American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), International Federation of Emergency Medicine (IFEM), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). I have had the chance to lecture at international arenas in Colombia, Dominican Republic and Mexico, and looking forward helping to develop formal Pediatric Emergency Fellowship training in Colombia. We have developed exchange programs for our Students, Residents and Fellows to rotate in Colombia as well.
Extracurricular interests
I also believe that an often neglected part during the busy medical career is the importance of balance with the personal life and interests.
I am quite involved in the arts world and sit at the Board of the Catalyst Committee at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the, where we develop new initiatives for outreach and collaborate with new programs at the multicultural level.
Following into family steps enjoying food & wine, I belong to a few gourmet associations in special the Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, and within it, L’Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs and the Société Mondial du Vin & Brillat Savarin Academie, all who through camaraderie bring people with similar interests around the world under one same table.
Finally, I enjoy my summers sailing in the Boston Harbor and occasionally in the Caribbean. Try to play tennis and golf quite unsuccessfully now, however it balances out with a touch of yoga and mindfulness meditation under the guidance of the great Lama Migmar Tseten in Cambridge.