Ep 045 How to Become a Camp Doctor: Dara Kass, MD

Aug 7, 2018

In today’s episode, we are so happy to welcome back our most frequent guest of the podcast. She is the multi-talented Emergency Medicine Physician and Founder of FeminEM, Dara Kass, MD. I first talked with Dara in Episode 3 of the Hippocratic Hustle Podcast. In that episode, Dara explained how she was developing a conference specifically for EM women physicians. Then, in Episode 25, Dr. Kass was back to discuss how amazing the conference was and its significance. Today, Dr. Kass is back again to tell us all about the most rewarding physician job she has ever had as a camp doctor and how you can become one too! She also tells us all about her newest venture with Camp Health Consulting and how she is leading the way in camp healthcare.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why Dr. Kass created The FeminEM Podcast and what’s new on her show.
• How she got involved in becoming a camp doctor and why she was interested in it.
• What Camp Health Consulting is and why Dr. Kass started this new venture.
• The most rampant disease at summer camp!
• What types of physicians work at camps and how you can get involved.
• How Camp Health Consulting is implementing protocols at camps.
• How Dr. Kass set up the Camp Health Consulting business model.
• Why she loves camp and thinks it is a life changing, magical experience.

Dr. Dara Kass is currently an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in NYC. A graduate of SUNY Downstate Medical School and Kings County Hospital’s EM residency, she has spent her entire clinical career working in within the 5 boroughs of New York. Upon completion of her residency, Dr. Kass joined the fledgling faculty Staten Island University Hospital, where she helped start its EM residency. Dr. Kass left Staten Island 5 years ago to join the faculty at NYU as their director of undergraduate medical education. Dr. Kass stepped back from her defined title at NYU to focus on FemInEM, an open access resource for women in EM. Most recently, she now serves as an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in NYC where she is also the Director for Equity and Inclusion in the ED. Dr. Kass lives in Brooklyn NY with her husband, Michael and 3 kids, Hannah, Charlie and Sam.

Links we discussed in the show:

• The FeminEM Idea Exchange (FIX 2018) Conference: October 16-18th in NYC
• Listen in on The FeminEM Podcast.
• Find more information about camps at The American Camp Association.
• Learn more about Dr. Kass’ newest venture into Camp Health Consulting and Certification.
• For more information on camp jobs email: [e-mail].

Quotes from Dara Kass, MD:

• “There is no textbook in camp healthcare.”
• “We need to be quicker in our resources and our reactions, but if you do it consistently, it’s awesome.”
• “You get to teach kids to be autonomous.”
• “You need doctors and nurses who are trained in camp to come there and do a great job.”
• “It is so much fun to practice medicine this way!”

Special thanks to this week’s sponsor: The White Coat Investor’s new course Fire Your Financial Advisor!

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