Laleh Gharahbaghian, MD

Laleh Gharahbaghian, MD

Emergency medicine doctor


Clinical Professor, Emergency Medicine

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Additional Languages Spoken:
Farsi , Spanish

Biography


Dr. Laleh Gharahbaghian was born in Iran, came to the United States at the young age of 3 years, and grew up in San Diego where she became an avid beachgoer and body surfer. In her teens, she volunteered at various community organizations, including the AIDS Foundation and San Diego's Youth and Community Services, due to her commitment in giving back to the community where not many would tread. Although she was an advocate for social determinants of health at UCSD, it was while working in 911 dispatch and with paramedics as an EMT before entering medical school where her interest in emergency medicine flourished. She was witness to the human impact of the gaps in complex insurance coverage, public health policies, and systems of care. She is determined to continue healthcare advocacy for all people, especially our vulnerable populations, and to be the voice for those who need one the most.

She is an academic emergency physician who completed her medical school, residency, and chief resident year at UC Irvine and Emergency Ultrasound fellowship at Stanford. She stayed to be Director of Emergency Ultrasound program, then served as Medical Director for Adult Emergency Medicine, and now as Process Improvement Director. Her interests include clinical operations, human factors engineering, quality improvement, resident education, point of care ultrasound in medical education and emergency care, and case-based learning for ultrasound interpretation and integration.

Her research involves the study of professionalism on patient/provider care, high quality care advocacy, various point-of-care ultrasound applications in the management of critical patients, in the screening of trauma patients, and medical education through simulation models.

She is a leader in the growing national point of care ultrasound educational mission, and leads several very successful educational innovations in emergency ultrasound, including her internationally-known blog, SonoSpot.com, and being the first to create an online case-based ultrasound-focused educational game in SonoDocGame.com. Due to her belief that adding ultrasound can enhance learning of the human body and disease while quickening diagnoses and life-saving interventions, she has gone from co-directing UltraFest, a free national medical student ultrasound symposium at Stanford, to traveling across the country and internationally to lecture on ultrasound integration into emergency practice at various developed and underdeveloped countries. She continues to instruct at several successful national CME ultrasound workshops, and was co-editor of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Ultrasound newsletter. She now serves on the Board for their Clinical Ultrasound Accreditation Program.

Her most recent academic focus involves case review workflows for optimal patient safety strategies and the impact of professionalism and communication on patient care. She is a Stanford HealthCare committee member for the Stanford Committee of Professionalism and Care Improvement Committee and the Co-Chair of the emergency medicine Case Review Committee. Dr. Gharahbaghian contributes as a Faculty Mentor in the Chief Resident and Fellowship Incubator for the internationally known Academic Life in Emergency Medicine group, as well as on a national lecture series on the above topics of her professional interest. These educational efforts and her supervisory role in the emergency department have resulted in many faculty teaching awards.

She continues to work clinically in the emergency department to care for her patients, to be an advocate for social health, ensuring the highest quality of care, and provides system improvements such that all patients and their family members feel assured that they are in good hands.

Professional Summary


Education & Certifications
  • Board Certification: American Board of Emergency Medicine, Emergency Medicine (2008)
  • Fellowship, Stanford University, Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship (2008)
  • Residency: UCI Medical Center Dept of Emergency Medicine (2007) CA
  • Medical Education: UC Irvine School of Medicine (2004) CA

Honors & Awards
  • Alumni of the Year, University of California, Irvine, Department of Emergency Medicine (2012)
  • Annual Faculty Clinical Teaching - Honorable Mention, Stanford Emergency Medicine (2016)
  • Annual Faculty Clinical Teaching Award, Stanford Emergency Medicine (2011)
  • Annual Faculty Clinical Teaching- Honorable Mention, Stanford Emergency Medicine (2015)
  • Cal-ACEP Scientific Assembly Best Research Project, CalACEP (2006)
  • Certificate of Achievement, ACEP American Association of Women in Emergency Medicine (2016)
  • Long Beach Memorial Medical Center Applause Award for Outstanding Service, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center (2005)
  • Outstanding Medical Director Award (national), Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine, Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (2019)
  • Quarterly Faculty Clinical Teaching Award, Stanford Emergency Medicine (2007)
  • Quarterly Faculty Clinical Teaching Award, Stanford Emergency Medicine (2012)
  • Resident of the Year, University of California, Irvine, Department of Emergency Medicine (2007)
  • SV Mahadevan Leadership Award, Stanford Emergency Medicine (2018)
  • Teaching Excellence Award (national), Society of Academic Emergency Medicine, Academy of Emergency Ultrasound (2017)
  • Top Section Editor of the Year, Western Journal of Emergency Medicine (2014)

Memberships
  • Board Member, ACEP Clinical Ultrasound Accreditation Program (2022 - Present)
  • Member, SHC Committee of Professionalism (2019 - Present)
  • Member, Care Improvement Committee, SHC (2017 - Present)
  • Co-Chair, Professional Practice Evaluation committee, Emergency Medicine (2016 - Present)
  • Patient Safety Champion, Emergency Medicine/Stanford HealthCare (2016 - Present)
  • Mentor, Academic Life in Emergency Medicine, Fellowship Incubator (2016 - 2019)
  • Mentor, AAEM/RSA blog (2016 - 2018)
  • Interim Director, Professional Practice Evaluation Committee, Emergency Medicine (2016 - 2016)
  • Voting Member/Reviewer, ACEP Clinical Ultrasound Accreditation Program (2015 - Present)
  • Mentor, Academic Life in Emergency Medicine, Chief Resident Incubator (2015 - 2019)
  • Co-Chair, ACEP Ultrasound Section Newsletter (2014 - 2017)
  • Clinical Liaison, Radiology, Department of Emergency Medicine (2012 - Present)
  • Voting Member, Professional Performance and Evaluation Committee, Emergency Medicine (2012 - Present)
  • Section Author, ACEP Ultrasound Section Newsletter, Tips & Tricks (2012 - 2019)
  • Member, Education Committee- Ultrasound, Cal ACEP (2009 - 2013)
  • Section Editor/Reviewer, Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, Emergency Ultrasound (2008 - 2021)
  • Resident Respresentative, CalAAEM/WestJEM (2006 - 2007)
  • Steering Committee Member, Emergency Medicine Residents' Association (2005 - 2006)
  • Resident Representative, Emergency Medicine Residents' Association (2004 - 2006)

Administrative Appointments
  • Assistant Medical Director, Emergency Imaging, Department of Emergency Medicine (2016 - 2017)
  • Associate Director, Stanford Emergency Ultrasound (2008 - 2011)
  • Co-Chair, Professional Practice Evaluation Committee, Emergency Medicine (2016 - Present)
  • Co-Director, Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship (2008 - 2013)
  • Director, Stanford Emergency Ultrasound (2011 - 2017)
  • Director, Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship (2013 - 2017)
  • Medical Director, Department of Emergency Medicine (2017 - 2022)
  • Member, SHC, Care Improvement Committee (2016 - Present)
  • Member, SHC Committee of Professionalism (2019 - Present)
  • Patient Safety Champion, Stanford HealthCare, Emergency Department (2016 - Present)
  • Physician Improvement Leader, SHC, Emergency Medicine (2017 - Present)
  • Process Improvement Director, Department of Emergency Medicine (2022 - Present)
  • Radiology Liaison, Department of Emergency Medicine (2014 - Present)
  • Trauma Liaison, Department of Emergency Medicine (2016 - Present)

Publications

Practice Locations


Marc and Laura Andreessen Adult Emergency Department Stanford, CA
Stanford, CA

1199 Welch Road

Stanford , CA 94304

(650) 723-5111

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