Meet the Team

Will Denq, MD, CAQ-SM // CEO // @willdenq

Will Denq is an assistant professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. He has been actively involved in free open access medicine since 2015 and believes that it is and will be the future of medical education. He practices both Emergency Medicine (EM) and Sports Medicine (SM) and has realized the need for more high-quality musculoskeletal education in EM. He has also recognized the difficulty in achieving academic scholarship in young educators. Since, he has founded Ortho Pearls to provide opportunities for both learners and educators to disseminate more accessible, peer-reviewed, and easy to digest material through this website and the e-mail series, Wild Ortho Wednesdays.

Alex Tomesch, MD // Chief Editor // @DocTomesch

Alex Tomesch is currently an Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine at the University of Missouri where he has been since completing a sports medicine fellowship in June of 2021. Why online education? Through my education, I've seen a large shift from textbooks to online education. Having materials that are easily available at our fingertips at all times is invaluable and will aid in being a better doctor. Working in academic medicine has really grown my love of teaching and I enjoy being able to produce online education to help further the knowledge of my fellow physicians. Why are you interested in the juncture between EM and SM? EM and SM have a lot of overlapping concepts. I chose to complete a fellowship in sports medicine due to these overlaps and my love of athletics. Many of the patients we see in the Emergency Department have MSK complaints and I have found my additional training to be very helpful in treating them.

Mark Hopkins, MD // Chief Writer // @legendarymhops

Mark Hopkins is a board-certified emergency/sports medicine physician practicing in Boise, Idaho. He has been a regular contributor to Ortho EM Pearls since 2019 and currently oversees the recruitment and training of authors as well as content creation. Why online education? I like taking "just call ortho" out of the emergency provider vocabulary. There's almost always so much we can do and fix first! Online education allows us a forum to disseminate that information freely and easy to a broad audience hungry for more learning. Why are you interested in the juncture between EM and SM? Emergency sports medicine is fun medicine. The most satisfying procedures and best stories come from caring for athletes in the acute setting.

Matt Negaard, MD, CAQ-SM // Director of Social Media // @MattNegaard

Matt is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and sports medicine physician at Methodist Sports Medicine. Why online education? Online education is essential in modern medicine. I want to be a part of the community providing high-quality, evidence-based, peer-reviewed online education that can help grow the knowledge base of its readers. Why are you interested in the juncture between EM and SM? The complementary skill sets of EM and SM make the practice of both all that more unique and interesting. The EM skill set is so advantageous for sideline and event coverage of any type. It gives EM the skills to be able to adapt to any situation. This adaptability lends itself well to SM. The MSK exam and ultrasound skills come in very handy during the day-to-day practice of EM.

Tabitha Ford, MD // Illustrative Director and Advisor // @TabeduFord

I have always been a frequent user of online educational sources. During medical school, I became reliant on reputable online sources to help me understand some of the most complex concepts in medicine. In those years, I began envisioning ways in which I could help simplify difficult topics for other learners. I started teaching frequently while in residency and then went on to begin a fellowship in medical education so that I could expand my knowledge of learning theory and curriculum design to become a better educator. In a busy emergency department, providers often don't have time to read through texts to get the information they need to expeditiously diagnose and treat their patients. WOW was born when Will and I recognized an opportunity to improve the delivery of orthopedic content to emergency providers, and we have been enjoying the chance to create an accessible resource to help you manage your patients' musculoskeletal complaints. Since childhood, I've found myself frequently doodling, drawing, and now painting in my spare time. Most of my artistic development has been self taught, but I did take an art class when I was in high school. In recent years, I've become interested in the intersection of my career as a physician with my enjoyment of sketching. I find that illustration provides an excellent opportunity for the practice of mindfulness and, when I'm doing it for WOW, I feel like I'm increasing my productivity and benefitting our learners while simultaneously enhancing my own wellness.

Kareem Shahin, DO // CTO

Kareem Shahin is currently a sports medicine fellow at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Why online education? Accessibility. Online education has become much more accessible, whether at home or the local library, and allows people to learn at their own pace and become self-learners of any subject. Why are you interested in sports medicine? I am very fascinated by the MSK system. I grew up playing sports and was always interested by the different injuries seen in different sports. I like to break down sports medicine into three parts--prevention with education and strength/conditioning, treatment with medications, procedures, etc. and rehab with physical therapy--and find all three parts equally important and exciting to learn about.

Justine Ko, MD, CAQ-SM // Sports Medicine Section Editor // @justinekomd

Justine Ko is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. She completed her EM residency at Northwestern University and her sports medicine fellowship at MedStar Health/Georgetown University. Why online education? FOAMed has changed medical education in many ways, contributing high- quality, easy-access material and references for learners. We all love quick, reliable on-shift access. Why are you interested in the juncture between EM and SM? So many of our patients in the ED present with MSK complaints- having a better understanding of these injuries has certainly made me a better EM doctor. Likewise, I think the EM skill set enhances team coverage, sideline management, and the primary care sports medicine role.

R. Conner Dixon, MD // Sports Medicine Section Editor // @rcdixon12

Conner Dixon is currently working full time in emergency medicine at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara. He is also acting as a team physician for the California State University East Bay Pioneers in Division II. He finished his sports medicine fellowship at Georgetown University and his emergency medicine residency at Stanford. Why online education? Open-access online education is a rapidly growing adjunct to traditional learning accommodating the ever-changing practice of medicine. Textbooks and other traditional teaching methods can take years to update while FOAMed resources can continuously incorporate the latest evidence or techniques to better guide our learners and teachers. Why are you interested in the junction of sports medicine and emergency medicine? SM and EM go hand-in-hand and he believes that every EM physician can benefit from more MSK education and every SM physician can benefit from more acute/emergency care knowledge. He is dedicated to expanding the relationship of the two fields and contributing to the education of both specialties.