Nicole Zhao

Nicole Zhao is a third-year medical student at the Renaissance School of Medicine and is currently finishing up her clerkship year. She will be applying for Emergency Medicine residency in the next year. She completed an undergraduate degree in biological sciences at Stony Brook University. She hopes to combine her love for emergency medicine with her passion for geriatric medicine in her future career. Having spent the last ten years as one of the primary caretakers of her grandmother with Alzheimer’s Disease, she is inspired to continue advocating and improving the quality of care for geriatric patients, an underserved population that makes up a large portion of patients in the emergency room. So far, her research has focused on identifying older patients in the ED with life-limiting illnesses and incorporating palliative care and advanced care planning, as well as healthcare system changes that can improve geriatric care. She also has extensive leadership experience at her home institution, promoting emergency medicine through their interest group as well as shedding light on the often marginalized geriatric population. She hopes to continue and expand upon her work to improve care for the growing population of older adults in the ED.

• Academic interest: Geriatric Emergency Care, End of Life Communication, Advance Care Planning