Mahmoud A. Ammar, PharmD, BCCCP, BCPS, FCCM, is a clinical pharmacy specialist at Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. He joined the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) in 2014 and is currently involved with the Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Research, and Surgery sections. Additionally, Dr. Anmar volunteers as a member of the Discovery Steering Committee and Discovery Datathon workgroup. You can find him playing music and working out when he is not busy with critical care. Learn more about Dr. Ammar’s professional journey and why he values SCCM membership.
How did you get into critical care?
I spent a month in the medical intensive care unit during my residency training. During that time, I observed how my preceptor was a valuable resource to the multidisciplinary team and significantly impacted the care of critically ill patients. The uniqueness of this patient population, with urgent patient care needs and the use of high-risk medications requiring a good understanding of their pharmacology and pharmacokinetics, got me hooked on critical care.
What advice do you have for those starting their critical care careers?
I advise them to get involved in local and national organizations. These organizations help with networking and career development. Also, identify a mentor to support you through your career journey.
Why do you love being in critical care?
I love being in critical care because I enjoy the challenge and fast-paced environment. It’s a perfect place to use pharmacology knowledge in complex patient cases. You can administer a specific therapy with tools to evaluate the response to these therapies or consider pivoting to a different therapy. It keeps you on your toes.
What is your greatest professional achievement?
My most rewarding professional achievement was earning the FCCM credential by becoming a fellow in the American College of Critical Care Medicine (ACCM) in 2021.
What do you see as the most challenging issue facing critical care?
Critical care’s most challenging issues are drug shortages, scarce resources, and high-cost medications.
What industry trends have you excited about the future?
The industry trend I am most excited about is artificial intelligence’s (AI) role in finding patterns in a complex critical care environment. Several interesting studies have been conducted on how AI models can leverage data from critically ill patients for disease identification, disease evolution prediction, phenotyping, and assisting with clinical decisions.
What do you love about SCCM membership?
SCCM membership is a valuable resource for multicenter collaborations and cultivating the future vision of patient care. Through SCCM, I have had the chance to meet like-minded, motivated people to advance the care of critically ill patients. It’s a great forum to discuss challenges in patient care and brainstorm solutions to mitigate them.
Connect with @Mahmoud Ammar on SCCM Connect or Twitter @mahmoudtweets