Bio
Dr. Laleh Gharahbaghian was born in Iran and came to the United States at the young age of 3, growing up in San Diego where she became an avid beachgoer and body surfer. She started volunteering at various community organizations, including the AIDS Foundation and San Diego's Youth and Community Services, at the age of 16 due to her commitment for giving back to the community in areas where not many would tread. This is why she created the Determined Advocates for Social Health at UCSD while an undergraduate, which began her interest in the field of medicine. Working in the 911 dispatch center and on a paramedic unit in the years before entering medical school, her interest in emergency medicine flourished.
She is an academic emergency physician who completed her fellowship in Emergency Ultrasound in 2007 at Stanford and remained on the Stanford faculty, now serving as Assistant Medical Director for Emergency Imaging and the Director of the Emergency Ultrasound program and fellowship. Her interests include ultrasound in medical education, quality improvement, resident education, and simulation-based ultrasound training, including procedural skills training and case-based learning for ultrasound interpretation and integration. Her research involves the study of various point-of-care ultrasound applications in the management of critical patients, in the screening of trauma patients, and in its education through simulation models. She is a leader in the national bedside ultrasound educational impact, has lead several very successful educational innovations in emergency ultrasound, including her internationally-known blog, SonoSpot.com, and being the first to create an online ultrasound-focused educational opportunity through gamification with SonoDoc. Due to her belief that adding ultrasound can enhance learning of the human body and disease while quickening diagnises and life-saving interventions, she has co-directed UltraFest, a free national medical student ultrasound symposium at Stanford, and travels internationally to provide educational sessions on ultrasound integration into emergency practice at various developed and underdeveloped countries and rural village clinics. She continues to direct bi-annual ultrasound CME workshops and instruct at several successful national CME ultrasound workshops, including at the national scientific assembly for the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and Stanford's Point-of-Care Ultrasound Workshop.
She is the Co-Chair of ACEP's Ultrasound Section Newsletter that publishes interesting cases and topics in bedside ultrasound quarterly and is a Faculty Mentor in the Chief Resident and Fellowship Incubator for the internationally known Academic Life in Emergency Medicine group. These educational efforts and her supervisory role in the emergency department have resulted in many faculty teaching awards. By being the Co-Chair of the Professional Performance and Evaluation Committee and continuing to work in the emergency department to care for her patients, she continues to be an advocate for social health, providing the highest quality of care, and ensuring that all patients and their family members feel assured that they are in good hands.
Clinical Focus
- Emergency Medicine
- Bedside Ultrasound
- Quality Care
- Patient Safety
- Clinical Operations
Administrative Appointments
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Medical Director, Department of Emergency Medicine (2017 - Present)
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Co-Chair, Professional Practice Evaluation Committee, Emergency Medicine (2016 - Present)
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Patient Safety Champion, Stanford HealthCare, Emergency Department (2016 - Present)
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Trauma Liaison, Department of Emergency Medicine (2016 - Present)
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Assistant Medical Director, Emergency Imaging, Department of Emergency Medicine (2016 - 2017)
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Radiology Liaison, Department of Emergency Medicine (2014 - Present)
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Director, Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship (2013 - 2017)
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Director, Stanford Emergency Ultrasound (2011 - 2017)
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Co-Director, Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship (2008 - 2013)
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Associate Director, Stanford Emergency Ultrasound (2008 - 2011)
Honors & Awards
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SV Mahadevan Leadership Award, Stanford Emergency Medicine (2018)
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Teaching Excellence Award, Society of Academic Emergency Medicine, Academy of Emergency Ultrasound (2017)
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Annual Faculty Clinical Teaching - Honorable Mention, Stanford Emergency Medicine (2016)
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Certificate of Achievement, ACEP American Association of Women in Emergency Medicine (2016)
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Annual Faculty Clinical Teaching- Honorable Mention, Stanford Emergency Medicine (2015)
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Top Section Editor of the Year, Western Journal of Emergency Medicine (2014)
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Alumni of the Year, University of California, Irvine, Department of Emergency Medicine (2012)
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Quarterly Faculty Clinical Teaching Award, Stanford Emergency Medicine (2012)
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Annual Faculty Clinical Teaching Award, Stanford Emergency Medicine (2011)
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Quarterly Faculty Clinical Teaching Award, Stanford Emergency Medicine (2007)
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Resident of the Year, University of California, Irvine, Department of Emergency Medicine (2007)
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Cal-ACEP Scientific Assembly Best Research Project, CalACEP (2006)
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Long Beach Memorial Medical Center Applause Award for Outstanding Service, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center (2005)
Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations
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Member, Care Improvement Committee, SHC (2017 - Present)
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Co-Chair, Professional Practice Evaluation committee, Emergency Medicine (2016 - Present)
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Mentor, AAEM/RSA blog (2016 - Present)
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Mentor, Academic Life in Emergency Medicine, Fellowship Incubator (2016 - Present)
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Patient Safety Champion, Emergency Medicine/Stanford HealthCare (2016 - Present)
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Interim Director, Professional Practice Evaluation Committee, Emergency Medicine (2016 - 2016)
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Mentor, Academic Life in Emergency Medicine, Chief Resident Incubator (2015 - Present)
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Voting Member/Reviewer, ACEP Clinical Ultrasound Accreditation Program (2015 - Present)
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Co-Chair, ACEP Ultrasound Section Newsletter (2014 - Present)
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Clinical Liaison, Radiology, Department of Emergency Medicine (2012 - Present)
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Section Author, ACEP Ultrasound Section Newsletter, Tips & Tricks (2012 - Present)
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Voting Member, Professional Performance and Evaluation Committee, Emergency Medicine (2012 - Present)
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Member, Education Committee- Ultrasound, Cal ACEP (2009 - 2013)
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Section Editor/Reviewer, Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, Emergency Ultrasound (2008 - Present)
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Resident Respresentative, CalAAEM/WestJEM (2006 - 2007)
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Steering Committee Member, Emergency Medicine Residents' Association (2005 - 2006)
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Resident Representative, Emergency Medicine Residents' Association (2004 - 2006)
Professional Education
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Board Certification: American Board of Emergency Medicine, Emergency Medicine (2008)
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Fellowship, Stanford University, Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship (2008)
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Residency: UCI Medical Center Dept of Emergency Medicine (2007) CA
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Medical Education: UC Irvine School of Medicine (2004) CA
Community and International Work
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Professor, all countries
Topic
Ultrasound
Partnering Organization(s)
Ultrasound Leadership Academy
Location
International
Ongoing Project
Yes
Opportunities for Student Involvement
No
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Lecturer, Nepal
Topic
Pre-hospital care
Partnering Organization(s)
SEMI
Location
International
Ongoing Project
No
Opportunities for Student Involvement
No
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EMRI, Hydrabad, India
Topic
Pre-hospital care
Partnering Organization(s)
EMRI
Location
International
Ongoing Project
No
Opportunities for Student Involvement
No
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Volunteer Physician, Roatan, Honduras
Topic
Emergency Care
Partnering Organization(s)
Clinica Esperanza
Populations Served
Underserved
Location
International
Ongoing Project
No
Opportunities for Student Involvement
No
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Ultrasound Education, Guatemala, Iran, India, Mexico
Topic
Emergency ultrasound
Populations Served
villagers, clinics
Location
International
Ongoing Project
No
Opportunities for Student Involvement
No