Meet ABIM Governance: Dr. Erin Ramelb

Erin Ramelb, MD, is a board certified internist practicing hospital medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where she is an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine. She is a devoted clinician-educator and teaches within all phases of the College of Medicine curriculum as a course co-director for problem-based learning (PBL), the coordinator for the internal medicine Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and a course co-director for the PBL case-writing senior elective. She also serves as a member of the curriculum committee and the OSCE grading leadership team. Dr. Ramelb joined the ABIM Internal Medicine Board in July 2024.

What was your journey to becoming an internal medicine physician and hospitalist? What do you like about it?

I always thought that medicine was going to be my path, but that really solidified in college. I participated in a summer program through Creighton University called ILAC (the Institute for Latin American Concern). We visited the Dominican Republic for six weeks providing multidisciplinary health care to people who didn’t normally have access to it. There were dental students, medical students, nursing students, pharmacy students and undergraduates like me, as well as supervising faculty from those areas. I got to rotate to different specialties in the general health clinic and I fell in love with general internal medicine. Even in medical school rotations, I liked everything, but connected most with patients. The main thing I enjoy is investigating each case. Patients come in with a concern and it’s a mystery, you have to figure it out. I like being on that journey with them from diagnosis through treatment. As a hospitalist, I get to see the whole variety of any specialty—every day is different.

You’re also involved in a lot of educational programs. What drives your interest in medical education?

Even as a student I found that I always enjoyed those mentor-mentee relationships. I think now, in a way, I’m trying to pay it back for the help I received. I enjoy helping the next generation of students and residents—it has given me so much joy. The students are so eager to learn, but I also find that I learn just as much from them. I see it more as a mutually beneficial thing that brings me joy.

As a faculty mentor, you also facilitate the journal club—can you tell us more about that?

That’s with the internal medicine residents, and that’s fun too. Usually it’s an informal meeting outside of the hospital, so we can get to know each other in a less formal setting—we grab dinner or a drink and talk about a journal article. We get to talk about new research coming out that could affect our practice, but we stick with the same group through all three years, so you get to know that group and it’s really fun for everyone.

What made you interested in joining the Internal Medicine Board? What are you hoping to gain from the experience?

One of my mentors at the University of Nebraska told me about it; he had had a really amazing experience serving in a similar capacity with ABIM and encouraged me to apply. Now, having been through orientation and met a few other Specialty Board members at a conference, I’m really excited. It’s a diverse and interesting group of internists and patient advocates coming together with the main goal of ensuring that the specialty of internal medicine is on the right track.

That’s one of the things I’m excited about. ABIM is always evolving and being part of setting those standards for the profession is really interesting to me. There is a benefit for patients in the MOC program. As board certified physicians, we have to be up to date with the most current recommendations; MOC helps us ensure that we’re following the most current standards of care for our patients.

There are also opportunities to improve how ABIM communicates to early career physicians about requirements and steps we need to follow to stay certified. I’m interested in bringing that perspective to discussions about how ABIM can better serve the diplomate community.

What do you most want ABIM diplomates to know about you and what you bring to the Specialty Board?

I want people to know that I want to be a resource. If you have ideas or concerns to bring to the Internal Medicine Board, I want to help ensure all perspectives are heard.