(Long Beach, Calif.)—The Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) has honored Eric Swanson, M.D., medical director of and emergency medicine physician at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ of Utah Health Care, as the Barbara A. Hess Research & Education Award 2015 recipient. This award recognizes an individual who has significantly contributed to the enhancement, development and promotion of the emergency medical industry through research and educational efforts.
A two-term Air Medical Physician Association (AMPA) board member, Swanson has given hundreds of educational presentations throughout his career. He exemplifies the four qualifications a medical educator needs: clarity, a case-based approach, credibility and passion, according to the AAMS.
In 2001, Swanson received the AMPA Medical Director of the Year award, and was named EMS Physician of the Year by the Utah Department of Health in 2002. In 2009, he received the AMPA Distinguished Physician Lifetime Achievement Award. A master educator in the realm of Critical Care Transport Medicine, Swanson is also a prolific researcher, with interests that include air medical transport, airway management and pain management. He has authored more than 95 articles, book chapters, letters and abstracts in the fields of emergency medicine and air medical transport.
As a physician, he has touched an immeasurable number of patient outcomes in his role as Co-Editor of the Air Medical Journal. He has spent countless hours recruiting AMJ authors, recruiting reviewers and editors, reviewing and editing submissions, guiding authors toward successful publishing of their work and performing outreach for the journal.
Swanson was presented the Barbara A. Hess award at the 2015 AAMS annual conference in Long Beach, Calif.