The Department is pleased to announce that on July 1, 2026, the School of Medicine promoted Sarah Sommerkamp, MD, to the rank of Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine as a clinical educator.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree in biology from Vanderbilt University, Dr. Sommerkamp earned her medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School. In 2007, Dr. Sommerkamp began her residency with our department, where she quickly discovered an interest in emergency ultrasonography. Upon graduating from residency, Dr. Sommerkamp subsequently chose to pursue an emergency ultrasound fellowship with us. After completing her fellowship, Dr. Sommerkamp joined our faculty, and she has played a pivotal role in our department ever since.

In the nearly two decades since joining our faculty, Dr. Sommerkamp has displayed an extraordinary dedication to patient care, medical education, and healthcare administration. As she has advanced in her career, Dr. Sommerkamp has maintained a momentum that has allowed her to simultaneously develop as a technical expert in ultrasound and a physician leader—so much, that in 2023, we appointed her to serve as Associate Director of the Emergency Department at the University of Maryland Medical Center’s (UMMC) Midtown Campus.

Dr. Sommerkamp is a deeply empathetic physician and educator, committed to helping others build meaningful, sustainable careers in emergency medicine. She has provided leadership in helping us develop our point-of-care ultrasound curriculum (POCUS)…from helping launch the POCUS elective to starting the POCUS interest group, coordinating POCUS festivals, and creating POCUS 1 and 2 curriculums, which will eventually allow every single UMSOM medical student to receive POCUS training.

Dr. Sommerkamp is a talented healthcare administrator and compassionate physician, teacher, and mentor. Our entire department has deeply benefitted from her leadership and expertise. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Sommerkamp on her well-earned promotion.