Carolina Mendoza, MD

Education

2009-2013       B.S., Biochemistry, Southwestern University (Magna Cum Laude)            

2013-2017       M.D., McGovern Medical School at UTHealth                    

2021-2022       M.B.A., University of North Carolina: Kenan-Flagler Business School

Post Graduate Education and Training

2017-2020       Residency, Emergency Medicine, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth

2020-2022       Fellowship, Administration and Leadership, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Dr. Carolina Mendoza is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a Fellow of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (FAAEM). She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, graduating Magna Cum Laude from Southwestern University, before completing her medical degree at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth and her residency in Emergency Medicine there in 2020. She went on to a fellowship in Administration and Leadership at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she also earned her MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Board-certified in Emergency Medicine, Dr. Mendoza's clinical and research interests center on healthcare operations and management, with a particular emphasis on the application of artificial intelligence to emergency care. She currently serves as Assistant Medical Director at the University of Maryland Medical Center – Midtown Campus, where she developed and implemented the Emergency Department Observation program and a redesigned front-end and vertical flow process, and where she leads quality assurance and peer review while directing physician scheduling. Earlier in her career, she helped launch a high-sensitivity troponin pathway and an influenza vaccination initiative for underserved populations at UNC Hospitals. She sits on the Medical Executive Committee at UMMC Midtown and serves on the board of the Maryland Chapter of ACEP and the Glens Falls Medical Mission.

Dr. Mendoza is deeply committed to medical education. She is Course Director and Co-Director for the Business of Medicine curriculum within the University of Maryland's MD/MBA program and Dean's Student Leadership Fellows, and she mentors and teaches medical students, residents, and fellows across the clinical and administrative spectrum. Her scholarly work spans peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and presentations at national conferences.

In recognition of her leadership and expertise, Dr. Mendoza has received honors including the Distinguished Young Alumna Award from Southwestern University and first place in the UNC National Healthcare Case Competition. A native Spanish speaker, she draws on her fluency to better serve diverse patient populations.

Emergency medicine, healthcare operations and management, artificial intelligence in healthcare, ED observation medicine, patient flow, quality assurance and peer review, clinical pathways, physician leadership, medical education

1. Leggett E, Haan S, Mendoza C, Pourmand A, Sommerkamp S, Chasm R, Adler J, Bond MC, Tran QK. Are There Benefits to Observation Units in the Emergency Departments: A Narrative Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2025;14(12):4333. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14124333
2. Mendoza C. Peri/Post-Mortem Caesarean Section. In: Cutting-Edge Emergency Medicine — Emergency Medicine Case-Based Guide: Obstetric Emergencies. Springer Nature; 2024.
3. Morris VL, Mendoza C, Stevens GS, Wilson JL, Kosoko AA. Peripartum Cardiomyopathy. Journal of Education & Teaching in Emergency Medicine. 2023;8(2). https://doi.org/10.21980/J8ZS9M
4. Mendoza C, Fairbrother H. Influenza in the Emergency Department: The Basics and Why is My Patient So Sick. EMDocs. 2019. http://www.emdocs.net/influenza-in-the-ed-the-basics-and-why-is-my-patient-so-sick/

My research and scholarly interests sit at the intersection of emergency medicine operations, healthcare management, and the emerging application of artificial intelligence to acute care delivery. My work is driven by a central question: how can emergency departments be designed and managed to deliver safer, faster, and more efficient care without adding cost or burden to clinicians?

A primary focus is observation medicine and patient flow. As Assistant Medical Director at the University of Maryland Medical Center – Midtown Campus, I developed and implemented the department's Emergency Department Observation program, building a structured set of clinical pathways that allow appropriate patients to be managed in the ED rather than admitted. This work extends to front-end and vertical flow redesign aimed at reducing crowding, shortening length of stay, and improving the patient experience at the point of entry. My contribution to a recent narrative review on the benefits of observation units reflects my interest in building the evidence base for operationally driven models of care.

A second and growing area of interest is the potential role of artificial intelligence and machine learning in healthcare operations. Having completed formal postgraduate training in AI and machine learning for business applications, I am interested in exploring how predictive analytics and decision-support tools might be applied to forecasting demand, optimizing staffing and scheduling, triaging acuity, and streamlining documentation and quality workflows. I am especially drawn to the practical questions surrounding implementation—how such tools come to be adopted, trusted, and sustained within a busy clinical environment—rather than technology for its own sake.

Underpinning both areas is a commitment to quality assurance and clinical operations as objects of study in their own right. Through my leadership of peer review and quality initiatives, I examine how systematic case review, clinical pathway standardization, and data-informed scheduling can be leveraged to improve outcomes and reduce variability in care. I am also interested in physician leadership and the business of medicine as fields of inquiry, particularly how administrative and operational competencies can be taught to the next generation of emergency physicians.

Across these areas, my aim is to translate operational and managerial science into measurable improvements in emergency care, and to prepare physicians to lead that change.

2013    Phi Beta Kappa Society

2013    Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society

2013    American Chemical Society Award for Outstanding Graduating Senior, Southwestern University

2020    Best Senior Grand Rounds Presentation, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, Department of Emergency Medicine

2021    1^st Place - UNC National Healthcare Case Competition

2023    Distinguished Young Alumna Award, Southwestern University