Ashley Szabo Eltorai, NBRC Board Member
We are pleased to introduce Ashley Szabo Eltorai, MD, as a new member of the NBRC Board of Trustees this year.
Ashley has been an attending Anesthesiologist and Assistant Professor at Yale University School of Medicine for three years. A typical day for her at the hospital includes supervising or performing a wide variety of anesthetics and clearing patients for surgery at the Preadmission Testing clinic. She also teaches anesthesiology residents and is passionate about her medicolegal research. At the end of her busy days, it’s her one-year-old son who keeps her going simply by hugging her and calling her “Mama”.
Even though no one in her family had a career in medicine, Ashley knew she wanted to be a doctor at a very young age and often read her school health textbook after school – just for fun! Someone who influenced her and augmented her own belief in providing tireless and courageous care to critically ill patients is Dr. Ayyaz Ali. This professional relationship helped cement her belief that ingenuity, teamwork, and compassion can make even seemingly insurmountable situations become anything but impossible.
Dr. Eltorai meets people at a vulnerable and anxiety-provoking time in their life. Her greatest motivation comes when a patient visibly relaxes after their conversation, reminding her exactly why she loves this profession. When asked to describe herself, Ashley chose the words passionate, energetic, and loyal. Colleagues might say she is meticulous, thorough, and unwilling to compromise where patient safety is concerned, and recently a surgeon noted, “Nothing gets by you.”
Ashley became involved with the NBRC after meeting President Kathy Fedor and CEO Lori Tinkler at an American Society of Anesthesiologists event. She is excited for the opportunity to foster the great profession of respiratory care through strong exam development, public outreach campaigns, and discussions about facilitating the best physician/respiratory therapist working relationships possible.
With her mentality of ‘Do it with passion, or not at all’, we embrace Ashley’s fresh perspective and enthusiasm and look forward to her contributions to the NBRC. Welcome to the Board, Ashley!
