Hometown: Greencastle, Pa

Undergraduate: Liberty University B.S. Biomedical Sciences, Minor in Psychology

Medical School: Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine 

Quick Bio: I’m from the small town of Greencastle, Pa and just recently moved here to the lovely Newport News, Va. I completed both my undergraduate and medical degrees through Liberty University, graduating this spring with my doctorate from Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM). I also worked for several years during that time in the performing arts, where I acted and danced professionally for Alluvion Stage Company. I am passionate about medical missions, music, movie nights, exploring the world with my friends, and I’ve been known to jump out of airplanes on occasion.

EM Interest Areas: International Medicine, Disaster Medicine, Ultrasound

Personal Hobbies: Napping, baking, bonfires (with s’mores), watching movies with friends, musical theater, drinking coffee

Personal Motto/Favorite Quote: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bone.” -Proverbs 17:22

Why Riverside: There are hundreds of Emergency Medicine residency programs across the country that I could have applied to, but there were none that appreciated, encouraged, and challenged me more than Riverside did. I am a valued team member here, on shift and off, and I am confident that the skills and training I receive here will help me be the best EM physician possible.  

Advice to Medical Students:

• Eat when you can

• Sleep when you can

• Don’t mess with the pancreas

Alanna D'Amelio DO

Hometown: Watertown, CT

Undergraduate: The University of Tampa

Medical School: Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine

Quick Bio: I was raised in CT surrounded by a large family of loud, enthusiastic and strong-willed Italians. My family owns an Italian Restaurant and growing up in the customer service industry reinforced my gift of gab and love for food. Fun fact: Chicken Alanna is one of the most popular dishes on the menu. I have the most supportive husband and I am completely obsessed with my dog Kaya. I also have two younger brothers that I am extremely close with. After enduring too many years of brutal winters, I moved to Florida to attend The University of Tampa. I cannot recall the exact defining moment that lead me to pursue medical school, but junior year of college I finagled my way on a nursing public health medical mission trip to Costa Rica, which incorporated my love for travel with a new-found passion for medicine. International mission trips continued to have an enormous impact on me throughout medical school, and I hope to continue these trips while at Riverside!  

Why Riverside: From the moment I stepped foot into Riverside on interview day I felt an overwhelming sense of belonging. I was very excited about the unique opportunity to be part of an inaugural class and trusted the leadership and vision of this EM program. I was looking for a program where I could give as much as I receive in an environment where personal wellness and team collaboration are the foundations of excellent patient care, and Riverside has exceeded every expectation. The culture that Riverside embodies is truly special and I am grateful every day to be a part of this community!

Hobbies: Traveling, practicing mindfulness, exercising, basking in the sun, star gazing, playing hide & seek with my dog.

Advice to Students: Take a deep breath. Continue to do things you love outside of medicine and try new things! Make time for the people who have helped you become who you are. Always be grateful. Always be positive. Most importantly, always be yourself! When you find the right program, you’ll know.

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Jared Fernandez DO, MA

Hometown: San Diego, CA

Undergraduate: University of California, Irvine

Medical School: Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine

EM Interest Areas: Wilderness Medicine, EMS/Disaster Medicine, Ultrasound

Quick Bio: I grew up in southern California and worked in the area for a while before I moved to the east coast to get my master’s degree at Eastern Mennonite University and DO school at CUSOM. I have three other siblings and we are a very close. I am married and have a young child. Before medical school I worked as a music teacher and general manager, played in a band, worked in a sports medicine clinic at UCI for college athletes, I did door to door sales, worked as a computer programmer for a bit, and then I worked in analytic and production chemistry.  I finally decided what “I wanted to be when I grow up” and now I’m here in Newport News!

Why Riverside: Riverside has an amazing leadership team and work culture that I haven’t seen in any of the places that I have worked. They all genuinely care about their residents and the greater good of the community. The educators not only address the need to train medically competent emergency medicine physicians, they also help us navigate the fields of personal finance, hospital administration, and work/life balance.  People in the department have fun working, are passionate about what they do, and are personally invested in their purpose here. 

Hobbies: Rock climbing, weightlifting, camping/backpacking, running, watches, and boxing

Advice to Students: You guys are all great people and here’s some practical advice to show everyone who you are

• Show up early every time

• Be prepared (study) and then take initiative when opportunities present themselves

• Make sure to take care of yourself before you try to take care of others

• Know your limits!  Be comfortable with saying you don’t know because figuring it out is a path to helping and being a pretender is a path to hurting

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Chris Glynn MD, MBA

Hometown: Frederick, MD

Undergraduate: B.S. in Kinesiology/Exercise Physiology, University of Maryland

Medical School: American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Sint Maarten

Quick Bio: Grew up in Frederick, MD and spent about 30 years growing up in the DMV.  My wife and I have been married since 2014 and we’ve got three kids.  In my life before med school, I worked in healthcare (Physical Therapy, Cardiac Rehab), banking, hospitality, and tech sales and tossed in an MBA while I was at it. Med school took us to the Caribbean, then the UK, and then the Midwest and Northeast before landing in Newport News!  

Why Riverside: In addition to the great program leadership, I felt like the hospital as a whole was really supportive of the residency programs, and we weren’t just cheap labor.  In addition, we get exposure to a wide swath of pathologies due to the unique populations in the surrounding areas (underserved rural, urban, county). Also, it’s hard to beat the proximity to the beach and all the beautiful family friendly activities nearby.

Hobbies: Playing with my kids, Being a good dad/husband, Sports and Fitness, Day Trading, Video Games when I have time, the Outdoors, Beach Life

Advice to Students: Follow up on your patients, especially after we’ve provided treatment/intervention, and let us know if the patient is worse/better.  Be eager but have good situational awareness. And just be friendly!

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Pahl Pappas DO

Hometown: Botetourt, Va

Undergraduate: Virginia Tech

Medical School: VCOM-Virginia

Quick Bio: I grew up in Southwestern Virginia and stayed in the area for a Nutrition degree at Virginia Tech. After undergrad, I continued to work in the area for a local hospital system as a paramedic for several years. I ended up doing paramedic clinicals directly under a DO that stoked the fire for me to pursue physician training, which I was excited to get to continue to do in my second home in Blacksburg, Virginia. As much as I love the mountains and my home, I was absolutely stoked to move a little closer to the beach for residency, and have really enjoyed my time down here!

Hobbies:  Backpacking, Swimming/Lifting, Brightening my coresidents’ days with tiktok videos, trying (and often failing) to grow patio plants. 

Advice to students: Find a good mentor, listen to podcasts in the car, find multiple sources to learn from, and message us with questions you have! Everything will be ok. 

If I couldn’t be an EM doc i’d be: National Park Service employee

Ahmed Salem DO

Bio coming soon

Anthony Zaffino DO

Hometown: Crown Point, IN

Undergraduate: Purdue University

Medical School: AZCOM (Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Midwestern University)

Quick Bio: Born and raised in Indiana, graduated from Purdue and fell in love with EM when I was scribing in a tiny ER in Rensselaer, Indiana. Went and got a Masters degree from Midwestern University (basically so they would let me go to med school). Med school out at their campus in Arizona with 3rd year in San Diego before the constant moving that is 4th year eventually landed me in Virginia at Riverside.

Why Riverside: The culture at Riverside is second to none. They have been trying to get an EM Residency started here for decades and the excitement throughout the faculty and staff is very obvious. While we are a new program, Riverside has had Portsmouth Naval Residents rotating through the department every month for years and the entire department has extensive experience training residents.

Hobbies: Hiking, Reading, Basketball, Gaming

Advice to Students: #1 is try not to worry about every mistake you make while on shift. We don’t expect you to know everything, not even the attendings know everything (regardless of what Dr Minnick may say). We do want you to be teachable and excited to learn things. We have a fun job! We get to do cool stuff every day! We have a great time working together and we’re really looking for people who love Emergency Medicine as much as we do.

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