AAIM Member Spotlight

The Alliance turns the spotlight on members to highlight how they are making a difference and how they have benefited from AAIM membership. Share your story! To be highlighted on the AAIM website and in AAIM Connection, submit your (or a colleague's) story online or fill out this pdf nomination form and submit it by email.

Current Spotlight

Joel Boggan, MD

Associate Program Director

Duke University School of Medicine

How long have you been a member of AAIM? 
I first joined AAIM in 2017, when I became an Associate Program Director for our program. Next year will mark 10 years of membership.

What is your favorite part of your job?  
Working with our residency leadership and support team and our residents. Given the brief time we have with our trainees, there is always a bittersweet element to these roles. Still, the constant energy flowing into the program, the great ideas and teamwork from my colleagues, and the opportunity to continually challenge ourselves to improve and innovate are incredibly fulfilling.

How has the AAIM membership been of value to you and your career?  
AAIM provides a common home for our broad educational roles and our more niche interests. Over the years, I’ve been able to network and connect with colleagues across the country, learn from what has worked (and what hasn't) in other programs, and participate in several multisite projects that have helped inform my work. It is truly special to belong to a society of such like-minded colleagues, and I especially look forward to the annual Spring meeting to reconnect.

When did you know you wanted to pursue a career in the medical field? 
The summer between my junior and senior year of college, I participated in a neighborhood health assessment as part of a fellowship program. During that experience, I realized I wanted to pivot from a basic science career to healthcare and figure out how to work on broader health outcomes. Today, my APD role is centered on quality improvement and patient safety, which feel like natural extensions of those early interests.

What or who inspires you and why? 
Our leadership team continually astounds me with their insights and compassion, our residents and students inspire me with their vision and determination, and my family inspires me with their unwavering belief in me. I also leave the Spring meeting every year with more ideas for local adaptation than I could ever realistically accomplish.

What advice would you give to those who wish to pursue a career in this industry?
Pursuing a career in medicine opens a tremendous range of possibilities for how that career can grow and evolve over time. Hearing what colleagues are working on and thinking about at AAIM reinforces that we can build on the human elements of patient-facing work to influence future generations of clinicians, guide how technology is responsibly adopted, shape policy, and advocate for a healthier world.

What is your favorite book or movie?
I’m partial to the Lord of the Rings trilogy and anything else written by Tolkien. I’m also currently reading Hannah Ritchie’s Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet.

Previous Spotlights

Mentoring

Share Your Story!

To be highlighted on the AAIM website and in AAIM Connection, submit your (or a colleague's) story.

Submit Your Story