Bio

Peter Acker is a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He is an active member of Stanford Emergency Medicine International team, whose projects focus on emergency medicine capacity development in a number of resource-limited settings.

Dr. Acker holds an MD and an MPH from the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He completed his emergency medicine training at the University of Chicago, where he served as chief resident. He completed a fellowship in International Emergency Medicine at Stanford University. He currently holds the rank of Clinical Instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and was named a Faculty Fellow with the Center for Innovation in Global Health (CIGH) at Stanford University School of Medicine.

From July 2015 to July 2016, Dr. Acker played the role of Long Term Technical Advisor for the USAID funded Quality Health Services Project in Cambodia. As part of this role he was living and working in country, helping design and implement efficient and effective triage and emergency referral systems throughout nine Cambodian provinces. Now back in the US, he will continue to work on these efforts remotely but will also be involved in a variety of related Stanford Emergency Medicine International projects, including emergency medicine educational efforts in Nepal, Myanmar and India.

Clinical Focus

  • Emergency Medicine
  • International Emergency Medicine
  • Prehospital Emergency Care
  • Medical Education
  • Maternal and Obstetric Emergencies
  • Emergency Ultrasonography

Academic Appointments

Administrative Appointments

  • Faculty Fellow, Center for Innovation in Global Health (CIGH) at Stanford University School of Medicine (2015 - Present)
  • Co-Clerkship Director, EMED 313 Emergency Medicine Student Clerkship (2017 - Present)

Honors & Awards

  • Stanford Emergency Medicine Residency Faculty of the Year, Honorable Mention, Stanford Emergency Medicine Residency (2014-2015)
  • Chief Resident, Emergency Medicine, University of Chicago Emergency Medicine Residency (2012-2013)
  • Emergency Medicine Ambassador Award, University of Chicago Emergency Medicine Residency (2012-2013)
  • PGY-3 Resident of the Year, University of Chicago Emergency Medicine Residency (2012-2013)
  • Professionalism in Emergency Medicine Award, University of Chicago Emergency Medicine Residency (2012-2013)
  • PGY-2 Resident of the Year, University of Chicago Emergency Medicine Residency (2011-2012)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Technical Advisor for Emergency Medicine and Referrals, USAID Quality Health Services Project-Cambodia (2014 - Present)
  • Deputy Ambassador to Cambodia, American College of Emergency Physicians (2015 - Present)

Professional Education

  • Board Certification: Emergency Medicine, American Board of Emergency Medicine (2014)
  • Fellowship, Stanford University School of Medicine, International Emergency Medicine (2014)
  • Residency:University of Chicago Hospitals (2013) IL
  • Medical Education:Tufts University School of Medicine (2010) MA
  • Masters in Public Health, Tufts University School of Medicine, Public Health and Global Health (2010)

Community and International Work

  • Prehospital Care Provide Mobile Application Decision Aid Creation, Nepal

    Topic

    Pre-hospital care in resource limited settings

    Partnering Organization(s)

    Nepal Ambulance Service

    Populations Served

    Emergently ill and injured Nepalese

    Location

    International

    Ongoing Project

    Yes

    Opportunities for Student Involvement

    Yes

  • Emergency Medicine Education and Development, Myanmar

    Topic

    Assessing baseline EM knowledge and designing educational internvetions

    Populations Served

    All levels of healthcare professionals

    Location

    International

    Ongoing Project

    Yes

    Opportunities for Student Involvement

    No

  • 2014 Nepal Ambulance Service EMT Refresher Training, Nepal

    Topic

    Critical EMT refresher course

    Partnering Organization(s)

    Nepal Ambulance Service

    Populations Served

    EMT's

    Location

    International

    Ongoing Project

    No

    Opportunities for Student Involvement

    No

  • 2014 VPOL Course: Managing Emergencies: What Every Doctor Needs to Know, Uganda

    Topic

    Online emergency medicine skills course

    Partnering Organization(s)

    Makerere University

    Populations Served

    Medical Students

    Location

    International

    Ongoing Project

    Yes

    Opportunities for Student Involvement

    Yes

  • 2013-2016 Stanford Essential Prehospital Care Course, India

    Topic

    EMT refresher training courses

    Partnering Organization(s)

    GVK-EMRI

    Location

    International

    Ongoing Project

    Yes

    Opportunities for Student Involvement

    Yes

  • 2014-2019 USAID Quality Health Services Project, Cambodia

    Topic

    Improving access to emergency care services

    Partnering Organization(s)

    URC, MTI

    Location

    International

    Ongoing Project

    Yes

    Opportunities for Student Involvement

    No

Contact

  • packer@stanford.edu
    University - Academic staff Department: Surgery - Emergency Medicine Position: Clinical Assistant Professor
  • Stanford Emergency Department 300 Pasteur Dr Rm M121 Alway Bldg MC 5119 Stanford, CA 94305 (650) 723-0121 (fax)

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 5119
  • Profile:
    Clinical Assistant Professor-Emergency Medicine Faculty-Stanford Emergency Medicine International

Links

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

As part of the Stanford Emergency Medicine International Team my work has focused on emergency medicine education and capacity development in resource limited settings, including Myanmar, India, Uganda, Nepal and others. I am currently living and working in Cambodia, providing technical advice for the USAID funded Quality Health Services Project, where our work focuses on strengthening the Cambodian emergency referral system and increasing emergency skills amongst providers.

Projects

  • USAID Quality Health ServIces project in Cambodia, Stanford University, University Research Consortium (8/1/2013 - Present)

    A multifaceted project working to improve maternal and neonatal health throughout Cambodia. Our area of concentration involves creation of an integrated system for efficient identification, initial assessment and immediate care, referral and transfer of ill neonates and mothers.

    Location

    Cambodia

    Collaborators

  • Stanford Essential Prehospital Care Course, Stanford University, University Research Consortium

    Designing and implementing a series of novel, focused EMT refresher training courses with our Indian partner GVK EMRI. These training programs are being utilized to provided updated, evidence based care training to their group of over 10,000 EMTs.

    Location

    India

  • Prehospital Care Provider Training and Mobile Decision Aid Application Creation

    Location

    Nepal

    Collaborators

    • Rebecca Walker, Clinical Assistant Professor, Surgery - Emergency Medicine

All Publications

  • Procedural Sedation in Resource Limited Settings Critical Decisions in Emergency Medicine Acker, P. C., Koval, K., Leeper, S. 2017; 31 (4): 3-13
  • Implementing an Innovative Prehospital Care Provider Training Course in Nine Cambodian Provinces. Cure¯us Acker, P., Newberry, J. A., Hattaway, L. B., Socheat, P., Raingsey, P. P., Strehlow, M. C. 2016; 8 (6)

    Abstract

    Despite significant improvements in health outcomes nationally, many Cambodians continue to experience morbidity and mortality due to inadequate access to quality emergency medical services. Over recent decades, the Cambodian healthcare system and civil infrastructure have advanced markedly and now possess many of the components required to establish a well functioning emergency medical system. These components include enhanced access to emergency transportation through large scale road development efforts, widspread availability of emergency communication channels via the spread of cellphone and internet technology, and increased access to health services for poor patients through the implementation of health financing schemes. However, the system still lacks a number of key elements, one of which is trained prehospital care providers. Working in partnership with local providers, our team created an innovative, Cambodia-specific prehospital care provider training course to help fill this gap. Participants received training on prehospital care skills and knowledge most applicable to the Cambodian healthcare system, which was divided into four modules: Basic Prehospital Care Skills and Adult Medical Emergencies, Traumatic Emergencies, Obstetric Emergencies, and Neonatal/Pediatric Emergencies. The course was implemented in nine of Cambodia's most populous provinces, concurrent with a number of overarching emergency medical service system improvement efforts. Overall, the course was administered to 1,083 Cambodian providers during a 27-month period, with 947 attending the entire course and passing the course completion exam.

    View details for DOI 10.7759/cureus.656

    View details for PubMedID 27489749

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4963230

  • Efficacy of a novel two-day EMT refresher training program focused on essential EMS knowledge and skills International Summit on Emergency Medicine and Trauma Acker, P. C. 2014

    View details for DOI 10.1186/1865-1380-7-S1-P5