02/15/2014

Board Member Spotlight—Dr. Thomas Lukens

Dr. Thomas Lukens grew up in Pennsylvania outside Philadelphia and went to undergraduate school in Richmond, Virginia and then to Miami Ohio for his Master’s degree in zoology. In was during his time at Miami University where he fell in love with all things Ohio—Hueston Woods, Cincinnati chili and his future wife, Nancy Breiner; though not necessarily in that order!

After receiving his Master’s degree, Dr. Lukens was then off to the bright lights of the Lincoln Park section of Chicago and medical school at the University of Chicago. There, he picked up a PhD in lipoprotein metabolism and minored in watching Cubs games from the roof of his apartment building.

Dr. Lukens then went back to Pennsylvania for his residency at Temple University in Internal Medicine. (And, while in Philadelphia, he pursued his secondary goal of finding the best cheese steak in the city!) It was during his residency at Temple that he became enamored with emergency medicine. Dr. Lukens saw the light, and he moved to Cleveland to join MetroHealth Medical Center in the Emergency Medicine Department in 1985. He has been seeing patients there ever since.

Soon after landing on the North Coast, Dr. Lukens joined Ohio ACEP and initially volunteered on committees that sparked his interest—EMS and Education. Several of his fellow Ohio ACEP-ers began teaching a newly-developed prehospital curriculum—BTLS (now ITLS)—around Cleveland and then organized Oral Board Simulation sessions there. Soon after, Dr. Lukens joined the roster of lecturers for Ohio ACEP’s respected annual EM Board Review Course. About 15 years ago, Dr. Lukens decided to increase his Chapter involvement and became a Board member. In 2011-2012 he served as Chapter President. For the past 13 years, Dr. Lukens has enjoyed representing Ohio as a Councillor on ACEP Council. Dr. Lukens graciously credits the Ohio ACEP staff for making his time with the Chapter so enjoyable and fulfilling.

Dr. Lukens has had the opportunity to volunteer on several national ACEP committees: Membership, Clinical Policies and an SAEM Task Force. Most recently, he served on the Council Steering Committee for two years.

Lately, he has lowered his work load at MetroHealth, he and his wife, Nancy, are enjoying his increased free time together with reading, travel, watching sunsets over Lake Erie and attending film festivals. Dr. Lukens also occasionally volunteers with Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided with Naloxone), a community-based education program which distributes the opioid antidote, naloxone, and teaches participants how to recognize the signs and symptoms of overdose.