Dr. Murphy is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at The Mount Sinai Hospital Institute of Critical Care Medicine. She currently works full time in the MICU/SICU at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital where she serves as the Director of the Rapid Response Team and the Director of Critical Care Medical Education for the Internal Medicine and Family Medicine residents. She also works per diem in the Mount Sinai Brooklyn Emergency
Department. Dr. Murphy completed her Emergency Medicine residency at New York Presbyterian -Columbia and Cornell and her Anesthesia Critical Care Medicine fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center where she had advanced training in cardiothoracic and surgical critical care. She has a Master’s degree in Clinical Bioethics and has served on the hospital Ethics Committee throughout training and now as faculty.

In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Murphy is the creator and director of the Physiologically Difficult Airway course within the Protected Airway Collaborative. She is dedicated to advancing physiologically grounded, ethically informed critical care and enjoys collaborating across multidisciplinary teams.

Niches

Her clinical interests include the physiologically difficult airway, right ventricular failure, clinical bioethics in resuscitation, mechanical circulatory support, and medical education and curriculum development.

Hobbies

Surfing, running, playing with my dog, and spending time with friends doing
anything outdoors.

Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care
ICU Medical Director, Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital

Dr. Vishal Demla is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care with dual board certifications in Emergency Medicine and Critical Care.

He currently serves as the ICU Medical Director at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital, having previously led as the ICU Medical Director at Memorial Hermann Pearland Hospital and as the Assistant Program Director for Emergency Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, based at Ben Taub Hospital.

Dedicated to advancing quality and patient safety, Dr. Demla has completed certifications in Clinical Safety & Efficacy, Physician Leadership & Management, and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Under his leadership, the ICU at Memorial Hermann Pearland achieved the #1 ranking across all Memorial Hermann hospitals in key metrics, including ICU length of stay, Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI), and Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI).

Known for his inclusive and energetic leadership style, Dr. Demla fosters a collaborative, high-performing environment where team members feel recognized and valued. He leads by example, working alongside his teams with approachability, respect, and a passion for excellence.

Committed to continuous improvement and professional growth, Dr. Demla remains deeply engaged in education, simulation, advancing patient care, driving quality improvement, and developing future healthcare leaders in the fields of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care.

Hobbies

All sports, especially soccer, running, basketball, tennis, pickleball. Reading now scifi books. Watching movies. Wish I had more time for gaming.

Niches

Vascular access, sepsis, cardiogenic shock.

Schedule

100% ICU. PRN ED shifts

I am a medical intensivist at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH. My interests include circulatory shock as well as severe forms of respiratory failure, especially Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Additionally, I’m interested in ICU procedures, particularly point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) and difficult vascular access.

I’m a passionate medical educator. In my current role, I serve as the associate program director for the Critical Care Medicine fellowship. I’m also a senior editor and regular content contributor at CriticalCareNow.com, focused on mechanical ventilation, respiratory care, and airway management. Other educational content can be found at the social media links on this page.

An aspiring clinician-scientist, I am enrolled in the M.S. in Clinical Research program at Case Western Reserve University. My research interests are focused on two main areas: (1) better identification of patients who will benefit from specific therapies in ARDS and shock, and (2) implementation (and de-implementation) of critical care practices. For completed projects, please see the google scholar link on this page.

Obviously, viewpoints presented here are mine, and nothing here is medical advice.

Niches

Zentensivism, mechanical ventilation, ARDS, shock

Dr Victoria Stephen is a Specialist Emergency Physician and Intensivist, board certified in South Africa and Europe through the European Diploma in Intensive Care Medicine (EDIC). Dr Stephen is dedicated to advancing patient-focused, compassionate, high quality critical care and enjoys working in a multi-disciplinary team. Her interests in critical care include mechanical ventilation, ultrasound, resuscitation, diagnostics, toxicology, trauma and infectious diseases.

Hobbies

Functional fitness, running, playing tennis. Traveling – visited all continents apart from South America and Antarctica- Peru, Argentina and Chile are countries next on my bucket list. Die-hard Arsenal Football Club fan (English Premier League) – I recently flew my husband, son and I to the trophy parade after they won the league for the first time in 22 years. Being a mom is my other full-time job.

My favorite niches

Toxicology, ECGs, lab interpretation, mechanical ventilation

Work

Now full-time in Critical Care – 7 days MICU, 7 days transplant ICU (Liver and kidney) and 3 days Surgical ICU. Was an attending in ED for 8.5 years before transitioning to full-time critical care., until last year, where my split was about 80:20 ED:ICU.

Hobbies

What are your favorite resus/critical care niches?

What does an average month look like in terms of the shifts you work?