Staff Profile: Gordon Simonett
Gordon Simonett, Database Manager
Gordon Simonett credits his West Indian heritage as the source of his sunny disposition and eternal optimism. Gordon moved to the United States from Trinidad and Tobago when he was just eight years old and became a U.S. citizen in 2001.
Gordon brings his can-do attitude to his role as Database Manager for MedStar Health GME. When he started in this role eight years ago, each hospital within the system largely managed its own resident data. To ensure that data was being recorded consistently across the system and with a single set of best practices in mind, Gordon’s job was, in his words, to become the “control tower” for all things New Innovations for MedStar Health GME.
New Innovations is the software that MedStar Health GME uses to manage onboarding, program evaluations, procedure logging, and other aspects of our residents’ and fellows’ GME experience. New Innovations, Gordon explains, touches each MedStar Health GME resident, fellow, program director, support staff, and others. A nurse might even interact with the software when verifying someone’s qualifications to place a central line, for example.
Behind the scenes, Gordon thinks about how each group interacts with New Innovations and how MedStar Health GME can better leverage the software to give residents and fellows an improved educational experience.
Given his own educational background, Gordon couldn’t have predicted that he would end up in his current career. After graduating from American University as a government major, Gordon had his sights set on working on Capitol Hill. However, Gordon ultimately found a job as a program coordinator for Internal Medicine at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
Nearly 20 years later, Gordon recalls really loving his new, unexpected career path at the time. “What I enjoyed was helping residents and fellows through this very high-pressure period of time in their life…being able to advocate for resources for them. I also really enjoyed being in an academic environment. There’s learning going on all the time.”
Now, as part of the MedStar Health GME team, Gordon enjoys being able to advocate for residents and fellows on a system-level and being part of a team that is always looking to further innovate and improve.
“We have a sincere desire to provide the best clinical learning environment possible for our residents and fellows,” Gordon said. “Whether it’s a technology piece or a well-being piece, there’s constant assessment of what we offer and how we can be the best at it. We always want to be better, and we want to improve the experience for everybody.”
If you find yourself in the MedStar Health GME office, Gordon says he’ll be the one sporting a tie with the University of Michigan colors of blue and maize (not yellow as he’s quick to point out) – to celebrate their recent national championship title in football. Or you might even receive an email from “Go Blue,” which he says he’s currently considering as his new signature.
