Sonal Batra, MD, MST, FACEP is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and an Associate Professor in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She holds a secondary appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management in the Milken Institute School of Public Health and is a lead researcher in the Fitzhugh Mullan Institue for Health Workforce Equity. She is co-chief of the Department of Emergency Medicine’s Health Equity Section. Dr. Batra practices clinically at GW University Hospital and United Medical Center, the only public hospital in the nation’s capital.
Dr. Batra was a founding board member of the Beyond Flexner Alliance, an organization dedicated to advancing social mission in health professions education. Her current research projects include serving as PI of the Social Mission Metrics Initiative, a project aimed at developing a framework for measuring the social mission of health professions schools. She is particularly interested in diversifying the healthcare workforce and has worked on several diversity pathway programs for high school students across Washington, D.C. who are interested in entering the health professions.
Dr. Batra worked for six years as Associate Director of the Emergency Medicine Residency Program at GW and teaches several Clinical Public Health courses in the medical school. She also has interests in global health with previous experience developing web-based curriculum for post-graduate training programs across India with the Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine and volunteers with the Physicians for Human Rights Asylum Network, conducting forensic medical exams to corroborate asylum seekers’ claims of persecution and torture.
Dr. Batra received her bachelor of arts in psychology and medical degree from Northwestern University. She completed residency in emergency medicine at The George Washington University, serving as chief resident in her final year. Between undergraduate and medical school, Dr. Batra spent two years teaching middle school science with Teach for America. During that time, she earned a Master’s of Science in Teaching (MST) from Pace University in New York City.
Research
Dr. Batra is currently working on various research projects related to health workforce equity and improving healthcare for persons experiencing homelessness. Additional interests include violence prevention, refugee health, and medical education.
Grants
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - Social Mission Metrics Study
- HRSA Health Workforce Research Centers Cooperative Agreement Program
- Rodham Institute Community Collaboration Award
Center and Institutes
Community Service
Physicians for Human Rights - Asylum Network. Dr. Batra conducts forensic evaluations for asylum seekers to support their legal case for asylum status in the United States. She also supports a shadowing program for high school students across the DC area.
- Batra S, Orban J, Raichur S, et al. Association of the COVID-19 Pandemic With Medical School Diversity Pathway Programs. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(8):e2229086.
- Faraz Covelli A, Darcy-Mahoney A, Batra S, et al. Driving Toward a Culture Shift: Case Studies of Social Misison in Nursing Education. J Prof Nursing. 2022;42(225-230)
- Batra S, Orban J, Zhang H, et al. Analysis of Social Mission Commitment at Dental, Medical, and Nursing Schools in the US. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(5):e2210900.
- Pittman P, Chen C, Erikson C, Salsberg E, Luo Q, Vichare A, Batra S, Burke G. Health Workforce for Health Equity. Medical Care. Oct 2021;59: S405-S408
- Pierce AZ, Batra S, Norberg B. Accidental Ocular Rocuronium Exposure. Ann Emerg Med. 2021;78(6):804-805. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2021.09.426
- Orban J, Xue C, Raichur S, Misak M, Casimir J, Nobles A, Batra S. Social Mission in Health Professions Accreditation. Acad Med. Sept 2021
- Hoffer M, Salvo M, Batra S. SAPHO Syndrome: An Unusual Cause of Dysphagia. Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine. 2021. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4tv9q218
- Batra, Sonal MD, MST; Orban, Julie MPH; Guterbock, Thomas M. PhD; Butler, Leigh Anne; Mullan, Fitzhugh MD. Social Mission Metrics: Developing a Survey to Guide Health Professions Schools. Academic Medicine: December 2020 - Volume 95 - Issue 12 - p 1811-1816
- Pines JM, Alfaraj S, Batra S, et al. Factors Important to Top Clinical Performance in Emergency Medicine Residency: Results of an Ideation Survey and Delphi Panel. AEM Educ Train. 2018;2(4):269-276. Published 2018 Aug 16. doi:10.1002/aet2.10114