Rachel Hammer, MD
Associate Program Director of Tulane Internal Medicine and Psychiatry
Education & Affiliations
Biography
Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Dr. Hammer came to New Orleans in 2007 as a public high school teacher after Katrina. She fell in love with the resilient culture, tropical climate and endemic kindness of the Crescent City. She completed a Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction during medical school at Mayo Clinic, and completed combined training in 2020. She has joined the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Affairs division of Primary Care, and serves as Psychiatry Clerkship Director for the Tulane School of Medicine. Her professional interests include narrative medicine, psychosomatic symptoms and illness, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and integrative primary care. Her current scholarly work focuses on Post-ICU Care Syndrome, Death Cafes for ICU worker burnout, and COVID-related family and caregiver psychological stress. She is a recent lymphoma survivor, and enjoys baking sourdough bread, creative writing, gardening bromeliads, and long walks under live oaks with her partner and hound dog.
Contributions
Recent article features can be found here.
Liang S, Bhyravabhotla K, Hammer RR. Drooling, Stiff and Mute: Adding the toxidrome of kratom to our differential. Journal of the Louisiana Medical Society. (Forthcoming)
Bateman ME, Hammer RR, et al. Death Cafes for the Prevention of Burnout in Intensive Care Unit Employees: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (STOPTHEBURN). Trials. 33308290.
Sibrack J, Hammer RR. Methocarbamol. StatPearls Publishing. PMID: 33351427
Stress Related Disorders of Family Members of Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit with COVID-19: A Prospective, Multi-Center, Mixed-Methods Observational Cohort Study. Timothy Amass, MD, ScM1,2; Lauren Jodi Van Scoy, MD3; May Hua, MD4,5, Melanie Ambler BS, MSc4; Priscilla Armstrong6; Matthew R Baldwin, MD7; Rachel Bernacki, MD8,9; Mansoor Burhani, MD10; Jennifer Chiurco, MD11; Zara Cooper, MD, MSc9,12; Hope Cruse, MS1; Nicholas Csikesz, MD13; Ruth A Engelberg, PhD6; Laura Fonseca4; Karin Halvorson, MD14; Rachel Hammer, MD, MFA11,15; Joanna Heywood6, Sarah Hochendoner, MD16; Jin Huang, BS17; Ying Jin, MA1; Laura Johnson, MD18; Masami Kelly9,12; Emma Kerr12; Trevor Lane MD1; Melissa Lee MD18; Keely Likosky18; Donald McGuirl, MD19, Tijana Milinic, MD20; Marc Moss, MD1; Elizabeth Nielsen6; Ryan Peterson, PhD1; Sara J Puckey, MSW18; Olivia Rea6; Sarah Rhoads, MD1; Christina Sheu9,12; Pamela D. Witt3; James Wykowski, MD21; Stephanie Yu, BA17; Renee D. Stapleton, MD, PhD22; J. Randall Curtis, MD, MPH6. (Submitted)
Presentations
Local/Regional presentations:
Hammer, RR. Narrative Medicine didactics for Palliative Care fellowship, June 6, 2022.
Hammer RR. Covid-19 and Mental Health: One Year Later. Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Symposium plenary. New Orleans, LA
Hammer RR. Mirtazapine for Methamphetamine Use Disorder, Journal Club, Tulane Med/Psych Conference, New Orleans, LA.
Hammer RR. Approaches to Altered Mental Status. Tulane Med/Psych Conference, New Orleans, LA.
Sayde G, Hammer RR. Post-ICU Care Syndrome (PICS) in the Pandemic. Brain and Behavior Conference. New Orleans, LA.
National
Hammer RR. Threads and Thresholds, Warp and Weft, the Self Weaving Through Traumatic Times. Keynote address. Mayo Clinic’s Acute Care of the Hospitalized Patient Conference. Scottsdale, Arizona.
Hammer RR. Approaches to Altered Mental Status. Mayo Clinic’s Acute Care of the Hospitalized Patient Conference. Scottsdale, Arizona.
Posters
Lorenc C, Hayashi J, Liang S, Miletello S, Hammer RR. Hypo “neigh” tremia in Central Diabetes Insipidus. Tulane Research Symposium.
Liang S, Bhyravabhotla K, Hammer RR. Drooling, Stiff and Mute: adding the toxidrome of kratom to our differential. Tulane Research Symposium.
Liang S, Bhyravabhotla K, Hammer RR. Drooling, Stiff and Mute: adding the toxidrome of kratom to our differential. ACP Annual Louisiana Resident and Student Meeting. (Virtual)
