Vice President, Emergency Medicine, North Shore-LIJ Health System
Chairman of Emergency Medicine, North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) and LIJ Medical Center

In addition to having oversight for emergency medicine at North Shore-LIJ's Long Island-based tertiary hospitals, Dr. Sama is vice president of emergency medicine for the health system. He is responsible for overseeing emergency departments (EDs) across the health system, working closely with ED directors to integrate and standardize clinical care.

Dr. Sama has been associated with NSUH since completing his residency training there in 1984. He served first as an attending physician in the hospital's departments of medicine, surgery and emergency medicine, and later assumed leadership positions in the hospital's Division of Emergency Medical Services, first as director and then as chief. He was instrumental in the creation of the hospital's Department of Emergency Medicine and was appointed chairman in 1993. He was later appointed vice president of emergency medicine for the North Shore-LIJ Health System, and was named chairman of emergency medicine at LIJ Medical Center in 2008.

Dr. Sama has a keen interest in both basic and clinical research. He has published and lectured on emergency medicine topics, primarily as they relate to the investigation of novel therapeutic agents.

Dr. Sama has held numerous academic appointments and currently holds the position of associate professor of clinical medicine at New York University School of Medicine. He also holds a number of administrative appointments beyond the hospital, serving on committees of the Nassau County Medical Society, Medical Society of the State of New York, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and the American College of Physician Executives. He is also a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians National Steering Committee, Reimbursement Committee, and Bylaws Committee.

Dr. Sama is board certified in emergency medicine, pediatric emergency medicine, and critical caremedicine. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University and his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College.