Background
Dr. Rachel Salas is a sleep medicine specialist, director of ambulatory sleep services, and the assistant medical director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Sleep and Wellness in Maryland. Dr. Salas works with patients experiencing issues with their sleep, including obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, snoring, circadian rhythm disorders, and restless legs syndrome (RLS). She has particular expertise in longstanding complex insomnia and RLS. Currently she is only seeing patients through Telehealth/Telemedicine.
Dr. Salas was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. She earned her medical degree at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, where she also completed her Internal Medicine internship and Neurology residency. After her chief year, she came to Baltimore to complete her 2-year sleep medicine fellowship. She joined the Department of Neurology at Johns Hopkins in 2008. In 2018, she earned a Master of Medical Education at the Johns Hopkins School of Education.
She is the Director of the Neurology Clerkship (since 2010). She is a Past-Chair of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Consortium of Clerkship Directors and the current Chair of the Undergraduate Education Subcommittee. Dr. Salas is an appointed member of the Alliance for Clinical Education. She is also the founder and Co-Director of the Osler Apprenticeship Program (in Neurology), a medical education research program for senior medical students, and the PreDoc Program, a premedical college program. She is invested in an interprofessional approach to learning, focusing on teams comprising individuals from different backgrounds and skillsets to enhance patient care. Dr. Salas is a certified strengths and master professional life coach who uses a strength-based approach and coaching to connect to, support, and develop those involved with her educational mission and clinical practice. She is the director of the Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice for the School of Medicine and a Co-Director for Interprofessional Teaming for the High-Value Practice Academic Alliance (HVPAA). Dr. Salas is a 2019-21 Josiah Macy Scholar, a 2019-20 AMA Health Systems Science Scholar, and a 2021 AΩA Leadership Fellow.
Dr. Salas holds licenses to practice medicine in Maryland and Texas