Getting Involved
Michael Bohrn, MD FAAEM
“Get involved.” It’s something we hear a lot and in a variety of settings. In emergency medicine practice, it’s something that is sometimes very difficult to do. On the heels of November’s ABEM Board Exams, this phrase carries a bit more weight. Many of you remember the stresses and sacrifices associated with preparing for the ABEM Qualifying (Written) and Oral Exam. For those of you who have not yet taken the boards, you will know this soon enough! Over the last few years, I have heard colleagues from all over the country say how stressful taking the oral board examination can be. Now is the time to act and to help your fellow emergency physicians who are preparing to take this exam. Once you have successfully completed your board exams, your involvement can take a variety of formats. AAEM sponsors and runs an outstanding oral board preparation course in Philadelphia, Orlando, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles twice each year. Enthusiastic and energetic faculty members are always needed. Participating as a faculty member provides a number of benefits. First, it allows you to meet and interact with colleagues, both students and other faculty members, from diverse areas and clinical experiences. It also allows you a chance to hone your clinical skills and to see how other physicians, from different training programs, practice. Giving back and helping students who are preparing for one of their most stressful professional experiences is an obvious plus. Finally, participating as faculty for one of the premier oral board preparation courses is a great way to add to your professional experience and to help the Academy with its educational mission.
Of course, you can also help your colleagues without formal participation. Call a friend from your residency class and run through a few cases on the phone. Offer to help out a junior colleague in your current practice group. Call your residency and offer to give the current residents a few board preparation or clinical practice pointers. It’s amazing how much this type of support can mean during your preparation for the Boards.
Prior to achieving ABEM Board Certified status, there are also opportunities to create “win-win” situations. When preparing for the qualifying exam, form study groups with others you know from your local area, AAEM or other organizations, or your residency program. Offer to help out with formal or informal reviews at the residency from which you graduated or your local EM residency. These sessions are great learning experiences for current residents and also allow you to review material and even learn some new things. Alternatively, if no EM residency is nearby, offer to do educational sessions for nurses, paramedics, PAs, NPs or other provider groups. A relatively small amount of effort on your part can translate into big benefits in the respect and teamwork categories. And, you have the added benefit of enhancing your own learning. Formal teaching opportunities in written board review courses may also be available.
As you can see, there are many ways to assist your preparation for the boards. ABEM Board Certification is one of the cornerstones of AAEM membership and represents a significant milestone in your professional career. One of the keys to doing well is to continue reading and studying following completion of your residency. Finding creative ways to study and to provide benefits to others is a challenge, but it can be done. The ideas above may help guide you in this process, but the rest is up to you. Being involved has many potential benefits, especially during the early stages of your career. Getting involved is up to you!
Michael Bohrn is the Associate Program Director at York Hospital and a member of the Young Physicians Section. If you have an idea for an article you would like to have published in the YPS pages of Common Sense, please email YPS president David Vega at dvega@yorkhospital.edu.