Looking Forward
YPS President’s Message
David D. Vega, MD FAAEM
It’s hard for me to believe that my term as president of the Young Physicians Section is almost over. By the time the next issue of Common Sense is out, the YPS elections will have been completed, and a new president will have been elected. It was less than two years ago that YPS was formed, and although we have made a good bit of progress, we still have so much to accomplish. We need to continue our push towards the goal of making the section into a valuable resource for its membership. We must continue to build the section so it can provide meaningful assistance in achieving personal and career goals. We continue to need your input and involvement to help the section realize its full potential. We need to know what we can do to make this section into something you can really use. The first few years of practice out of residency are filled with challenges, and the Young Physicians Section exists to help members face these challenges more effectively.
No specialty is faced with more fundamental challenges to basic patient care than emergency medicine. As the newest generation of emergency physicians, we must act both individually and collectively to ensure that emergency medicine is practiced by board certified specialists who keep the interests of patients above the interests of profits. We must be committed to making sure that our patients receive the quality of care that they deserve. This starts with personal dedication to excellence in practice through continued learning and self-improvement. Each one of us must also dedicate time to learning the issues involved with problems facing the specialty such as the corporate practice of emergency medicine and boarding of admitted patients. We must each have a thorough understanding of the underlying issues to be most effective at improving the conditions in which providers are forced to deliver less than ideal care.
The continuation of our commitment to patient care comes indirectly by being strong advocates for our specialty at the local, regional and national levels. We must continue to build society’s awareness that emergency medicine is best practiced by residency-trained, board certified emergency physicians. As the newer generation of emergency physicians, we must stay alert to the threats that face our specialty, just as our predecessors have in the past. Each of us must serve as an advocate for the specialty on every occasion afforded us and continue to set high standards for ourselves and our residency graduates. As the Young Physicians Section continues to develop, we hope to add to AAEM’s proven record of supporting our specialty through continued advocacy, education, and support of the individual emergency medicine specialist.
I hope that the new year is going well for you, and I urge you to make this the year that you renew your efforts to support your specialty by getting involved with AAEM and YPS. Scientific Assembly is quickly approaching, and along with the meeting comes the election process for a new board of directors for YPS. We need dedicated individuals to lead the charge in the development and leadership of the section. I hope that you will consider giving back to our specialty through a leadership position within YPS. Even if a position on the board of directors is not the thing for you, leadership opportunities are available through committee service. If you want a little less of a commitment, how about helping out by submitting an article, helping with the website, building membership or working on one of the section’s special projects? Your unique set of skills and experiences are needed to help YPS realize its full potential. Let us know how you would like to get involved by sending an email to info@ypsaaem.org. Don’t forget to talk to your colleagues who are not members of AAEM or YPS, and encourage them to join both the organization and the Young Physicians Section.
If you finished residency within the past seven years and have not yet joined the Section, now is the time to do so. Simply check the YPS box on your AAEM membership card, or sign up online at www.aaem.org/get-involved/sections/yps/membership. You must be a member of YPS to participate in the election process, and every member has the opportunity to become involved in the development of the section.