YPS President’s Message - May/June

Marc Haber, MD FAAEM
President, AAEM Young Physicians Section

It is my honor and privilege to serve as president of the AAEM Young Physician Section (YPS). I truly appreciate your support and will work hard to accomplish the goals we have set forward. Having returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan, I am now well rested and quite motivated to hit the ground running. That said, we have our work cut out for us this year. We have much to accomplish. Thankfully, the current board is full of likewise motivated and hardworking individuals. This team will work hard to promote and improve YPS. Our primary goal is to improve the value of YPS membership. Here are a few of the current and upcoming projects that are planned for this year.

The (updated) Rules of the Road

YPS Immediate Past President, Dr. David Vega, will continue the lead in this worthy endeavor. This valuable manual will cover subjects from the obvious (getting a job) to the nitty gritty (identifying healthy and unhealthy business practices). Most residencies will only tackle a fraction of these issues, if any. While the majority of the sections for the text have already been assigned, opportunities still exist for YPS members to write a chapter. This is a rare opportunity for national exposure! Feel free to email info@ypsaaem.org if this interests you.

Common Sense

Perhaps you are interested in creative writing. There are also publication opportunities for YPS members in Common Sense, which is published bimonthly. Topics are limited only by your imagination and input. There is great opportunity for our members here. Where else could you develop your own bimonthly column with a wide readership?

Mentoring Program

This is a program strongly requested by our members. The concept of having a personal career counselor is intriguing and invaluable. This project is currently run by our new Vice President, Michael Epter, and will be tweaked, refined and available to all members of YPS.

Annual Social Event

Each year during the Scientific Assembly, YPS and RSA host an annual get together. This is free of charge to all members of either RSA or YPS and is a lot of fun. This year the event will be held in Phoenix and is certain to be a blast.

Lecture Opportunities

This is an exciting idea at the early stages of development that will need your support. YPS would like to create a lecture tract designed by and for members of YPS. We would like members of YPS to be involved in all stages of the development of this tract.  We would also like members of YPS to have the opportunity to provide lectures as well. We foresee this as a possible bully pulpit into the national stage of lecturing.

CV/Resume Assistance

This is another value-added idea for YPS members. Residencies typically do not assist in creating a resume for the job hunt. A quality resume and cover letter is a very valuable tool in marketing yourself to your future employer. Professional CV assistance can cost anywhere from $150 to $3000 dollars depending on the company and product. We would like to offer this service either free of charge or for a significantly reduced price to all members of YPS and paying members of RSA.

Your Ideas Here

The future of YPS is in our hands. It is only limited by our imagination and effort. If you have an idea of what YPS should be or do, let your voice be heard. Don’t be shy. Let me know your thoughts.

As you can see, the Young Physician Section is starting off the year running. We have much work to continue from the previous year and some fantastic new projects to introduce. I believe that we must first continue to create and improve the tangible benefits of YPS membership. I truly believe that as we reach this first goal, the success of YPS will be a natural progression. Success begets success.

That said our membership will increase as we continue to add value, but your colleagues, residents and medical students need to know about our section. So please talk up the section; let people know our benefits and goals. The building of the section is a grass root effort, and we need your recruiting skills.

We have some ambitious goals for YPS. With your continued support and input we will make them happen. Please email info@ypsaaem.org with your feedback, both positive and negative. Your input will have a direct effect on the success of our section. Have a wonderful springtime!