Defining Value: Our Promise to You

YPS Incoming President's Message

Michael S. Pulia, MD FAAEM
YPS President

AAEM just wrapped up another successful Scientific Assembly (SA) in Orlando and by all accounts it was a tremendous success. This free member benefit continues to set the standard for value and quality educational offerings in EM. During SA, it was with sincere pride that I presided over the first meeting of your 2011-2012 Young Physicians Section (YPS) Board of Directors.

Taking the reins from Dr. Brian Potts is a tremendous honor as his leadership and contributions over the past several years were integral to the success of YPS. In addition, the incoming board is comprised of talented individuals with proven success in AAEM leadership roles. They are a diverse group from a wide variety of practice settings around the country. With two new board members bringing new ideas and energy, our first meeting was dynamic and productive.

The overall theme for the upcoming year will be value. It is our mission to continue developing the benefits that provide true value for our members. Your new board fully intends to strengthen existing offerings and use an upcoming membership survey to obtain feedback and new ideas. The future direction of this section is truly in your hands.

The SA educational track co-developed by the Resident Student Association (RSA) and YPS is a shining example of how we use member feedback to guide our efforts. Pulling topics directly from a previous member survey, Dr. Kanapicki and the Education Committee were able to invite nationally recognized speakers to present the following topics: integration of EKG and ultrasound into your practice, patient satisfaction, CV workshop, finding your niche and how to navigate the resident to faculty transition. This type of educational offering is geared to our members who are navigating the often challenging early years following residency.

The goal of YPS is to connect young physicians, in the 7 years post-residency, with the larger AAEM community. In addition to the annual educational event at SA, the benefits we offer to achieve this mission include the CV and cover letter review service, mentoring program, networking events, and Rules of the Road for Young Emergency Physicians publication. In addition, we provide opportunities for YPS members to publish articles in Common Sense. Anyone interested in becoming an author should email us at info@ypsaaem.org for more details. In the past few years, we have also made efforts to improve our interaction with members through an updated website www.aaem.org/get-involved/sections/yps and our Facebook fan page. We hope each of you will follow the link on the website to join the fan page and post comments to start a dialogue with other section members and the board.

I encourage members to take advantage of the free CV review or mentor programs. For resident members (AAEM/RSA), the CV review service is available for $25 during your final year of training. If you join AAEM after graduation, this cost will then be applied as your first year YPS dues, making it essentially free.

For those of you looking to take a more active role in the YPS, I highly recommend joining one of the committees (membership, governmental affairs/advocacy, editorial/communications and education).

Based on the strength of our board and growing membership, this promises to be another exciting year for YPS. I sincerely hope you each take an active role in guiding our efforts on your behalf. Thank you for providing us the opportunity to serve and represent you.