One of the strengths and one of the challenges of EMRA will always be its changing membership. Senior residents will soon be graduating and becoming attending physicians and a new crop of interns eagerly await their transition to residency.
Before that becomes a reality, I want to give existing residents and members a preview of the upcoming spring meetings and activities. For senior residents, this may be the last chance to enact change through EMRA. For current interns, maybe you are finally getting used to this “residency thing” and are looking to define your role in your specialty. EMRA exists to give everyone a voice and a channel in which to participate in the future of emergency medicine.
Legislative Advocacy Conference and Leadership Summit
May 3-6, Washington, DC
If you have ever wanted to know how policy is made, this is the meeting for you! This conference is packed with high-yield results. To start, we have a training and education session lead by our Health Policy Committee to introduce you to the goals of the week. There will be congressmen and senators addressing attendees on hot-topic issues within medicine and our specialty. These sessions prepare you to meet with your local congressman/congresswoman. On Tuesday, we storm Capitol Hill as a unified group of EM physicians, and work side-by-side with ACEP leaders to advocate what is best for our specialty and for our patients. You will have the opportunity to personally address senators, representatives, and aides. It is an invaluable experience where you learn firsthand the meaning of “get involved or get left out.”
www.emra.org/Events/Leadership-and-Advocacy-Conference
SAEM
May 12-15, San Diego, CA
The SAEM conference will be full of EMRA activities which includes the spring Representative Council meeting. For our program representatives, this will be a very important Rep Council session to attend. Rep Council activities will begin with our Reference Committee meeting on Wednesday, May 13. We will discuss important resolutions, one of which will add bylaws regarding qualifications for membership for those in fellowship programs that will be voted on the following morning during the Council meeting.
Immediately after, we will hold a town hall meeting where we discuss important topics for the association and its members. We will discuss the annual nature of the Rep Council meetings, and we need you there to voice your opinion! There are many pros and cons that were discussed on this topic by the EMRA Board during its annual retreat; however, this change can only be made if it is the will of our members and representatives—so please contribute to the conversation!
If you are a program rep, be sure to attend the pre-SAEM conference call that will help you present topics to your fellow residents so their thoughts are represented in your votes and Council discussion. In the event you cannot attend the Rep Council meeting at SAEM,
I strongly suggest you find an alternate representative. The Council can only truly represent EMRA when we have as many program reps as possible attending.
An organization like EMRA can only continue to succeed because of members like you who contribute to its cause! I look forward to see you at future meetings!