Happy New Year, New York ACEP

Another year has passed and with the coming of a new year brings reflections of the past, thoughts on the present and plans for the future. I joined the specialty of Emergency Medicine (EM) 20 years ago energized to take care of my community and motivated to make our specialty strong for all EM physicians and the patients we serve. What inspired me then continues to drive me today. The unique opportunities of EM physicians to care for patients when they least expect to need help, whatever the problem, small or large, impacting their lives during their most vulnerable moments.

As I embark on a new year, I remind myself of the unique connections we have with patients and their families. Our duty is to serve our communities and the value that comes with the practice of medicine never gets old. However, despite this, I am distracted by the larger issues impacting our specialty. Similar to how patient connections draw me to the daily practice of medicine, the larger issues we face motivate me to drive New York ACEP to finding solutions. We need to navigate the political landscape of medicine on a national scale and that of New York, tackling the issues that impact our local clinical arena and practice environment.

I wish it were simpler, but the issues facing emergency medicine are numerous and complex. At New York ACEP, we hit the ground running in 2024. We started the calendar year with a meeting with the New York State Office of Mental Health to discuss the climate of mental health in our emergency departments (EDs) and to better partner on available resources. We also continue to tackle the important issue of violence in the ED by partnering with the New York State Council of Emergency Nurses Association (NYSCENA) and the American Nurses Association of New York (ANA-NY) on the Workplace Violence Prevention Alliance. We have shown our shared commitment to creating a safe place in the ED for healthcare workers and patients. In addition, New York ACEP will continue to work with legislators on scope of practice issues, with a focus on the value of the physician lead team. These issues are just a few at the top of our priority list that we are determined to pursue and we are optimistic we will see results during our upcoming legislative sessions.

We will continue to plan for the future. The New York ACEP board and committees are all engaged. We are excited about what 2024 will bring as we gain traction on many of our initiatives. I hope you share our enthusiasm. With a new year comes opportunity. Happy new year, New York ACEP.