11/13/2022

ACEP Council - A Resident's Perspective

Cpt Jacob Altholz, MD

This past September, representatives from all over the country gathered in San Francisco for ACEP Council. The council comprises a group of leaders from across the country but is not limited to state delegations. While every state chapter is proportionally represented, many other groups make their voice heard, including, of course, our Government Services Chapter. The GSACEP delegation had eleven councilors this year with representation from various military branches and federal employers. 

From the residents’ perspective, ACEP Council often serves as our first glimpse of organized medicine and how higher-level decisions are made within the college. The GSACEP delegation had a resident representative this year, Micaela LaRose, MD. Hailing from San Antonio Military Medical Center, Dr. LaRose was credentialed to vote on the floor. In addition to Dr. LaRose, there were also three active-duty members of the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association serving as councilors. While residents are relatively new to the profession compared with their attending counterparts, their fresh perspective and proximity to training offers a valuable perspective on different topics that the Council debates.

Both oral testimony and resolutions were offered up by residents serving on the Council. Controversial topics like reproductive healthcare sat front and center in many debates, with residents expressed their views both in the reference committees and on the Council floor. Resolutions supporting equal access to reproductive healthcare were passed alongside resolutions regarding advanced care providers, the boarding crisis and memoriam resolutions recognizing those in the community we lost over the past year. 

Advocacy on the national level can be a tricky subject to navigate as a new military officer. When acting as a councilor and voting on advocacy issues, it is important to keep in mind that in those instances, one is representing their own personal views and those views of those they were elected to represent. However, they are not acting or speaking on behalf of the military or government and must be careful not to give the impression that they are doing so. It is a careful balance, one that is approached differently by each individual. While some prefer to lean into the professionalism that defines a military officer, careful to not overstep or raise conflict, others lean into the advocacy issues they feel most passionate about. Regardless, each and every one does so with the confidence they are doing what is best for their patients and colleagues.

ACEP council, and the resolutions debated, impacts where the efforts and resources of the ACEP Board are directed. These in turn shape the future of our specialty. Resident involvement in this process is key to ensuring that the issues that matter most to us, as emergency medicine physicians and military officers, are heard and acted upon.

Below are pictures of the GSACEP delegation.