11/14/2014
The Windy City Experience
First of all, I just want to thank everyone from the Ohio ACEP Council for an incredible experience in Chicago as an Alternate Councillor. No, it was not all because the LSU Tigers upset the then-undefeated and 3rd-ranked Ole Miss Rebels in a nail biter. The Chicago experience began with a dinner at Tapas Valencia restaurant, where I learned much about the Ohio members. Similar to the Ohio ACEP Board meeting earlier in the month of October, I immediately felt welcome and as if I was a long-time member.
The official start for me began on the morning of Saturday, October 25th. The day was comprised of many speeches and discussions in preparation for the voting that would ensue the following day. The debates were focused around ACEP resolutions. The resolutions discussed were simply new policies and rules to potentially be voted into place. These resolutions ranged from marijuana’s place in emergency medicine to the effect of a single-payer health system on emergency medicine.
As for me, I spent much of the day attempting to understand ACEP Council in its entirety. The main thing that I learned this first day is that Ohio’s own Kevin Klauer has an extreme talent to talk and keep a crowd entertained for long periods of time. His position as Speaker could not be more fitting. In addition to the resolution debates, candidates for Board positions and President-Elect continued their campaigns with speeches.
On day two, voting on the resolutions occurred and was ended with the reelection of two Board members and the election of two new Board members and the new President-Elect. I would like to extend a special thank you to former ACEP President Nicholas Jouriles for the opportunity to participate in the voting process.
Although discussions during the two days of council meetings were focused on specific topics, I began to visualize the College for what it is, something much larger. All across the country, emergency medicine is being advanced, the specialty is evolving. Many individuals are working effortlessly to improve our specialty. Due to my lack of involvement, much of this was being done without my knowledge. When I first became involved with ACEP, I was quite overwhelmed with all of the activity that had been occurring “above my head.” However, as I sat in the same room with the most involved ACEP members, I began to feel at peace. I realized that whether or not I was involved or even aware of the important discussions taking place at the ACEP national level, our specialty is in great hands. We are being guided and protected by some amazing leaders. This comfort and awareness, however, did not dial back my enthusiasm and passion to become even more involved in ACEP. My experience in Chicago had quite the opposite effect on me. I am even more inspired to follow in the footsteps of now former ACEP President Alex Rosenau and Speaker Kevin Klauer.
As the collective body of ACEP, we all have our roles. All are vitally important. So, whether or not you are interested in becoming significantly involved in ACEP, rest assured that our college is in good hands.
Tyler Hill, D.O. PGY-3
Marietta Memorial Hospital