The temperatures are finally starting to cool this academic year, and at St. Lucie Medical Center, we are as busy as ever. Our current second-years are completing their trauma and PICU rotations, and the first-years are working through anesthesia, pediatric EM and ICU. We are fortunate to have such welcoming and accommodating sister facilities to help us broaden our knowledge base.

This is the time of year when preparation for the yearly In-Service Exam really intensifies. We have all been working hard with Rosh Review and the weekly reading reviews provided by our first-years. Each week, our conferences have been filled with engaging lectures to prepare us not only for the exam, but also for our future practices. We recently had the pleasure of having Dr. Gary Curcio, Trauma Medical Director at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center, provide us a lecture on rib fracture management.

We have four graduating seniors this December, who represent the last class of our previously four-year program. Dr. Michael Gulenay will be going to Columbus Piedmont Regional in Georgia. Dr. Austin Hudson is traveling to Northern Virginia Medical Center. Dr. Blaire Laughlin will be at University Hospital in Augusta, GA, and Dr. Jeremy McCreary is heading to University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. We are sad to see them go, but also proud to see them flourish.

This winter, we are saying goodbye to our Emergency Department Director and core faculty member, Dr. V. Andres Sasson. He encourages us to practice empathetic medicine with as much grace and style as we practice analytical medicine. He has provided St. Lucie Medical Center with many years of service, and his presence will be sorely missed. We wish you the best of luck with your new endeavors, Dr. Sasson! ■