Hard to believe another academic year has come and gone again.  Welcome to the new year and a particularly warm welcome to all our new classes of residents as you begin your careers in the exciting specialty of Emergency Medicine.  I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as your next Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association of Florida (EMRAF) President as we pave the way for future generations of emergency medicine physicians together. 

EMRAF now represents 22 residency programs across the state and while programs and the number of residents has expanded, involvement and collaboration has waned.  Due to size of our state and the shear distance between programs, it has been difficult to connect and network in a capacity that isn’t regionally limited.  With that said, one of my main goals this year is to bridge this gap, with the intention of establishing improved relationships and more cohesiveness amongst residents in the state. 

Over the past year, we have increased our social media presence via our Instagram account, @emra_florida (follow us!) and we expanded our Executive Board to include two new positions, Vice President of Recruitment and Vice President of Programming.  With your help, we hope to continue growing and enhancing exposure.  I will be reaching out to the representatives of each individual program as the liaison for better distribution of information and improved communication. 

I often find that people want to get involved, but don’t know where to start, or want to effect change, but don’t know the appropriate channels to do so.  To that, I encourage you, my fellow residents, to utilize your membership in this association as your springboard.  Through continued alliance with FCEP and ACEP, we have the ability to positively impact the trajectory of our specialty.  It’s no secret that emergency medicine has been suffering since the COVID-19 pandemic, the ramifications of which are still being felt in emergency departments across the country.  However, we can correct the course through involvement and advocacy on a united front. 

I invite you all to think about what changes you would like to see on a state level and at a national level.  There’s no better time than now to get involved and let your voices be heard.  Please reach out to me at nicolenvuong@gmail.com with any thoughts, concerns, ideas, or if you would like to get involved.

President (middle): Dr. Nicole Vuong, VP of Recruitment (left): Dr. Danielle Slowey, VP of Programming (right): Dr. Katie Johnson. Pictured at Symposium by the Sea 2023.