Happy New Year, FCEP family! How are you doing? No, really—how are you doing?

This issue is being distributed in January 2021, approximately 10 months into the Covid-19 pandemic. We have developed strategies to care for our communities, and recent vaccine releases represent hope for a safe and healthy future. Unfortunately, several other areas have been highlighted in this pandemic’s saga: burnout, physician suicide, diversity and inclusion, PTSD and compassion fatigue, to name a few.

More than 85% of EM attendings and residents report increased stress since March 2020, yet 45% of us do not feel comfortable seeking mental health treatment. The hesitancy to reach out for treatment is multifactorial, and FCEP and ACEP continue to fight on a local and national level to remove these barriers. In the interim, we cannot ignore the need.

The ACEP Peer Support Project provides tools for us to help each other. Everyone copes differently, which means there isn’t a perfect formula for how to walk beside your friends and colleagues during hard times. These tips can help you grow from a concerned observer to an active peer supporter: Check on yourself first, Context matters, Learn to detect distress, Consider your questions, Be a great listener, and follow-up.

Peer support is helpful, but guidance from a trained professional is also important. The ACEP Wellness and Assistance Program provides a reliable resource: ACEP members now have access to three, FREE, confidential counseling or wellness coaching sessions via Mines & Associates. Sessions are available 24/7, including holidays. For more details, visit acep.org, COVID-19 Physician Wellness.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255

The New Year also brings several additions to FCEP, including resources focused on a special group: our Early Career Physicians! The PGY3-PGY10 years (and beyond!) are filled with transitions and readjustments, which can be stressful and isolating, especially if you don’t know where to find useful resources. Our Early Career Physicians will receive guidance on contract negotiation, work/life balance, saving for retirement, and much more. We are grateful to Dr. Dakota Lane, who will lead this group. Join us for the first session on January 30, 2021 (details to follow in FCEP’s enews). All are welcome!

As the practice of medicine evolves, especially during a pandemic, we value our connections and converted to virtual meetings, including Virtual Residency Visits. With a virtual platform, we are even more accessible, allowing us to interact with our residency programs and members more easily than before. We can also facilitate joint meetings with ACEP BOD members for broader discussions on the current and future role of EM. There are many changes taking place in EM and medicine as a whole, and we want to offer our resources to keep us all informed. To schedule your FCEP/ACEP visit or meeting, please contact Ms. Donna Vennero, dvennero@emlrc.org.

Reminder, many of us will need to renew our Florida Medical License by 01/31/2021. FCEP/EMLRC offers many of the required courses, including Opioid Prescribing and Human Trafficking. EMLRC courses, taught by our knowledgeable FCEP colleagues, report directly to CE Broker so that all your CME is centralized.

Another welcome addition to the FCEP family is Mr. Jonathan Dolan, our new Executive Director. Under his leadership and with your direction, FCEP will continue serving our community and advancing the field of emergency medicine. Join us at the upcoming committee meetings on February 16, 2021, to help shape our next steps. As always, take care of yourself, and each other. ■