Happy New Year! It is now January 2022. How are you doing? Surviving and thriving through a continued global pandemic was not an anticipated skill needed, yet we persevere. What are three positive changes in your personal and/or professional life since January 2021? It is important to recognize these types of accomplishments as we enter another challenging year and surge in cases.

As we all continue our adjustment to surviving and thriving during a pandemic, the FCEP Medical Student Council (MSC), led by Dr. Robyn Hoelle, remains hard at work creating opportunities for our learners to gain further insight and experience in our beloved field of emergency medicine. As a creative alternative to our highly anticipated annual in-person Residency Fair, our MSC created a Virtual Residency Fair, with individual program showcases and informational sessions. The Virtual Fair is designed to provide similar connections while allowing programs to personalize the experience. If your program is hosting a session in 2022, please contact the FCEP office so we can add it to fcep.org. Especially due to pandemic accommodations in place, opportunities for mentorship and clinical experiences are highly desired by our students. If you are able and willing to host an elective or serve as a professional mentor for our young learners, please contact mkeahey@emlrc.org to get connected with our mentoring program.

Pre-pandemic stressors associated with the transition from learner to full practitioner are only intensified and magnified as we all work to negotiate the future unknowns. Concerns regarding career longevity, reimbursement, maintenance of certification, along with numerous personal and financial transitions, are the concerns we encounter most often with our colleagues. Your MPD team of practicing EM doctors recognize, empathize, and appreciate the shift in priorities during these transitions. For our benefit, the Early Career Physicians (ECP) subcommittee, led by Dr. Dakota Lane, was created to provide those experiencing a transition at all levels, yet specifically for residents and physicians within 10 years post-residency, with resources most applicable to your circumstance. A previous workshop on contracts, financial well-being, and career longevity was well received by your colleagues, and we look forward to providing more opportunities to share our resources with you. The ECP seeks to create innovative ways to serve us by addressing the issues causing the most impact on our wellbeing and development. What are the topics you would most like to see addressed? Contact sleague@emlrc.org or send us a DM on our social media platforms so we can connect you with Dr. Lane.

Are you ready to delve further into leadership roles within medicine, specifically your chosen field of emergency medicine? As a physician, leading teams is a skillset we practice regularly, yet may not produce the career results we seek. FCEP’s Leadership Academy is a year-long program designed to equip you with the organizational education, skills training, mentoring, and guided experiences you will need to succeed as a leader in emergency medicine. The Leadership Academy is designed to meet all participants at their current level of experience. Whether you are building leadership skills, seeking to develop connections to execute your passion project(s) or alter your career course, or you recognize the benefit of physician engagement in medicine and would like to find your niche, we welcome you. Under the guidance of Dr. Stephen Viel, the FCEP Leadership Academy welcomes its 8th class of physicians seeking more from their profession and yearning to share their untapped talents. Participants in this energetic class include: Drs. Yaritza Arriaga, Andrew Martin, Camilo Mohar, Zach Terwilliger, and Geoffrey Wade. For more information, please visit the FCEP Leadership Academy at fcep.org/la or contact the FCEP offices directly.

For more information on how the Membership and Professional Development team can help us all succeed, please contact the FCEP office directly via email, phone, or social media platforms. See you virtually at FCEP’s EM Days and our other upcoming events.

As always, take care of yourselves and each other. ■