common SENSE - aaem.org

1 1 1 commonSENSEThe newsleTT er of The american academy of emergency medicinevolume 18, issue 2summer 2011dear colleagueI recently received a message from a fellow emergency physician. The following is my response. The only edit I made was to remove his name. received your email, which was sent to the aaem home office in response to an email sent out to folks who had not renewed their memberships. yours seems to be the sort of tragic story we hear all too much from emergency physicians all over the job is pretty frustrating. we get calls for help on a regular basis from docs who, like you, get screwed somehow. what s frustrating is that most of the time there is little we can do to help out. most of the time these doctors have gotten themselves into a situation in which they have signed contracts that give them no have offered support where we can.

2 We suggest that the doctor (or doctors) appeal to the medical staff of the hospital, we sometimes write a letter to the hospital administration suggesting that their new contracts are not legal or are otherwise disadvantageous, we suggest that the doctor(s) contact their state chapter of the ama . But realistically i have not seen that have, on rare occasions, gotten involved with lawsuits in which illegal contracts were challenged in court. we have had some success, but the most recent efforts fell victim to an incompetent are not the first emergency doc to be disappointed by what they felt to be a tepid response to a call for help. But the fact is that when contracts give the employer the right to hurt you, they are nearly impossible to reverse and it is futile to truth, the best way to deal with the sort of situations you were in is to avoid them in the first place. That is why we place so much emphasis on trying to educate residents and members about the traps that exist in our specialty.

3 I am on the road at least once a month to speak at residency programs about these issues. if you had a fair contract to start with, you wouldn t have gotten into the trouble that you experienced. yet i am willing to bet that if you received any education about contracts and job hunting, it did not address the issues that allowed your can assure you that i am not on the take as you say. i work at a university hospital (wake forest), i get paid by the university and made less than $5000 doing legal consulting last year, all for the defense. i get no money from contract groups and my university and my department make absolutely no money off of me except for my clinical activities. i get no time off for aaem related activities and i get no bonus or additional financial consideration for being president, although it does reflect very well upon my department. about the only benefit i can see is that i have accumulated over 150,000 frequent flier miles related to aaem activities.

4 I suggest that you contrast this with ace P, where the President gets a handsome stipend for his/her wish we had the resources to do more. some members have contributed handsomely to the aaem foundation, which gives us a war chest that allows us to take action when the opportunity arises. But, unlike other organizations, we refuse to take donations from unscrupulous (and sometimes illegal) entities. That cuts off a big potential source of this said, i am very sorry that aaem was not able to meet your expectations when you were in trouble. you are not the first. i hope that physicians these days are more savvy and less likely to get into these bad legal situations. i know that our efforts already make it harder for unscrupulous and crooked business people and emergency docs to take advantage of our colleagues. i hope our continued efforts will continue to bear fruit.

5 O nly with the continued support of emergency physicians like you will we have the resources and clout to move for your S MESSagEHoward Blumstein, MD FAAEM1iNSidE thi S i SS uE1 President s message3washington watch5aaem activities10foundation donations11aaem sponsored & recommended conferences13young Physicians section16aaem /rsa activities23 Job Bankget the aa EM Fact of the day and other aa EM updates. 2 Officershoward Blumstein, md Presidentwilliam T. durkin Jr., md mBavice Presidentmark reiter, md mBasecretary-Treasurerlarry d. weiss, md Jd immediate Past Presidentrobert mcnamara, mdPast Presidents council representativeBoard Membersmichael epter, doandrew mayer, mdKevin rodgers, mdJoel schofer, md rdmsrobert e. suter, do mhaandy walker, mdJoanne williams, mdleslie Zun, md mBaYPS director Brian Potts, md mBaaaEM/rSa President 2011-2012 Teresa m. ross, mdEditor, JEM Ex-Officio Board Memberstephen r.

6 Hayden, mdEditor, common SENSE Ex-Officio Board Memberdavid d. vega, mdadditional common SENSE Editorsali farzad, md, resident editorJody Bath, managing editorarticles appearing in common SENSE are intended for the individual use of aaem members. opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of aaem or aaem/rsa. articles may not be duplicated or distributed without the explicit permission of aaem. Permission is granted in some instances in the interest of public education. requests for reprints should be directed to Jody Bath, managing editor, at: aaem, 555 east wells street, suite 1100, milwaukee, wi 53202, Tel: (800) 884-2236,fax: (414) 276-3349, email: mission statementThe american academy of emergency medicine (aaem) is the specialty society of emergency medicine. aaem is a democratic organization committed to the following principles:1.

7 Every individual should have unencumbered access to quality emergency care provided by a specialist in emergency The practice of emergency medicine is best conducted by a specialist in emergency a specialist in emergency medicine is a physician who has achieved, through personal dedication and sacrifice, certification by either the american Board of emergency medicine (aBem) or the american osteopathic Board of emergency medicine (aoBem).4. The personal and professional welfare of the individual specialist in emergency medicine is a primary concern to the The academy supports fair and equitable practice environments necessary to allow the specialist in emergency medicine to deliver the highest quality of patient care. such an environment includes provisions for due process and the absence of restrictive The academy supports residency programs and graduate medical education, which are essential to the continued enrichment of emergency medicine, and to ensure a high quallity of care for the The academy is committed to providing affordable high quality continuing medical education in emergency medicine for its The academy supports the establishment and recognition of emergency medicine internationally as an independent specialty and is committed to its role in the advancement of emergency medicine Informationfellow and full voting member: $365 (must be aBem or aoBem certified in em or Pediatric em)*associate member: $250emeritus member: $250 (must be 65 years old and a full voting member in good standing for 3 years)affiliate member: $365 (non-voting status.)

8 Must have been, but are no longer aBem or aoBem certified in em)international member: $150 (non-voting status)resident member: $50 (voting in aaem/rsa elections only)Transitional member: $50 (voting in aaem/rsa elections only)student member: $20 or $50 (voting in aaem/rsa elections only)*associate membership is limited to graduates of an acgme or aoa approved emergency medicine Program. send check or money order to : aaem, 555 east wells street, suite 1100, milwaukee, wi 53202 Tel: (800) 884-2236, fax (414) 276-3349, email: aaem is a non-profit, professional organization. our mailing list is Or SLetteronce again, we are at that time of year when a fresh batch of residency-trained physicians have been added to the roles of attending emergency physicians. i offer my congratulations to those who have entered this next phase in their careers. Those of us who have already gone through the transition from a relatively protected position as a resident in training to an independently-practicing physician can remember how one s self-confidence, built up through rigorous residency training, is tempered with a healthy fear of not having an attending physician watching your back.

9 It can be a great feeling to finally be free of this supervised status while at the same time there is at least a little anxiety about what those first few shifts alone will aaem moves forward with its mission and goals, we especially need to focus on the younger generation of physicians that represent the future of our specialty. They bring with them enthusiasm and hope for the future, along with new and fresh perspectives that can help drive progress. however, the early years of practice often bring struggles such as job changes and moves, changes in career tracks, new financial situations, and difficulties finding the right balance in life. This can be a significant impediment to young physicians having the ability or desire to participate with organizations like aaem . The unfortunate reality is that we prepare residents well for the rigors of clinical medicine, but leave them much less prepared for the political, administrative and other non-clinical concerns that face them when their training is done.

10 Every one of us must continue to look for ways to reach out to successive generations of physicians and educate them about the issues for which aaem fights. we should offer mentorship and guidance in achieving personal and career goals. whenever possible, this should start at the level of residents, and even medical students. we should encourage membership and active involvement with aaem . The young Physicians section (yPs) is a great EditOr S LEttErSupporting the Next generationDavid D. Vega, MD FAAEM continued on page 11 WaShi Ngt ONWatch 3 3as reported in the January/february 2010 issue of common SENSE , in June 2009 the district court for the southern district of Texas granted a hospital s motion for summary judgment, finding that the hospital did not violate em Tala in handling a boy treated and later transferred by the hospital s emergency department.