PRESIDENT’S REPORT G. Joseph Beirne, DO, FACOEP-D

Greetings ACOEP family! I hope the holiday season was a wonderful time for all of you to refresh, spend time with your families, and celebrate the love and memories that make that time of year so special for all of us. This is an exciting time for me, as this is my first official Pulse article as your president. First, I want to thank our staff at Kellen for the fantastic job they did in presenting the scientific assembly. Our CME committee, chaired by Dr. Chris Colbert, Dr. Andy Little and Dr. Molly Estes, once again provided us with a superior CME program. Thank you to all of you for this tremendous effort and success!

As we move into 2022, we continue to grapple with COVID19. The new omicron variant may challenge us even more than the delta variant, but in our emergency departments around the country, we continue to provide expert care and service to the public and win the battle each day. Recently, ACOEP was asked to sign onto a statement supported by multiple medical specialty groups, not just emergency medicine, supporting OSHA’s requirement that businesses with greater than 100 employees must have all of their workers vaccinated. The board reviewed this proposal and voted in favor of supporting this statement. It is the only way that we, as the frontline of health care, will be able to continue winning the battle against COVID-19.

One of my main interests when I assumed the presidency of ACOEP was to create more transparency in the college from the top down. I want our college members to be actively involved in ACOEP. We have restructured some of the committees, as well as created a new “membership and marketing committee,” to increase the number of members in our college. Having you, our members, become involved in the business of the college creates pride in our organization, as well as opportunities for leadership and career advancement. As I said in my presidential address, we need ALL of our members involved and your feedback to continue making ACOEP better.

After the scientific assembly, we sent out a survey to members, asking what was most important to them as we move into 2022. The responses were varied, but one message was very clear — CME and education remain the most important aspect for our members, and we will continue to provide quality CME programs and remain on the cutting edge of emergency medicine.

As we progress further into 2022, our specialty will continue to have challenges each day that will test our skills as physicians and leaders in emergency medicine. As we face these challenges, please know that you are not alone. ACOEP is a family and always will be. We will face these challenges together and support each other. I want each of you, our members, to reach out to myself and the other board members with your concerns, questions and ideas. We represent you at the national level and are committed to preserving the integrity and identity of the osteopathic emergency physician. Our mission is success, and together we will succeed. –•–

PRESIDENT’S REPORT G. Joseph Beirne, DO, FACOEP-D