PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS Wendy Coates, MD UCLA Department of Emergency Medicine David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA 2023-2024 President, SAEM
End of the Year Update: Progress and Partnerships
“In the spirit of service, the SAEM Board, along with the entire SAEM staff, participated in an "EM Day of Service" event on behalf of all our members.”
As the year draws to a close, the rush of the holiday season is upon us, filled with festive gatherings, holiday preparations, and tying up the loose ends of the year (including SAEM abstracts!). Amidst the flurry of activity, your SAEM leadership has been hard at work on your behalf. As the clock ticks toward 2024, here’s a recap of the strides made by SAEM and initiatives undertaken by your BOD these past few months: In September, the SAEM Board of Directors gathered at SAEM Headquarters for an intensive two-day meeting. Among our many agenda items was the review of the fantastic suggestions made by our members during the August strategic planning session. These ideas are missiondriven, focusing on how to propel SAEM forward in the areas of medical education, professional development, research, and workforce development. You'll see many of your suggestions becoming committee objectives in the upcoming year, while others will be put into action by the dedicated SAEM staff and Board of Directors. We reviewed the many project proposals submitted by our academies, committees, and interest groups. What a creative bunch! Their ideas are bound to make a real difference! We're incredibly fortunate to have such committed and knowledgeable volunteers who are shaping the future of SAEM to best serve all our members. In the spirit of service, the SAEM Board, along with the entire SAEM staff, participated in an "EM Day of Service" event on behalf of all our members. We donned hairnets and assembled nutritionally balanced "Manna Packs®," which will be sent to hungry children worldwide, using various modes of transportation, from trains and horse carts to parachutes and kayaks. We also had the pleasure of hosting the ARMED MedEd cohort at SAEM headquarters. They joined us for a
two-day intensive writing workshop, dedicated to advancing their ongoing grant project development. Alongside our faculty volunteers, we were joined by representatives from the American Medical Association (AMA) Grants program and the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), both based in Chicago. They were genuinely impressed by the participants and the structure of the course, expressing interest in future collaborations. I'm delighted to share news of a recent meeting with the leadership of the NIH National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to explore our mutual research interests and discover the resources NIMH can offer to emergency care researchers. Currently, we're in the process of exploring strategies for potential collaboration. October was a significant month, marked by the #StoptheStigmaEM Month campaign, an initiative to raise awareness about the importance of mental health and wellness among emergency medicine physicians. Led by the SAEM Wellness Committee, this EM-wide campaign is a crucial annual step toward reshaping mental health in emergency medicine. Even though the month has passed, I encourage you to reach out to your colleagues, trainees, and medical students. Take a moment to check in on how they're doing, share helpful resources, start the conversation — especially as the holiday season approaches. Wishing you all the best for a joyous and healthy holiday season and a fantastic New Year!
ABOUT DR. COATES: Wendy Coates, MD, is professor of emergency medicine at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and senior faculty/ education specialist at UCLA Department of Emergency Medicine
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