Nov-Dec 2011 Newsletter.pdf - The Society for Academic ...

Looking ahead to the 2012 Annual meeting
Michael Hochberg, MD
Chairman, Program Committee, SAEM
Greetings and salutations! I use this more formal welcome
because it’s the classy thing to do; and really, that’s what the
Annual Meeting is all about: not just academic excellence, or
state-of-the-art research, or flashy lightning orals, but also the
class and grace that come with the subtleties of our specialty. It
is easy to shove a chest tube into a patient; it is much tougher to
treat patients in the emergency department while maintaining a
smile, a warm hand on a shoulder, or an assurance that “all will be
well,” especially when surrounded by the frequently malodorous
aromas of an ED.
Far too often, the malaise of the daily grind inhibits our ability to
celebrate the breath of a new day and dawn; and the daily grind
in the ED is one that can be downright depressing at times. It’s
not just the stress; it’s not just the volume: it’s the overwhelming
sense sometimes that every day is exactly the same. How do
you overcome such feelings? How do you fight through those
days? Do you indulge in your shenanigan of choice? That’s
always important in helping beat back the blahs. In the absence
of shenanigans, I find that knowing that the work I do has meaning
can change my perception of things quite quickly. The Annual
Meeting is a celebration of each of us, and what we do, as much
as it is an academic showcase.
My name is Michael Hochberg, and I am the Chairman of
the Program Committee. I have been given a singular, special
mandate: to create a fantastic 2012 Annual Meeting (plus a few
other zillion objectives to meet). With luck, we are well on our way.
“How so?” you ask?
• New Junior Faculty Forum The name may not be snazzy,
but surely the concept is clear: supporting the growth of our
junior faculty, in particular those early in their careers who are
looking for the tools to become success stories in the world of
emergency medicine. This is planned for Saturday, May 12, from
8 am to 2 pm. Expect a) talks from leaders in administration,
research, and education, focusing on those next steps needed
to climb these proverbial ladders; b) a networking lunch with
senior faculty mentors; c) an interactive session on finances and
productivity.
• New Resident Leadership Academy (formerly the Chief
Resident Forum) This is a revised and re-imagined Chief
Resident Forum, designed to assist both current chief residents
and those burgeoning stars in the younger years of residency.
Scheduled for Thursday, May 10, from 9 am to 4 pm, the first part
of the day (9 am to 1 pm) will focus solely on the chief residents,
and is open only to chief residents. This is the Chief Resident
Forum you know and love, with that same great networking
lunch with former chief residents and program directors from the
across the country, but with new topics. The second half (1 pm
to 4 pm) is open to all residents (with required pre-registration),
including the chiefs, and will focus on the transition from
flourishing resident to voice of a generation -- on the national
level, at the present time or in the future.
• More networking events. We already have our annual
reception (Thursday, May 10), networking breakfast (Friday,
May 11), Wine and Cheese Poster Sessions (Friday, May 11),
and AM coffee (Thursday, May 10 and Saturday, May 12). For
this coming year, we also created three NEW one-hour themed
networking events on the outside promenade of the hotel. These
are mid-day (11 am) on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and
are designed to maximize mingling between EM experts on a
specific topic and any attendee. More info will follow about each
day’s theme.
Continued on Page 9
8