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2021 AAEM Board of Directors Election Candidate Statements
Phillip A. Dixon, MD MBA MPH FAAEM CHCQM-PHYADV
CANDIDATE FOR AT-LARGE DIRECTOR
Ohio State University Nominated by: Lisa A. Moreno, MD MS MSCR FAAEM FIFEM; Jonathan S. Jones, MD FAAEM Membership: 2013-2021 Disclosure: Nothing to disclose at this time.
AAEM Activities (past five years)
AAEM Board of Directors AAEM Foundation Board of Directors AAEM LEAD-EM Board of Directors AAEM/RSA Advocacy Committee Chair AAEM/RSA Board of Directors AAEM/RSA Representative Council AAEM/RSA Legacy Assembly AAEM Marketing & Membership Consultant Task Force Government and National Affairs Committee Member Mediterranean Emergency Medicine Congress Abstract Judge Social Media Committee Board Liaison Scientific Assembly Student Ambassador Mentor Young Physicians Section Board of Directors
Candidate Statement
To the membership of AAEM, I would first like to thank you for the opportunity to serve as the AAEM YPS Director for the past 2 years. I am running for re-election to the board, but this time as an At-Large board member. It has been my honor to have represented the young physicians section and young physician as a whole on the board for the past 2 years. I’d like to think that I was able to bring unique perspectives to AAEM by being a recent residency graduate. I am asking for the opportunity to continue to serve on the board for AAEM, and to continue to advocate for emergency physicians and the unique challenges we face. My personal goal for 2021 is to use my role on the board to advocate for all physicians who have been impacted by COVID-19, particularly due to a depressed job market. Many EM physicians are having a hard time finding open positions in a depressed job market due to hours restrictions and staffing cuts. We also continue to see the number of EM residencies rise due to private equity and other for-profit systems. I believe in AAEM’s message and believe AAEM is a leader when it comes to these issues. It is my goal that we continue to fight for the every day emergency physician and continue to be the voice against the abuses against ourselves and our specialty. In terms of my personal background, I have tried to bring some additional knowledge and skill sets to the AAEM board, as I have a background in business and finance as I have received an MBA degree. I also am a board certified physician advisor and work in my hospital on billing and coding, as well as reimbursement from government and private payers. This past year, I have helped develop AAEM’s business plan for this current year and have worked on several task forces and committees. I have been involved with AAEM since my second year of residency. I was on the executive board of RSA as a resident and YPS board as a recent graduate. I believe in AAEM’s mission and values above all else. AAEM has a unique perspective on physician advocacy and fair practice, which speak to me as a clinician. AAEM is the premier EM physician organization and I am so proud to be a member of such a strong and dedicated organization. I will continue to be an active member in AAEM as long as I am an emergency physician. In terms of other roles I have, I am currently the Assistant Medical Director of the University Hospital at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center in addition to the Program Director for the Physician Advisor and Peer to Peer program. I hope to be able to continue to serve on the AAEM board. I can’t thank the members of AAEM enough for everything it has done for me as a person, clinician, and leader in emergency medicine. Thank you.
Al O. Giwa, LLB MD MBA MBE FAAEM
Mount Sinai – New York
CANDIDATE FOR AT-LARGE DIRECTOR
Nominated by: Lisa A. Moreno, MD MS MSCR FAAEM FIFEM; Jonathan S. Jones, MD FAAEM; LE Gomez, MD MBA FAAEM Membership: 2012-2021 Disclosure: Nothing to disclose at this time.
AAEM Activities (past five years)
Attended 2021 AAEM Leadership Academy Program Academic Affairs Committee Clinical Practice Committee International Committee Legal Committee Ethics Committee Chair MEMC Abstract Reviewer Oral Board Review Course Examiner
Candidate Statement
It would be an honor to serve on the BOD of AAEM. I graduated from the University of Ilorin with a law degree, studied Philosophy at Clark University, and attended Columbia University for medical school, with the original intent of becoming a bioethics professor. Along the way, I started and led several companies to include a healthcare, legal, and management consulting firm based in NYC. I obtained an MBA from GWU, and while faculty at the Icahn School of Medicine and as a member of the healthcare ethics consult service, I obtained a masters of science in bioethics from the combined Clarkson University/Icahn School of Medicine program. Like many of you, I joined AAEM (serving on the International and the Clinical Practice Committees) to become part of an organization that truly cared about all EPs. As a former attorney and member of the Legal Committee, I relish in being part of a group that advocates for all EPs and uses its influence to right some of the wrongs in our respective practices. To that end, I felt a moral pulse needed to be demonstrated by the organization, and I successfully lobbied for the creation of the first Ethics Committee, to which I have the honor of serving as its founding Chair. In that role, I have helped to create position statements and codes of ethics that will propel AAEM to the forefront of forward-thinking ethical organizations. I have leveraged my years as a leader, both as a civilian and in the military to educate current and future leaders on the role ethics plays in achieving leadership success.
I was most recently an Associate Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, but have taken a position leading COVID disaster response under FEMA’s auspices, given my unfortunate first-hand knowledge of the COVID crisis in New York and as an author of several papers on the disease. As a member of the military I am the Command Surgeon for the US Army Innovation Command and head of medical innovation, and have led and taught several units on the importance of ethical and equitable leadership and behavior; leading the Equal Opportunity Liaison role in my previous unit and teaching on Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention. I am currently preparing for a combat deployment in support of current US objectives. Having the diversity of thought from my legal, medical, business, ethics, and military backgrounds will provide a needed source of knowledge and experience to help better reflect the diverse membership of the Academy.
LE Gomez, MD MBA FAAEM
University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center
CANDIDATE FOR AT-LARGE DIRECTOR
Nominated by: Lisa A. Moreno, MD MS MSCR FAAEM FIFEM; Mark Reiter, MD MBA FAAEM Membership: 2006-2023 Disclosure: Nothing to disclose at this time.
AAEM Activities (past five years)
AAEM Board of Directors AAEM Foundation Board of Directors AAEM LEAD-EM Board of Directors AAEM Physician Group (AAEM-PG) Board of Directors Attended 2021 AAEM Leadership Academy Program Capital Region Chapter Division of AAEM (CR/AAEM) Board of Directors Chapter Division Committee Social EM and Population Health Interest Group Board Liaison DEI Committee DEI Committee Board Liaison Government and National Affairs Committee MEMC Abstract Reviewer MEMC Speaker Scientific Assembly Speaker
Candidate Statement
Dear AAEM Colleagues, It has been a humbling experience to serve our academy in defense of our specialty and the promotion of fair and equitable practice environments. As I asserted in my first candidate statement, without AAEM to protect the right of EM specialists to define and control our practice and advocate for its integrity, the best interests of our patients will be compromised. As large corporate groups continue to put profits before patients (or any of us), the expansion of services within our AAEM-PG and new AAEM Locums Group (LG) (both efforts I had the honor of contributing to) are essential in order to help change the landscape of our practice. I plan to increase the number of members that participate in the collective effort to push this agenda forward.
With the help of exceptional colleagues on our board, we have taken action to defend our specialty in court, in the legislature and using hospital contracts to protect due process and protect independent groups. We are bringing forward concrete steps to increase diversity, equity and inclusion with real initiative to change the demographics and culture in our specialty society. Our goal is to ensure AAEM is a truly democratic and transparent organization committed to living up to our values and spreading that message worldwide. These are not just platitudes, but real programs you will see in effect at our upcoming Scientific Assembly in St. Louis this June. We are also looking at how we invest so that we put our money where our mouth is, to market our strengths and grow, and promote equity and inclusion using our financial power and influence. These are tangible efforts to address the crisis of violence, divisiveness and hatred that threatens to overtake all our democratic institutions and erode the social fabric that would threaten our specialty. As the ancient African proverb reminds us “if you want to go far, go together.” With your vote, I will continue to work to ensure that together, all of us at AAEM continue to walk the walk.
David R. Hoyer, Jr., MD FAAEM
First Choice ER CANDIDATE FOR AT-LARGE DIRECTOR
Nominated by: Jonathan S. Jones, MD FAAEM; Robert McNamara, MD MAAEM FAAEM Membership: 1995-2021 Disclosure: Nothing to disclose at this time.
AAEM Activities (past five years)
Free Standing Emergency Centers Interest Group Wellness Committee Texas Chapter Division of AAEM (TAEM) Board of Directors Scientific Assembly Student Ambassador Mentor Inter-American Emergency Medicine Conference Speaker MEMC Speaker Oral Board Review Examiner Mitchell Goldman Service Award
Candidate Statement
My fellow AAEM members, I am running for the Board because we have a wellness crisis in emergency medicine! I have been a member of AAEM’s Wellness Committee since its inception. I am also a Founding Member of AAEM and a past Scientific Assembly invited speaker. My Restoring Wellness campaign has 3 planks: Restoring Due Process- we need to get the due process waivers that are ubiquitous in our contracts outlawed. There already exists federal legislation, the “ER Hero and Patient Safety Act”, to do just that. It was introduced in the last Congress as HR 6910, but was not pushed hard enough to receive a vote. I intend to get AAEM’s lobbyists to get the ER Hero Act introduced and pushed in the current Congress after getting it tweaked by AAEM’s lawyers to close a couple of loopholes. After all, we deserve due process just like all the other medical specialties! The rationale for due process waivers is no longer valid. The waivers made their appearance back when staffing companies were hiring doctors trained in other specialties and hospitals wanted the option to “unschedule” those who weren’t up to practicing emergency medicine. Now, of course, due process waivers are used for nefarious purposes like firing doctors who speak up about working conditions or who get a complaint an administrator deems problematic. Restoring Mental Health- burnout, depression and suicidality are rampant in medicine! Our suicide rate is twice the national average. Burnout percentage for emergency medicine is in the 50th percentile. Burnout tends to be systemic, with many solutions which should be encouraged. I have addressed depression in my publication “I Came Back from Depression, and So Can You”, which is online. Finally, we need to continue to encourage the Federation of State Medical Boards and its fifty members to continue to update licensing (when needed) to encourage physicians to get help without fear of stigmatization. Restoring respect and fairness- we all are very privileged to be in one of the finest professions in the world! Sadly, there are too many physicians, in particular those in positions of power such as medical directorships or contract holders, who are willing to throw colleagues “under the bus”. I understand the pressure to pay off the mortgage and fund your kids’ college. But at the end of your careers sitting on a bigger pile of money is going to be cold comfort if you abused your colleagues en route. To each AAEM member, I am asking for two things. First is your vote. Second is for your support to do what you can for my 3 planks. In particular, the ER Hero Act will need everyone to contact your legislators. There will be opposition from CMGs and their owners on Wall Street. But if we pull together we can get the ER Hero Act passed, which would go a long way toward restoring wellness in emergency medicine. There will be opposition from CMGs and their owners on Wall Street. But if we pull together we can get the ER Hero Act passed, which would go a long way toward restoring wellness in emergency medicine.
Bobby Kapur, MD MPH CPE FAAEM
Allegheny Health Network Emergency Medicine Management CANDIDATE FOR AT-LARGE DIRECTOR
Nominated by: David A. Farcy, MD FAAEM FCCM Membership: 2012-2021 Disclosure: Nothing to disclose at this time.
AAEM Activities (past five years)
AAEM Board of Directors AAEM Foundation Board of Directors AAEM LEAD-EM Board of Directors Academic Affairs Committee Member Academic Affairs Committee Board Liaison ACCME Subcommittee Board Liaison Education Committee Board Liaison India Chapter Division of AAEM (AAEMi) Board Liaison Inter-American Emergency Medicine Congress Speaker LMS Task Force Chair Mediterranean Emergency Medicine Congress Pre-Congress Chair Residency Visit Liaison Residency Visit Speaker Scientific Assembly Planning Subcommittee Board Liaison LMS Committee Board Liaison Scientific Assembly Student Ambassador Liaison
Candidate Statement
For all of us, 2020 has been a transformational year. We have been impacted in ways both great and small. We have been held up as heroes while at the same time we have witnessed and experienced physical and mental strain. Through the uncertainty and chaos, we have supported one another. We have remained united as a specialty as members of AAEM. We fought for due process and the freedom to voice our observations and concerns from the frontlines. We advocated for protections while we risked exposures in our Emergency Departments, and we made unique advances in how we practiced medicine. As we emerge from this global pandemic, we need to reflect thoughtfully on the multiple ways this experience has shaped our specialty, and we need to determine what changes we want to embrace and what we need to prevent from ever happening again. As an emergency public health expert, I know AAEM and our members will be at the forefront of these critical decisions. It has been an enormous honor and privilege to serve on the AAEM Board for the past 4 years, and I ask for your support for a 3rd term. I have focused much of my efforts on education and our future emergency physicians during the past 2 terms on the Board: • Leading the establishment of our new Online CME and Virtual Learning Platform • Working with the Academic Affairs Committee, Education committee, Scientific Assembly Subcommittee and ACCME Subcommittee • Mentoring and leading the Student Ambassador program at Scientific Assembly • Guiding the Residency Visits program • Serving as the Pre-Congress Chair for the Mediterranean Emergency Medicine Conference for 2019 and 2021 • Integrating of the American Academy for Emergency Medicine in India (AAEMi) within AAEM In addition to the advocacy and resources we provide our members, I believe the legacy we leave through the mentoring and guidance of medical students, residents and young physicians will be one of the greatest impacts we have on current and future generations of Emergency Physicians. The coming few years will bring new challenges, and I am confident that together we will find the innovative solutions that will elevate high quality emergency care, establish rights and protections for our emergency physicians and support our future colleagues coming out of training. We have always been the courageous voice and the Champion of the Emergency Physician.
Robert P. Lam, MD FAAEM
EMS PC / University of Colorado CANDIDATE FOR AT-LARGE DIRECTOR
Nominated by: Lisa A. Moreno, MD MS MSCR FAAEM FIFEM; Jonathan S. Jones, MD FAAEM; Loice A. Swisher, MD FAAEM
Membership: 2002-2021 Disclosure: Nothing to disclose at this time.
AAEM Activities (past five years)
AAEM-PG Consultant Scientific Assembly Diagnostic Case Competition Top Faculty Attended 2021 AAEM Leadership Academy Program Discussant 2021 AAEM Leadership Academy Program Speaker MEMC Abstract Reviewer Wilderness Medicine Interest Group Oral Board Review Course Examiner Social Media Committee Mitchell Goldman Service Award Wellness Committee Chair Leadership Academy Speaker Scientific Assembly Speaker
Candidate Statement
Having been a member of AAEM since I was a resident, I have personally seen the value of AAEM and how it makes a difference for its members. I had the privilege of founding and serving as Chair of the AAEM Wellness Committee for the last six years. Serving as Chair allowed me to see how AAEM is truly the advocate for the personal and professional well-being of the individual emergency physician. I am very proud of the work that the Wellness Committee continues to do for our members. We advocate for well-being with positions that aim to reduce unnecessary tasks, speak out against interruptions in the workplace, create experiences that invite members into the community through Airway storytelling at Scientific Assembly, collaborate with the SAEM on a Wellness Consensus Conference and launch campaigns with every other EM organization to fight the crisis of physician suicide. In the same way that AAEM is an advocate, I strive to be an advocate for the individual emergency physician in the issues that I believe are most pressing to our specialty. The issues that concern me the most: the constant threat of the corporate practice of medicine, lack of due process, nonphysician scope of practice, lack of diversity and equity, the crisis of physician burnout are issues that I have passion for because of my personal experience in the practice of emergency medicine. My passion for advocacy led me to found and continue to lead physician well-being efforts for the region at my own health care system as Director of Physician Wellness. I will continue AAEM’s use of position statements that use our power as a specialty society speaking with one voice to tell the story of our colleagues that are being unjustly terminated without due process for advocating for our patients. I will collaborate with our colleagues in other professional societies towards our shared goals of promoting physician well-being and diversity, equity and inclusion. I will work with our government and national affairs committee to continue to support legislation like the the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act. Finally, I will support the work of our EM workforce committee to continue to advocate for appropriate scope of practice for non-physicians through research and public outreach. If elected, I will continue to embrace my role of advocating for you in every way possible towards these issues that threaten our beloved specialty of Emergency Medicine.
Carol Pak-Teng, MD FAAEM
Nominated by: David A. Farcy, MD FAAEM FCCM; Evie Marcolini, MD FAAEM FACEP FCCM Membership: 2017-2027 Disclosure: ACEP Membership including: American Association of Women Emergency Physicians, Chair of Awards Committee for Diversity Inclusion & Health Equity Section, NJ ACEP Council member
AAEM Activities (past five years)
AAEM Board of Directors Wellness Committee AAEM Foundation Board of Directors Women in EM Section Liaison AAEM LEAD-EM Board of Directors Emergency Ultrasound Section Board Liaison Attended the 2021 AAEM Leadership Academy Program Marketing & Membership Consultant Task Force Ethics Committee EDI Management Task Force Membership Committee New York Chapter Division of AAEM (NYAAEM)
Candidate Statement
I am honored and proud to be nominated by Dr. Farcy and Dr. Marcolini for a second term to the Board. Simply said, AAEM has become my heart and soul. Its uncompromising values of transparency, democracy, and championing Emergency physician led patient care solidifies my passion and drive to this organization. It has been an incredibly tough year for EPs, to say the least. Our residents have entered the toughest job market in a generation; in parallel we are seeing our hours and salaries slashed while simultaneously putting our lives on the line and dealing with the burn of PTSD. Now more than ever, AAEM needs to advocate and emphasize to our members that we are there for them. It is also an opportune time to engage with our non-member colleagues, emphasize our mission statement, and bring them into our AAEM family. My efforts on the Board have centered on marketing and communications strategies to amplify our core values and messaging to our community. Being on the Board, I know that our leadership at every level is forging the steps to be the dominant voice to protect our profession. That said, we have more work ahead of us to build our voice more strategically and deliberately. The planning and execution of the work I have done on the Board will be my persistent focus. As a recent member to the board, I still have fresh enough eyes to view the organization holistically and drive the transformative changes we need to become the leading force protecting our specialty. Furthermore, I now have hands-on experience to navigate, communicate, and manage the next step in AAEM’s organizational growth. Some highlights of my time on the Board: hiring a marketing consultant for expert assessment of the member’s needs and how we can better represent our profession; serving as Board Liaison to two innovative cohorts within our Academy, the Women in EM Section and the Emergency Ultrasound Section; evaluating the organizational aspect of working with our Management company and how to better serve the membership with their partnership; lobbying efforts around Due Process, Surprise Billing, and Physician Mental Health Advocacy. Finally, I’m excited to expand the newly formed Ethics Committee to ensure we continue to uphold principles of fairness and advocacy in how we deliver patient care and how we operate as an organization. As an entrepreneur, I have learned how to be both agile and innovative. We have an opportunity to take AAEM to the next level. From the tragedy of the pandemic, we can emerge stronger and with more fortitude. If you would give me the honor of a second term, I will continue to push AAEM to be the innovative force on the National forefront. Thank you for your support and I look forward to serving you by hearing your voice.
Brian Parker, MD MS FAAEM
UT Health San Antonio
CANDIDATE FOR YPS DIRECTOR
Nominated by: Self-nomination Membership: 2015-2021 Disclosure: Nothing to disclose at this time.
AAEM Activities (past five years)
Attended 2021 AAEM Leadership Academy Program Open Mic Competition 1st Place Winner Scientific Assembly Speaker YPS Education Committee Member
Candidate Statement
Joining the board at AAEM would represent an amazing opportunity to continue to advocate for new attending and resident physicians. Each one of us experienced tremendous growth and change during our residency and the first several years after. The YPS section has been designed to assist in making that transition, and I would like to make sure their voice is continued to be heard at the board. I currently serve as an assistant program director at a county training program, and I get to see what struggles the residents are facing in their training, the current employment environment, and how the current healthcare systems affect our most at risk populations. As the next generation of learners begin to graduate medical school and enter our residencies, we need to ensure they have access to the highest quality education and career opportunities that are available to them. The YPS section already offers CV reviewing and several podcasts for them, however, I believe this is the time to investigate if there is more that the academy could support. Our hospital is the only one in Texas that has all third year medical students rotate through the department, which means we have contact with greater than 220 third year students, in addition to the fourth year students completing their electives here, this experience allows mentorship and opportunities to help mold our current crop of learners, to better understand how they are seeking career advice and what their career goals are focused on. As a board member I would make it my goal to ensure that AAEM is the organization residents turn to first when looking for career advice, and realize that our academy will continue to fight to ensure every patient seen in the emergency department will be evaluated and treated by a board certified emergency physician. I would love the chance to give back to the organization that has given me so much during my career; I see the benefit that AAEM can provide residents and early career physicians, and I want to continue to improve on them.
