Tim Johnson, MD, FACEP
“How much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
Dear Minnesota ACEP members,
Spring is colder and more tentative than we would like, but it promises to beat what we have been through. Virtually all of us have girded up with PPE and cared for some really sick people these past few months. By now, most of us have lost someone special to us to Covid. Many of us have lost closeness to a friend or family member that looks at masking or vaccination in a funhouse mirror distorted by fear or politics or tribalism. There is still some uncertainty surrounding our plans to get together from here on out, but the worst is behind us and hope blooms.
We had a great Zoom Webinar on health equity on April 19. I am always surprised that I am ever surprised by how many brilliant and dedicated emergency physicians that we have right here in Minnesota. Actually, maybe too many because we had fewer slots than great speakers to fill them. Many members gave us a big thumbs-up, so we may do something on health equity again in 2022 to learn even more. The idea for this conference came from our members, which is where the best ideas come from. My email and cell are at the end of this letter: please tell me what else would be valuable for us all to talk about next. We have done a Zoom on how to make a salmon crepe cake, so no subject is off the table.
The annual ACEP Leadership and Advocacy conference is back on for July 25-27 in Washington DC. I called my congressional representative’s office and the ACEP Washington office to see if our annual Day on the Hill would be in-person or via Zoom. The answer is not yet clear; it is anticipated that Washington DC will open up a lot more the first week of June and that in-person visits will be happening, but it is also possible that this will be a no-cost Zoom meeting with no travel. We always need members who are constituents from each Minnesota congressional district to join us. Let me know if you are thinking of participating, or if you are on the fence and need some updates before committing and I will be happy to keep you updated.
ACEP21, the ACEP Scientific Assembly is scheduled for October 25-28 in Boston. There is a ton of pent-up demand and hotel rooms are going fast, so register and make your reservation soon.
The past few months have taken a brutal toll on many of us. Thank-you for your sacrifices in the face of suffering. Remember that no one is perfect but that you are absolutely enough.