Ryan A. Stanton, MD, FACEP

Current Professional Positions: emergency physician, Central Emergency Physicians, Lexington, Kentucky; EMS medical director, Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government; medical director, AMR/NASCAR/SRX/RTI Safety Teams; medical director, Blue Grass Airport, Lexington;

Internships and Residency: surgery internship, James H. Quillen College of Medicine; emergency medicine residency, University of Kentucky

Medical Degree: MD, James H. Quillen College of Medicine (2003)

Response

The strategic plan is all about focusing on the emergency physician and our practice of emergency medicine. The two biggest challenges are uniting a profession in a time of great divide and protecting the profession from those that work to undermine emergency medicine, whether intentional or as a byproduct.

We clearly have seen growing divides in this country and more positions that land in the “my way or the highway” realm. We are at a place and time that ACEP leadership has received death threats and frequent calls to take firm stances one way or the other, often both. Our college is blessed with diversity in beliefs and passions. I still remember as a Kentucky councilor when the question was asked among ~500 emergency physicians in attendance their political leanings, and the vote was within a handful of 50/50. We need that diversity and those difference in viewpoints, but that also presents the challenge of being the leading voice in EM and how do we best represent our physicians and patients.

We must all double-down on listening more, being open to disagreement, and working towards a common ground that can help us move forward. We are all emergency physicians and that is the cornerstone of our work, advocacy, and opportunity. It is integral that we unite and fight as one voice with a diversity of opinions and viewpoints because we are under attack from many angles. Whether it is scope of practice, moral injury/burnout, entities putting profits over patients, insurance industry games, corporate influences, documentation bloat, or another unrealistic metric that provides no beneficial patient-oriented outcome.

The patient care part of EM is the easy part, but we are seeing ever increasing challenges and pressure from outside the treatment room. This is exactly why a strong unified voice through ACEP is integral. Individually, we are vulnerable; together, we are a force that can truly move the needle. The five pillars of the strategic plan are built on the foundation of the emergency physician and how we as the College best advocate, communicate, and provide the best return on investment regarding membership and a fulfilling career in EM.