The quote “90 percent of life is just showing up” has been attributed to various people. In advocacy, that number is wrong. One hundred percent of advocacy is showing up, and ACEP LAC 2025 was another demonstration of ACEP members willing to show up in Washington, D.C., to advocate on behalf of emergency medicine.

My First-Time Experience at ACEP’s Leadership and Advocacy Conference

By Clark Azubuike, MD, MPH

I was genuinely excited about ACEP’s Leadership and Advocacy Conference, as I had heard from mentors that it was the conference to attend if you wanted to learn how the sausage was made in emergency medicine health policy, nationally and statewide. I flew in from Texas, where I am rounding out my second year of residency training, and attended as a member of the EMRA Leadership Academy.

As I prepared to attend the conference, I wondered: What can we do to address the complex problems affecting emergency care in the U.S. health care system? I saw this conference as an opportunity to learn and understand how policy makes a difference in the health system, connect with fellow advocates, and contribute to work beyond the clinical setting.

This is also my first time visiting Washington D.C., and I found it a beautiful city. D.C. is historical and quaint, teeming with ambitious and enthusiastic people. I woke up excited and headed downtown to the conference hotel, where there was already buzz and excitement in the building; the who’s who in emergency medicine were parked in the conference hall.

What stood out to me was the diversity of participants from all over the country sharing different experiences, strategies, and actions taken to achieve common goals to improve emergency services for patients and the well-being of emergency physicians. Everyone I spoke with was welcoming and willing to connect, listen, learn, and share ideas. I also had the opportunity to interact with elders and leaders in organized emergency medicine.

ACEP’s Young Physicians Section/EMRA health policy primer was an eye-opening experience. It provided insight into policy-making and various approaches to addressing different issues, from homelessness and its effect on emergency department (ED) visits, to understanding reimbursement, to understanding medical-legal challenges facing emergency physicians. I also learned about how various ACEP state chapters were addressing local challenges facing their EDs and patient populations.

A few sessions from the other LAC main events stuck with me. One involved success with using data to address the boarding crisis. Another involved efforts from representatives to limit the scope of practice expansion using resources available from ACEP. I also found the practical sessions covering resolution writing, best practices for persuasive advocacy, understanding the legislative process and timelines, engaging with lawmakers, and advocating for national and statewide issues very useful. The primer on understanding the behemoth public programs of Medicaid and Medicare provided the necessary context to understand the history and contemporary issues faced by these systems.