There are a number of other areas we are also very focused on to provide better care for patients. One is the opioid crisis, where more patients are dying from prescription drug overdoses than they are from motor vehicle accidents. In the age of terrorism, ACEP needs to take leadership, so I formed a high-threat, high-casualty task force that will look at what ACEP can do to be leaders in educating the public and physicians on how to deal with active-shooter incidents.

KK: Occasionally, people have been critical of you when you speak about experience of care so passionately, as you have done a fair amount of consulting work in that area. How would you respond to those criticisms?

JK: I have been a patient advocate for a long time, and as emergency physicians, we do ourselves harm if we try to separate ourselves from that. There is good evidence that the more patients trust us and the better their experience is, the more they are compliant with our recommendations, and they’ll have better outcomes. I have never been one to say that you have to satisfy every patient. I think we need to give patients what we feel is in their best interest, not necessarily what they want. I would also respond that I have never been an advocate for patient satisfaction in the absence of being an advocate for creating a great place for doctors and nurses to work. Unhappy doctors don’t make for happy patients. Whenever I travel to do consulting, those who experience the work find that I am an advocate for them to ensure they receive the adequate resources that they need to give great care to their patients. This year, I have dramatically cut down on consulting work. I’ve wanted to devote time to being President of ACEP. My wife and I planned for that, as my income would be significantly cut, and that’s fine with me.

KK: Let’s talk about ACEP and membership value. How would you explain to a member why ACEP is spending the College’s money on a new headquarters?

JK: Membership value. We recently had a study of our membership and, within the next two months, are creating a plan to improve retention of our transitioning residents through the first 10 years of their practice. ACEP brings educational value with eCME, ACEP CME Tracker, and Portfolio Tracker that allows you to track all of your credentials.