Pamela P. Bensen Trailblazer Award

Andrew I. Bern, MD, FACEP

My life was forever changed in 1979 when I left my residency in New York to start the emergency medicine residency at the University of Louisville, Kentucky. Soon after my program began, I joined the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association (EMRA). My election to the EMRA Board of Directors was life-changing because of the dynamic and visionary leaders I met who mentored me over the years. I had contact with the founders and leaders of the College who were there at the start of the organization when it was chartered in 1968.

One of those leaders was Pam Bensen, MD, MS, FACEP, the first woman to complete an EM residency program, who was active in the Council and ultimately became a national Board of Directors member. Her vision, passion, persistence, creativity, and mentorship helped shape who I am today. It has come full circle that I will be the first to receive the Pamela B. Benson Trailblazer Award.

Over my 41 years in the practice of emergency medicine, I have held one principle: “One person can make a difference.”

Within ACEP, my focus has been in four areas:

Membership: To help members achieve more within the organization, I established the concept of sections of membership. The Disaster Medicine Section was the first section established in 1988. Today, there are 38 sections representing member interests that are as broad as emergency medicine. The specialty has benefited from the work these sections have done, but it was not easy. The concept was first brought to the Board in 1983 and each subsequent year until it was adopted in 1988. More than half of today’s College membership participates in and belongs to a section.

Grants: I have been a long-time advocate of the grant process. Over the years, I worked to achieve Board support for hiring a dedicated individual to head up the College’s grant efforts. I also was involved in creating a grant program for sections. The College has brought in more than $10 million under the leadership of Cynthia Singh, Dean Wilkerson, and the professional ACEP staff.

Advocacy: I have been involved in the College’s advocacy program since the beginning, participating in the 911 network within my state and nationally. I am still active in these efforts and participate in both the Federal Government Affairs and the State Legislative Affairs committees.

Council: I learned of the important work the Council does from John Rupke, MD; John Wiegenstein, MD; Dr. Bensen; Ron Krome, MD, FACEP; Jack Page, MD, FACEP; and others. Our representative body helps distill important ideas that go to the Board of Directors for study and implementation. It also builds leadership for our College.

After all this time, I can definitely confirm “one person can make a difference in your life’s career in emergency medicine and for our future patients.”