President's Message

April 2024

Doug Jeffrey, MD, FACEP

Change is something to which we in emergency medicine are extremely accustomed. In fact, the nature of our job forces us to constantly deal with change. When the stable patient drops their blood pressure and becomes hypoxic, we don't kick sand and put our heads down or run away. We step up, drop a central line, start pressors, and secure the airway. We rally our team, engage consultants and make the required course alterations. We don't lament change, but rather we embrace it and do what's best for our patients. In a world that is constantly changing, we as emergency physicians are the best-equipped to adapt and to lead. It's what we do. 

Eight years out of my residency at Parkland, while working as an attending in a community ED I found myself uneasy about the future. I loved being an emergency physician, but could I work these grueling shifts for another 25 years? At the urging of our group's leadership I joined TCEP's Leadership and Advocacy Fellowship (TLAF) program. From there my career in EM took an amazing turn. As a TLAF, I experienced first-hand the invaluable nature of organized emergency medicine. Almost counterintuitive to me at the time, I learned that as we look beyond our noses, beyond the bedside, we improve the care we provide for the patient in front of us. As we drive research, collaborate with other specialties, meet with our elected representatives, connect with our community, and support our physicians we become better doctors and advocates for our patients.

When I look at TCEP's mission statement I see one underlying concept, communication. The Texas College of Emergency Physicians exists to promote quality emergency care for all patients and to represent the professional interests of our members.

Most times when I find myself frustrated about a situation, whether at work or with family or friends, I eventually realize it has something to do with communication. I think we all have learned over the past years that email and social media, tech advances that were going to streamline communication, making it easier and more efficient, have in fact done the opposite. In-person interaction remains the best and most efficient way to avoid misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and miscommunications. 

In the EM spirit of thriving while embracing change, my overarching goal for the year ahead is to change how we communicate. We need to consider communication in everything we do. We need to be intentional and innovative, with a focus on peer-to-peer interactions, where we seek understanding over preaching. This happens on three main levels: with our members, our specialty, and our community. 

Our members need to hear from one another through a peer-to-peer network what TCEP is doing about issues like scope of practice, tort reform, private equity in EM, or violence in the ED. We listen to our partners on shift at the doc's desk for information much more often that we open an email blast.

We need to bolster our relationships with other organizations in EM like AAEM, SAEM, CORD and EMRA, capitalizing on our common ground, rather than highlighting our differences. Here we create synergies through collaboration and understanding.

Lastly, we need to continue to improve our communication with our hospitals, patients, and legislators. As we create and maintain these relationships, we bolster our position as the only physicians committed by training and ethos to ensuring our communities have a safety net 24/7/365.

As I look at the year ahead, I take stock of how I got here and how it has prepared me for the future, while being ever conscious of blind spots that we all possess. I see that the world is constantly changing, and that I am changing. I am grateful to be surrounded by the motivated and compassionate emergency physicians that you are, the best problem solvers, communicators, and bridge-builders in medicine. Together with our reinvigorated focus on seeking understanding through communication we will continue our journey of adapting our specialty to the everchanging world in which we exist.