Christopher S. Kang, MD, FACEP, FAWM (Washington)

Current Professional Positions: attending physician, emergency medicine, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, Washington; institutional review board; staff physician, Olympia Emergency Physicians, LLC, Providence St. Peter Hospital, Olympia, Washington
Internships and Residency: emergency medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago
Medical Degree: MD, Northwestern University (1996)

The next decade will mark a dynamic and historic time of opportunity for our College as we transition from fighting for acceptance by the members of the house of medicine to now being increasingly recognized as one of their leaders. As the practice, delivery, and remuneration of health care become more complex and determinative, it is vital that the College has visionary leaders. My background, skills, and knowledge would add diversity to the Board of Directors to continue advancing our profession and patient care.

While living in several countries, I learned to appreciate different cultures, values, and concepts. During my service in the United States Army, I observed and practiced medicine in multiple settings around the world, from austere environments and the back of ground and air ambulances to rural facilities and modern medical centers. I was also the medical project director for an ACEP grant that visited and evaluated the disaster preparedness of dozens of hospitals across the country. With this background, I can represent our colleagues with diverse experiences, practice settings, and priorities.

As a military officer, I became proficient with strategic planning and management—analyzing the context of a situation, setting common objectives, identifying resources, foreseeing contingencies, and adjusting plans in response to a changing environment. As research director, I objectively assess study proposals, review current literature, and critically evaluate data. As a result of these skills, I have learned to rapidly interpret and effectively employ those observations and results.

I work at a federally operated medical center and for a democratic group in a community hospital. Both jobs provide me firsthand experience working in contrastive employment models. They also afford me insight into the opportunities and challenges resulting from the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. As President, I led the Washington Chapter as it transitioned from a small to medium chapter and emerged as a leading College resource for several critical initiatives, including championing patient access to care, safeguarding network adequacy and fair payment, repudiating psychiatric boarding, curtailing opioid-related deaths, and advocating for user-oriented clinical health information systems. These experiences make me uniquely qualified to help chapters with their state challenges and ACEP’s efforts to coordinate national leadership around these issues.