Each October at ACEP’s annual Council meeting, the ACEP Council elects new leaders for the College. The Council, which represents all 53 Chapters, 33 Sections of Membership, the Association of Academic Chairs in Emergency Medicine, the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors, the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association, and the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, will elect the College’s President-Elect, four members to the ACEP Board of Directors, the Council Speaker, and the Council Vice Speaker. This month, we’ll meet the candidates for Council officer positions.

The Council officer candidates responded to the following question:

What one skill do you possess that would be critical to running a successful Council meeting?

Council Speaker

The following is a candidate for ACEP Council Speaker.

James M. Cusick, MD, FACEP (Colorado)

Current Professional Positions: emergency physician, First Choice ER, Thornton, Colorado
Internships and Residency: internal medicine internship, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Medical Center (NEOUCOM), Youngstown, Ohio; ED elective (two months), Lincoln Hospital and Mental Health Center, South Bronx, New York; emergency medicine residency, Kern County Medical Center, Bakersfield, California
Medical Degree: MD, Fifth Pathway: Nassau County Medical Center/SUNY Stony Brook, New York (1983)

Having been your recent Council Vice Speaker for two years, I sincerely believe there is no “one skill” that is critical to running a successful Council meeting. Instead, it requires a multitude of simultaneous technical skills, a solid Council and College knowledge base, and a keen sense of awareness of one’s immediate surroundings. Maintaining a good sense of humor, being quick of wit, and possessing a cunning ability to hear and feel “the collective will of the Council” strongly support success.

Keeping track of time and being respectful of each other as we deliberate on the floor are extremely important to our success in doing the annual business of the Council. This is our tradition; combined with adherence to bylaws, Council standing rules, and honest heartfelt debate of our resolutions, we reap the rewards of improved patient care, support of our membership, and clarity/direction of purpose. I appreciate our process.

Being a good speaker and running a successful meeting involves being a good communicator. Quality communications begin with being a good listener, being open-minded, and understanding the value of different opinions and sometimes seemingly divergent views in a collegial manner while always considering the unintended consequences of all actions.

I have the ability, “skills,” and personality of an excellent communicator and will bring the level of communication to new heights. I believe I have the “right stuff” and now the appropriate training to be an excellent Council Speaker and will strive to do so with the help of many College leaders, Councillors and Past Speakers as valued resources.