The annual ACEP Leadership & Advocacy Conference (LAC) was held May 1–3 in Washington, DC. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic still lingering in our lives, more than 300 ACEP members from 42 states came together, both in-person and virtually, to educate and advocate together. LAC is an empowering conference, reminding us that we are not alone in fighting to improve the things that make our professional lives and patient care better. For those of you who haven’t ever been to LAC, the conference is a unique blend of both a leadership summit and an advocacy summit touching on the issues that we know are most affecting emergency physicians.

Rachel L. Levine, MD Admiral, U.S. Public Health Service Assistant Secretary for Health—U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Although the conference officially began on Monday, props again to the ACEP Young Physician Section and EMRA for hosting their annual pre-conference “Health Policy Primer” educational program to kick things off. The official Leadership Summit Day included kickoff presentations and discussions on issues that are “top of mind” for many emergency physicians. Powerful talks on “Burnout: Recognizing It and Addressing It” and “#No Silence on ED Violence: Is It Time to Push the Panic Button?” reminded us just how hard emergency medicine is. These presentations served as a call to action for everyone, especially those in leadership roles, to take an active role in creating a safer and more rewarding practice. These talks were followed by informational talks on “Physician Collective Action: Does Standing on the Picket Line Cross a Moral Line” and “Saying Nope to Expanded Scope: States & Organizations Fighting for Quality Emergency Care.”

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) presents “Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act: What Comes Next?”

The afternoon of the Leadership Summit was just as amazing as the morning session. Led off by a keynote address by Adm. Rachel L. Levine, MD, U.S. Public Health Service Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the rest of the afternoon included presentations on examining the role of policymakers in addressing health care market consolidation, the flawed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, and lessons learned from recent state fights against downcoding and diagnosis exclusion lists by state Medicaid Programs. Following up on the morning’s theme of addressing the personal and professional challenges that face emergency physicians, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) highlighted the importance of the recent passage, and signing into law, of the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, which will provide funding for programs and research to improve the mental health of health care workers.