ACEP has 30 committees and 40 sections working year-round to advance emergency medicine. Led by emergency physician volunteers, these groups focus on specific niches or clinical topics within the field and regularly produce new policies, webinars, and resources to benefit ACEP members. Here are a few recent highlights:

Task Force Addresses Management of Hyperactive Delirium

The ACEP Task Force Report on Hyperactive Delirium with Severe Agitation in Emergency Settings was approved by the ACEP Board of Directors during their June 23 meeting. The report synthesizes the most current information available regarding the recognition, evaluation, and management of patients in the prehospital or emergency department setting presenting with hyperactive delirium accompanied by severe agitation.

To engage a broad array of experts with the goal of maximizing the task force’s recommendations across many audiences, the ACEP Hyperactive Delirium Task Force identified and invited several medical specialty societies to review the text and recommendations. Seventeen reviewers representing the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, American College of Medical Toxicology, American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the Emergency Nurses Association, the National Association of EMS Physicians, the National Association of Medical Examiners, and an advocate for patient safety participated in the review.

The task force strove to create text and recommendations that emphasize safety, professional education, patient evaluation, physiologic monitoring, and other critical safeguards. View the report here. 

Geriatric EM Section Launches New Courses

The Geriatric Emergency Medicine Section recently launched two free online courses that provide a total of five hours of CME credit toward geriatric emergency department accreditation (www.geda.org). The first course, “Excellence in Geriatric Emergency Care: Administrative Know-How,” is designed for those interested in implementing initiatives to improve care for geriatric patients in the emergency department. It covers different models of care, measuring continuous improvement processes, and includes tips on how to engage the stakeholders needed to start the process of building a geriatric emergency department. 

The second course, “Excellence in Geriatric Emergency Care: Core Content Competencies,” focuses on how to implement strategies to improve geriatric care and is perfect for those who are interested in becoming the director of a geriatric emergency department. Both courses are available in ACEP’s Online Learning Collaborative here.

Ultrasound Section Converting iBooks to a New App

The ACEP Emergency Ultrasound Section is combining two former iBooks into a new app called “Practical Guide to Critical Care Ultrasound,” which will soon be available for download. The process to convert the books into an app is being led by Rachel B. Liu, MD, FACEP; and Cristiana Baloescu, MD. The original iBooks, Practical Guide to Critical Ultrasound Volume 1 and Volume 2, were penned by Resa Lewiss, MD, FACEP; Robert Strony, DO, FACEP; and Robert Jones, MD.

PHIC Consolidates Motor Vehicle Policy Statements

The Public Health & Injury Prevention Committee (PHIC), led by Chair Antony Hsu, MD, FACEP, recently revised the “Motor Vehicle Safety” policy statement to incorporate content from two other statements: “Distracted and Impaired Driving” and “Small Motorized Recreational Vehicles.” This revised statement was approved by the Board during its June 2021 meeting. Scan the QR code to read the full statement.

Young Physicians Host Workforce Discussion

ACEP’s Young Physicians Section (YPS) and Online Education Committee are collaborating on a new content series called EM L.I.F.E.R.S. focused on EM lifestyle concerns: career advancement, finances, work-life balance, parenthood, and more. The most recent episode, filmed in late July, was a discussion about the future of the EM workforce with ACEP President-Elect Gillian Schmitz, MD, FACEP, and EMRA President-Elect Angela Cai, MD, MBA, FACEP. YPS solicited questions from its members to guide the conversation. View the discussion here.

EMPC Tackles ED Observation, Optimization

The Emergency Medicine Practice Committee (EMPC), led by chair Daniel Freess, MD, FACEP, revised the following policy statements as part of ACEP’s sunset review process for all policy statements. The revisions were approved by the Board at its June 2021 meeting and can be viewed in full here.

“Standardized Protocols for Optimizing Emergency Department Care,” a joint statement with the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), was updated to remove the term “advanced practice provider” in favor of the more specific terminology “nurse practitioners” and “physician assistants.”

“Emergency Department Observation Services” policy statement was revised to expand upon scope of practice/supervision, best practices, telehealth, clinical algorithms and continuous quality improvement. The committee continues to work with the Observation Medicine Section to revise the Policy Resource and Education Paper that is an adjunct to this policy statement and anticipates submitting it to the Board for review by Oct. 2021.

DIHE and AAWEP Host Reception During Leadership & Advocacy Conference (LAC)

In an effort to highlight the importance of women in science and politics, ACEP’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Health Equity (DIHE) Section and the American Association of Women Emergency Physicians (AAWEP) cohosted a reception during LAC21 in Washington, D.C. The event featured speakers Hiral Tipirneni, MD, and Rep. Kim Schrier discussing how to increase representation from women, especially women physicians, in medicine and politics.

AAC Develops EM Residency Definition, Updates Policy Statement

The Academic Affairs Committee (AAC), led by Chair Bruce Lo, MD, MBA, RDMS, FACEP, developed the policy statement “Definition of Emergency Medicine Residency,” which was approved by the ACEP Board of Directors during its June meeting. The definition is: “The term ‘resident’ and ‘residency training’ in a medical setting should only apply to postgraduate training of physicians within Graduate Medical Education (GME) training programs and should not be used for the post-graduate training of other health professions.” The committee did not define “fellow/fellowship” or “intern” because of the use of fellow in the medical setting in various capacities (eg, FACEP) and use of the term in Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)/non-ACGME post-residency training programs (especially nonclinical fellowships that are common in large health systems). This definition was created in response to the 2020 Council resolution Amended Resolution 27(20) “Attributing the Unqualified Term ‘Resident’ to Physicians.” Scan the QR code for more background.

The AAC was also asked the review the 2018 policy statement “Financing of Graduate Medical Education in Emergency Medicine” based on the workforce data released in early 2021. The revised statement, which removes prior references to a shortage of emergency physicians, was approved by the Board in June.

Health IT Committee Addresses “Open Notes” Provision

Earlier this spring, ACEP’s Health Innovation Technology Committee developed resources to help ACEP members navigate the “Open Notes” provision in the 21st Century Cares Act, which made ED notes visible to patients via the electronic health record portal. It hosted a webinar that is now available on-demand and penned several articles to help emergency physicians navigate this change. View all the resources here.

Medical Humanities Section Seeks Art and Writing Submissions

The Section of Medical Humanities is accepting submissions for its annual writing and visual arts awards. Submissions are due Sept. 13. Learn more.