Remember the first time you felt “at home” in emergency medicine—like you were in the right place at the right time with the right people? Having a professional home, somewhere you belong, can provide a sense of community and unified purpose that serves as a powerful antidote to physician burnout.

To this end, the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association (EMRA), in partnership with the award-winning talk show Radio Rounds, recently developed an inspirational podcast series, EMpower, as an extension of the EMpower series in EM Resident magazine.

The goal is to highlight the value of the community EMRA embodies by sharing the incredible stories of former EMRA members and other pioneers in our field who used their early involvement in organized medicine as a launching pad for their careers. These conversations capture the unique perspectives and motivations that have guided emergency medicine trailblazers to enduring and fulfilling professional lives with the hopes of empowering current and future physicians to more effectively navigate the ever-changing landscape of our distinguished profession.

Together, EMRA and Radio Rounds have opened a fascinating window into the lives and careers of the best that emergency medicine has to offer. For example, ACEP President Rebecca Parker, MD, FACEP, talks about emergency medicine’s transformative efforts to tackle perceived diversity deficiencies within our profession head on. Kevin Klauer, DO, FACEP, reminds us that simply taking the best care of our patients is the surest form of “risk management.” John Rogers, MD, FACEP, remembers some of his career’s most tragic losses and how they’ve formed him into a compassionate, resilient physician, and Jay Kaplan, MD, FACEP, reveals that everything he’s ever needed to know he learned from Noah’s Ark.

Available via free download and streaming audio online or by podcast subscription in iTunes, EMpower is designed to teach, train, and entertain. Unique in their scope and approach, these positive, forward-thinking, pearl-filled conversations have already garnered thousands of downloads. The short, easy-to-digest podcasts provide helpful tips on how to improve one’s practice as well as share myriad incredible accounts of life in one of the most interesting places anyone can work, our emergency departments.

Dr. Corker is an emergency medicine resident at Parkland Hospital, UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Dr. Das is an emergency medicine resident at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. Dr. Jarou is an emergency medicine resident at Denver Health Medical Center.

ILLUSTRATION: Chris Whissen & Shutterstock.com

Check Out These EMpower Episodes

1. Diversity & Inclusion and Leadership: Rebecca Parker, MD, FACEP
2. Policy and Public Health: L. Anthony Cirillo, MD, FACEP
3. EM Historical Perspective: Andrew Bern, MD, FACEP
4. The Art of Medicine, Health Care Delivery and Risk Management: Kevin Klauer, DO, EJD, FACEP
5. Health Policy and Public Health: Aisha Liferidge, MD, FACEP
6. Physician Wellness and Leadership: Jay Kaplan, MD, FACEP
7. Insights on Leadership: John Rogers, MD, FACEP
8. Insights into EM Advocacy: Alison Haddock, MD, FACEP
9. An EM Leap of Faith: Steven Stack, MD, FACEP