I’m tremendously honored to have been selected as medical Editor in Chief of ACEP Now. Thanks to my predecessor Dr. Kevin Klauer’s passion and vision, I am fortunate to inherit a thriving publication that already lives up to its motto and mission statement to be the “official voice of emergency medicine.”

This publication needs no reboot. You can expect many things to stay the same: evidence-based clinical updates, expert how-to’s, advocacy reports, information on ACEP resources, and financial and career advice—coverage of critical issues by and for emergency physicians.

But every editor has a vision, and I’d like to share mine with you and use this opportunity to introduce you to some new features we will roll out in the coming months.

My three major goals for the magazine will build on our current efforts that are already under way:

• ACEP Now will reflect the increasing diversity of our membership. As our field diversifies, the stories we cover and the authors we publish must reflect this. This will give our readers a more accurate representation of what is actually happening and where we are headed.
• We will use this space to more aggressively highlight what ACEP as an organization—both members like you and its professional staff—is doing to advance the common interests of our field. Many of us, myself included, are not fully aware of the efforts of both our volunteer leaders and paid professionals. They’re on Capitol Hill keeping us afloat financially. They’re writing position statements so that we are medical and moral leaders in health care. They’re interfacing with mainstream media to represent us. And our passionate members are changing ACEP from the inside, often through inglorious committee work that truly deserves to be highlighted. “Where are my dues going?” you often ask. We will make sure you know so that you can be proud—and maybe motivated to get involved to make the changes you envision a reality.
• The magazine will put a spotlight on the major medical and political problems of our time. We cannot close our eyes and stop our ears on issues where we do not enjoy consensus. We may not always have the answers to these problems, but if we do not at least document them, our successors will justly ask, “What were they thinking?” Therefore, this magazine will be a space where you can turn for coverage of major developments in medicine and policy, through the lens of emergency physicians. We’re not trying to spawn angry emails (but, yes, we will read them all) but rather to rouse action from diverse corners of our specialty.

I’d like to introduce you to just some of the new features and columns that will appear in the magazine. All of these are in service of the goals above.

• FACEPs in the Crowd: Our members are simply amazing. Many of them are passionate about more than just emergency medicine. We will highlight the nonmedical accomplishments of our multifaceted FACEP members. This month’s inaugural installment features three fascinating emergency physicians. Learn what they do when they’re not treating patients.
• Residency Spotlight: Each month, we will feature one emergency medicine residency program in the United States. You’ll get to know programs across this great land through these snapshots and learn about their strengths and, of course, their charming quirks. Our first installment features University of Nebraska Emergency Medicine. I chose this program because it is located the closest to the geographical center of the contiguous United States of any residency. But trust me, that’s not their only claim to fame.
• The Equity Equation: The discussion we are (not) having about equity in medicine is long overdue. These columns will be data-driven policy pieces designed to both diagnose and respond to problems we face. Our first column tackles clinical scheduling during pregnancy. How do we balance the safety of our pregnant colleagues with the clinical needs for our patients who rely on full staffing models?
• Resident Voice: We need to hear from our trainees. What is happening on the ground, both good and bad? This column will focus on issues that can best be described from the resident perspective. You’ll see how residents can advocate for change and succeed.
• Injuries, By the Numbers: The annual mortality statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are staggering. Every year, well over 200,000 Americans, often young and otherwise healthy, die unnecessarily. We can’t forget these people, and we should be angry. For example, we know that increasing the speed limit on interstate highways increases mortality rates. We can and will juxtapose such facts when mass casualty events occur, be it on our highways (such as last month when seven motorcyclists died in a single crash in New Hampshire) or in our schools and houses of worship that are terrorized by guns.

And that’s just a few of the new features and columns you can expect. Some of these changes are designed to be pure fun, while others are more serious. What works and what does not is something that we will discover together as a community. We won’t always get it right, but we will take big swings and not “strike out looking.”