ACEP has 32 Sections of Membership, each with a unique special interest or focus of emergency medicine. ACEP News is currently profiling the aims and activies of the sections.

Emergency physicians are a talented bunch. Aside from their ability to stabilize the traumatically injured, recognize and treat many potentially fatal illnesses, and handle the most interesting of personality types across all manner of medical specialties in a single shift, it turns out they also have some other hidden talents.

The ACEP Section on Medical Humanities provides a forum for ACEP members to display those talents. The section attracts those who are interested in fine arts, literature, the humanities, and the humanistic social sciences to promote their utilization in the instruction of emergency physicians, and as a source and means of lifelong learning for emergency physicians.

For several years, the section organized “ACEP Artistic Expressions,” an art gallery with paintings, photographs, and other works created by ACEP members, displayed at Scientific Assembly. In 2006, the section began holding “Open Mic Night,” also at Scientific Assembly. This fun-filled event has featured music, poetry and book readings, comedy, and even some magic. With sponsorship by Hagan Benefits, we look forward to growing this event for the next several years. Every year we also solicit entries for our Writing Award.

Section members have also partnered with the Emergency Medicine Foundation to provide musical talent for the “Evening With EMF,” as well as book and CD signings and an art auction, with the proceeds being donated to EMF.

Our quarterly newsletter, MUSE, provides another venue for emergency physicians to express their creativity and show off their creative endeavors.

We encourage anyone with an interest in the medical humanities to join. More information is available at www.acep.org/humanities.

Visit www.acep.org/sections to find out more about all of ACEP’s Sections of Membership.