Physician leadership is a priority for ACEP President Aisha T. Terry, MD, MPH, FACEP. She’s approaching the issue from all sides. As she builds a programmatic approach within ACEP to identify and cultivate leaders, she is strengthening the “pipeline” and creating opportunities for newer physicians to thrive. In this spotlight. Dr. Terry interviews Team Rubicon International Chief Medical Officer David Callaway, MD, MPA, FACEP.

The Leadership Spotlight highlights examples of emergency physicians using their foundation in emergency medicine to lead, teach, and inspire the next generation. Whether inside the hospital or beyond, the foundation laid by deep experience in the specialty is versatile, unique, and invaluable.

Dr. Terry: One of my priorities for the specialty going forward is to be more intentional about recruiting emergency physicians and leaders, ensuring diversity and bold new ways of thinking along the way. What are your thoughts on emergency physician recruitment and empowerment through leadership?

Dr. Callaway: Emergency physicians are uniquely suited to be leaders. First, we get a lot of practice. On a daily basis, we are placed in situations where we must direct multidisciplinary teams to care for patients, often in high stress situations. Quickly understanding people’s strengths, weaknesses, and needs becomes second nature to most of us.

Second, we are action oriented. And this piece is important for ACEP—our members are passionate, committed, and want to get stuff done. Nothing builds resilience like action and progress. Finally, we are on the front lines of nearly every major issue facing our country. So naturally people become vested in trying to find solutions—to homelessness, firearm violence, climate change, human trafficking. ACEP can harness this passion for great things.

Dr. Terry: You have an incredible range of experience. Are there common threads you see woven through your clinical work in Charlotte, N.C., whether it’s service with the U.S. Marshals, disaster response with Team Rubicon, counterterrorism operations, or your role leading efforts to combat climate change?

Dr. Callaway: I truly believe that being an emergency physician is one of the greatest jobs in the world, and with it comes an even greater responsibility. I’ve always been driven toward opportunities to use health care to build bridges and create stability in unstable areas. Whether it’s clinical and operational, such as directing COVID response for a large health system, or it’s civic minded, like our efforts to ensure safety in voting through an initiative called Healthy Democracy for All. Or when its advocacy informed by science, on topics like climate change and health equity. It all comes back to skills and passions I developed through emergency medicine.