I convinced them we were a vertical specialty, we specialized in the emergency medical aspects of every specialty, and we can do that better than anybody else.
KK: Why should young emergency physicians join ACEP?
SS: I think this is the best way of coming in contact with their peers at the national meetings and through the publications of ACEP.
KK: Thank you for helping to create a specialty that has fulfilled many lives, and heartfelt thanks for your 50 years of membership.
SS: I’m very honored to contribute and share my thoughts today.
EM in the Family
Samuel Slimmer, Jr., MD, followed in his father’s footsteps to a career in medicine, and in becoming an emergency physician. Dr. Klauer recently sat down with him to talk about his father’s influence on his career.
KK: It’s interesting you two have ended up in a similar place as emergency physicians but didn’t take the same path. Did your dad’s career influence you to pursue a career in emergency medicine?
SS Jr.: I remember my mom taking us into the ED when he was working. The nurses would have a lot of questions for him, “What does this patient need?” or “What should I do?” It seemed like he got a ton of respect from the staff. We’d be at the supermarket or out somewhere at a restaurant and people would come up to him and thank him for helping them when they were sick, or say he saved the life of one of their loved ones.
In college, I got a job as a phlebotomist and then an orderly. I got to work with a lot of people that my dad worked with. I got to see how much of a difference you could make by being a good physician, but also a kind person. He knew everyone’s name in the hospital, and put special emphasis on personally knowing people that others probably wouldn’t have, like the housekeepers and the cafeteria staff. They loved him. For years after he was gone, they’d ask me about him.
KK: What else would you like to share?
SS Jr.: World War II veterans never talked about World War II. My dad hasn’t said much, except a few stories over the years. I gather that for him and people from his field, it wasn’t an easy time being among the first emergency physicians in the country. We owe it to those people who went through that time and toughed it out, resulting in a respected specialty.
KK: As we move further away from that early time, we run the risk of forgetting what people like your father went through to establish our specialty. This 50th anniversary is, in part, to celebrate their successes and remind people how challenging it was to develop our specialty. We should never take it for granted.
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