ACP: Council of Associates - Welcome from the Council Chair

About ACP

Welcome from the Council Chair

Dear Internal Medicine Residents and Subspecialty Fellows,

How many times have you seen something that you would like to improve during your residency or fellowship? Changing the duration of residency, removal of procedural requirements from training programs, redesign of internal medicine, and addressing student debt are some of the pressing issues in which ACP leadership is actively engaged. The time to make your voice heard is now! We, as trainees, are active participants and leaders in this process.

ACP continues to work tirelessly for its members. It has been particularly attuned to the needs of its more than 18,000 Associate members, advocating for us on many important issues at the national level. To better serve its Associate members, ACP formed the Council of Associates (COA) which consists of 14 members who represent a diverse array of regions of the country selected on the basis of previously demonstrated leadership abilities and a defined interest in making the lives of physicians-in-training and the patients that they care for better.

The COA is involved at every level of College leadership. Representatives currently sit on all of the key College committees and maintain a voting presence on both the Board of Governors and the Board of Regents, the governing bodies of ACP. This degree of physician-in-training representation is unparalleled in modern medicine. Furthermore, our Council members represent the trainee voice in meetings of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the Residency Review Committee in Internal Medicine. This coming year will continue to bring both old and new challenges to our Associate constituency, and the Council will continue to be responsive to your needs. We will continue our efforts to:

Take an active role in residency redesign by defining a model of graduate medical education that is aligned with the needs of the current practice of internal medicine;

Evaluate the effects of the ACGME duty hour guidelines on internal medicine residency trainees and patient care;

Advocate for a healthy balance of personal and professional goals for our trainees especially in the area of trainee personal medical and emotional health;

Advocate for a training environment that facilitates and provides options for the incorporation of flexible training options and which meets the needs of trainees with families;

Continue to develop and market high quality educational materials to ensure your continued success as a resident, fellow, or young physician;

Develop leadership opportunities through the establishment and strengthening of our local Associate chapters by expanding the Associate Leadership Network;

Revitalize/Re-energize internal medicine to ensure that our field attracts and retains the brightest students that our medical schools have to offer by working closely with the Council of Student Members; and

Work closely with the Council of Young Physicians to ensure that graduating residents and subspecialty fellows are able to effectively enter their practice with the resources and education that they will require in order to function in the current healthcare environment.

As an Associate member, you will continue to benefit from the valuable programs, products and services that the College has developed. In addition to the popular MKSAP available at a substantially discounted rate to Associates, educational offerings range from resources such as PIER (the Physicians Information and Education Resource) and Annals of Internal Medicine, free on-line access to ACP Medicine, to abstract competitions and career counseling (i.e. the Career Resource Center, the Resident Career Counseling, and the Practice Management Center).

We encourage you to contact your national Council representative for your region to discuss your education, training environment, career development, advocacy, or any other area where the Council of Associates may be of assistance.

You are an integral component of the College. Come join us at a local meeting, or in Washington, D.C. to advocate for our profession and our patients. We look forward to working with YOU as the leaders of tomorrow become the leaders of today. Please feel free to contact us for more information or if you are interested in taking a more active role in this exciting time.

Sincerely,

CPT Cristin A. Mount, MD
Chair, Council of Associates
cakiley394@yahoo.com

Page posted: 06-06-08