Rick Robinson - TCEP President

Rick Robinson, MD FACEP

TCEP PRESIDENT 2013-2014

MEDICAL SCHOOL

RESIDENCY

TEXAS COLLEGE OF EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS – LEADERSHIP AND CONTRIBUTIONS

OFFICER POSITIONS:

COMMITTEE AND ADDITIONAL POSITIONS:

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS – LEADERSHIP & CONTRIBUTIONS

COMMITTEE AND ADDITIONAL POSITIONS:

AWARDS:

COMMENTS AND REFLECTIONS

As President I had the honor of representing the Texas Emergency Medicine community at the local, state, regional, and national levels. Any TCEP Past President is likely to relate that their year as President is the culmination of many years of service to TCEP members and the patients to whom we provide care. Although TCEP's specific agenda may change from year-to-year the fundamental mission of advocacy remains constant. My year as President can best be summed up as Advocate General and it was one of the highlights of my professional career. The President serves as Chairman of the TCEP Board and is therefore charged with facilitating decisions and actions of the Board on behalf of all TCEP Members. When the Chapter has a good year it is largely due to the success of the Board and its working relationship with the President, the Chapter Executive Director, and headquarters staff. During my year as President the Board successfully (1) continued to grow membership and improve Chapter finances, (2) supported legislation meaningful to our members and patients, (3) influenced appointment of our members to key regulatory and political positions, (4) contributed to historical projects to include the EMRA documentary, the EMF endowment fund, and the TCEP archive, (5) organized and implemented activities for the TCEP 40th Anniversary Commemorative and Gala, and (6) communicated with our membership, other organized medical societies, policy makers, and the public in a timely manner regarding the key issues we faced. These are but a few examples of our body of work for the 2013-2014 annual business year. I believe my greatest accomplishment as President was to facilitate a productive year for the TCEP Board and our Members in an open and transparent forum. Given that my term as President ended about the time this archive was established in April 2014 the following is more of a summary of relatively recent events than true retrospective. During my tenure as a member of the TCEP Board and Executive Committee Emergency Medicine was being recognized as the indispensable medical specialty of our time. As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) rolled out the House of Medicine experienced a paradigm shift. The concept of the right patient in the right place at the right time became more reality than pipe dream. In the several years leading up to the ACA go live Emergency Medicine was formally recognized as the specialty that most profoundly manages access to care. Hospitals took on the role of center pieces of health care networks development. Emergency Medicine transitioned from simply staffng a single clinical environment to managing multiple areas within the health care network. Those trained in Emergency Medicine moved into network and medical staff leadership positions where their skills in multitasking and service integration were exactly what the doctor ordered and patients needed. Although the jury remains undecided in terms of the overall impact and sustainability of the ACA it is apparent that Emergency Medicine will remain a major partner with regards to the evolution of integrated health care networks.If you speak with TCEP Members that regularly attend Chapter functions you will appreciate a common thread of camaraderie. One of the most enjoyable benefits of TCEP membership is collaboration with Emergency Medicine's finest minds and most passionate advocates. TCEP provides a venue of networking opportunity that opens doors for its individual members to meet and work with the leaders in our specialty and those that shape public health policy. It has been my experience that TCEP offers an appropriate balance between social networking and advocacy work providing for … well … some very interesting memories. Readers are encouraged to refer to Dr. Greenberg's article in the November 2013 EMphasis for further details on the Zen associated with hotel bars.TCEP has been and will remain the organization I most closely identify with on a professional level. We have a rich history of meaningful advocacy and member support. We have an impressive roster of past and current local, regional, and national leaders. We continue to mentor up the next generation of leaders who will carry our torch forward. Like so many others I am proud to be affliated with the most effective professional organization in Texas … hands down.