Ambassador Program Guidelines

Qualifications

General Qualifications (all three categories)

Ambassadors, Liaisons, and Representatives:
must be an ACEP and/or EMRA member in good standing and maintain membership for the duration of their term,
must be a member in good standing of the Section and maintain membership for the duration of their term,
must disclose any potential conflicts of interest to the Committee on an annual basis, and
should be actively engaged, at the time of application, in the advancement of emergency care and/or development of emergency medicine as a medical specialty in the country they represent.

Ambassador (in addition to the General qualifications)

Ambassadors:
must be an attending-level physician board certified or board eligible by the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) or American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine (AOBEM),
must be a United States citizen or permanent resident,
should be able to communicate directly in the prevailing language of the country, and
should have an appreciation of the culture of the assigned country, in order to be as efficacious as possible,

Liaison (in addition to the General qualifications)

The Liaison:
must be an attending-level physician or equivalent practicing emergency medicine in the country and/or member of the organization which they represent, and
should be able to communicate directly in English.

Representative (in addition to the General qualifications)

Representatives:
must be a United States citizen or permanent resident,
should be able to communicate directly in the prevailing language of the country, and
should have an appreciation of the culture of the assigned country, in order to be as efficacious as possible.

Roles and Responsibilities

Role (all three categories)

Appointees to a country or for a region (such as Latin America) are encouraged to collaborate on regional projects to further enhance the specialty in a given region. They may also collaborate with various other private or academic groups who work to further emergency care in a country or region.

Appointees not only represent the College’s position with respect to affairs of the host country or organization,but also is an advocate of that country or organization within the College. The appointee seeks to promote the evolution of emergency medicine by working closely with the assigned country’s emergency medicine society (or societies),or group of representatives that represent a facet of emergency medicine, such as an EMS program or group of physicians delivering emergency care that is considered integral to the formation of emergency medicine.

With regard to decision making capacities on behalf of ACEP, the appointees can only make such decisions with the prior approval of the Section Steering Committee (ISSC) and the President. Any opinions or actions expressed outside of the approval of ACEP are the sole responsibility of the individual. Any opinions or actions expressed without the approval of ACEP, or outside of the policies of the College and the ISSC will be considered reason for removal from appointment.

General Responsibilities (all 3 categories)

Ambassadors, Liaisons, and Representatives:
will utilize the Ambassador Toolkit to educate the country’s public and emergency workforce on ACEP, its mission, benefits of membership, and both live and online educational activities,
will collaborate to prepare a single annual country report on the status of the specialty of emergency medicine in their country or organization of representation,
will maintain and submit an accurate work/performance log on an annual basis,
will provide alerts to ACEP’s International Relations Manager about important conferences/events(such as emergency medicine specialty recognition, Fellowship opportunities,natural disasters, etc.) taking place within their country of representation,
will respond to requests for information from emergency medicine physicians or residents who wish to become involved in their assigned country within a reasonable time frame,
will maintain current contact lists for emergency medicine leaders in their assigned country,
will update ACEP’s Observership and Rotations Web site to ensure that it reflects complete and accurate information for Rotation opportunities available in their assigned country,
will disseminate information to the assigned country on behalf of ACEP,
will remain abreast of emergency medicine activity in their country or organization of representation and report accordingly,
will be an advocate of the country/organization within the College and also represents the College’s position with respect to affairs of the assigned country or organization,
will seek to promote the evolution of emergency medicine by working closely with the assigned country’s emergency medicine society, or group of representatives that represent a facet of emergency medicine, such as an EMS program or group of physicians delivering emergency care that is considered integral to the formation of emergency medicine,
will represent ACEP’s position with respect to emergency care issues and development of emergency medicine as a medical specialty in the assigned country,
will seek to promote the evolution of emergency medicine by working with the assigned country’s emergency physicians and other representative practitioners integral to the delivery of high quality emergency medicine such as pre-hospital care givers, nurses and other physicians delivering emergency care who are considered integral to the development of emergency medicine as a specialty,
will seek, and when feasible create, opportunities for US residents, fellows and attending physicians to collaborate with the emergency medicine establishment of the assigned country,
will, if possible, work with health professionals from other specialties either allied to emergency medicine or integral to advancement of high quality emergency medical care such as public health specialists, in-hospital medical specialists, toxicologists, etc.,
will, at their discretion, participate in teaching activities that will enhance emergency medicine in their assigned country, by way of direct teaching, or assisting in the organization of conferences targeted toward the promotion of emergency medicine in that country,
will, when applicable, collaborate with other Ambassadors,Liaisons, and/or Representatives representing other countries in their respective regions (such as Latin America) on projects to further enhance the specialty, and
will collaborate, when possible, with various other private or academic groups who work to further emergency care in their country (or region) of representation.

Ambassador (in addition to Roles and General Responsibilities)

The Lead Ambassador:
will provide oversight for Deputy Ambassador, Liaison(s), and/or Representative(s)
will serve as mentor to Representatives and will meet and/or talk via phone with mentee(s)at least 2 times annually
will have quarterly contact with the assigned country or organization,
will submit annual country report via ACEP’s online platform within stated time frames/deadlines,
will attend the annual Ambassador Conference, when held, at least one time during their 2-year term, barring extraordinary circumstances submitted in writing in advance to the Committee Chair,
will take the lead in coordinating efforts between the Lead Ambassador, Deputy Ambassador(s),Liaison(s), and/or Representatives(s) for their assigned country or organization,
will, on request of the Board, represent ACEP in an official capacity at professional meetings in the assigned country, disseminating information about ACEP, offering lectures (international speakers bureaus), and providing a public relations link between the assigned country’s emergency medicine community and ACEP,
will, upon invitation, meet with government officials (such as health or education ministers) of the assigned country in order to support the development of emergency medicine with further intervention if needed; in which situation the ambassador should, regardless of personal association with the assigned country:

limit activity to the role of a facilitator and informational source,
avoid direct influence of any political process of the assigned country (change agent/advocate and political process), unless approval from the Board allows, and
help the assigned country officials arrive at informed decisions within their local social and political structure, and

will, when possible, help arrange accommodations and welcome delegates from their assigned country to the United States when such delegates attend important ACEP functions (hospitality on the part of the Ambassador is greatly encouraged).

A Deputy Ambassador(should there be one)
will be under the oversight of the Lead Ambassador, in the absence of a Lead Ambassador, will report directly to the Committee member assigned oversight for the country/organization,
will adhere to the same guiding principles as the Lead Ambassador, as noted above,
will notify the Lead Ambassador of activities in which the Deputy Ambassador is engaged in the assigned country,
will collaborate with the Lead Ambassador with regard to activities in which the Deputy Ambassador is engaged in the assigned country,and
will collaborate with the Lead Ambassador, other Deputy Ambassadors, Liaisons, and/or Representatives in development of the country report.

Liaison (in addition to Roles and General Responsibilities)

The Liaison:
will be under the oversight of the Lead Ambassador, in the absence of a Lead Ambassador, will report directly to the Committee member assigned oversight for the country/region,
will notify the Lead Ambassador of activities in which the Liaison is engaged in the assigned country,
will collaborate with the Lead Ambassador with regard to activities in which the Liaison is engaged in the assigned country,
will collaborate with the Ambassadors and/or Representatives in development of the country report,
will submit annual country report via ACEP’s online platform within stated time frames/deadlines in the absence of a Lead Ambassador,
will, on request of the Board, represent ACEP in an official capacity at professional meetings in the assigned country, disseminating information about ACEP, offering lectures (international speakers bureaus), and providing a public relations link between the assigned country’s emergency medicine community and ACEP, and
will, upon invitation, meet with government officials (such as health or education ministers) of the assigned country in order to support the development of emergency medicine with further intervention if needed; in which situation the ambassador should, regardless of personal association with the assigned country:

Representative (in addition to Roles and General Responsibilities)

The Representative:
will be under the oversight of the Lead Ambassador, in the absence of a Lead Ambassador, will report directly to the Committee member assigned oversight for the country/organization,
will meet and/or talk via phone with their mentor at least 2 times annually,
will carry out assignments delegated to them by the Ambassador within a reasonable timeline/deadline(recognizing resident schedule limitations),
will collaborate with the Ambassadors and/or Liaisons in development of the country report,
will submit annual country report via ACEP’s online platform within stated time frames/deadlines in the absence of both a Lead Ambassador and Liaison,
will help facilitate at least one educational activity or program in the assigned country, and
will attend one international related conference during their appointment term.

Grounds for removal of a sitting Ambassador, Deputy Ambassador,Liaison, or Representative

Although appointments are assigned for 2 year terms, individuals are subject to removal from the position should the Committee be apprised of and confirm activities of any sort that may harm the reputation of ACEP.

Guidelines include but are not limited to:
At no time should individuals speak on/for official positions of ACEP without a written statement from ACEP on the issue.
At no time should individuals authorize any organization to use ACEP logos or to imply that ACEP is officially involved with, sanctioning or endorsing activities without written approval from ACEP.
At no time will individuals undertake activities in which they are being specifically identified as a representative of ACEP without written approval from ACEP.
At no time will individuals align with any one group or promoters of emergency medicine or professional society, staying independent of any internal national physician politics, and
At no time will individuals promote themselves as official representatives of ACEP, the ACEP President, or Board with authority to make any agreements, enter into any contracts, or otherwise engage ACEP in any commitments without express written approval from ACEP.

Position/Program funding

The position of international ACEP Ambassador, Liaison, or Representative is a non-funded voluntary position. Should the individual undertake a specific mission at the request of the Board, at the Board’s discretion, and with approval by ACEP’s Executive Director or President in writing and prior to undertaking the activity, there may be some travel expense assistance. However this would be rare.

Appointment Term

Appointments are for a term of 2 years. All appointments will be reviewed by the ISSC bi-annually in conjunction with Scientific Assembly.

Normally, an individual will serve a single term if there are other qualified applicants for the position. Criteria likely to influence a decision to reappoint, particularly when there are other applicants, will be the quality of service the current individual is providing to the assigned country in terms of the goals stated above.

The position may also be retracted by the President according to the same review and recommendation guidelines.

Country Representation

Wherever possible, but not exclusively, the Committee should look for culturally interested representatives who, because of their ethnicity have a special affinity to developing emergency medicine in their forbears country, both in the interest of Section diversity and because the natural affinities may breakdown cultural and language barriers that may otherwise exist. It is recognized that the US is a multicultural society with ACEP members that may have special familiarity with the other countries, culture and languages.

Generally, only one Ambassador and/or Liaison will be assigned to any particular country. However, only one lead Ambassador will exist for a particular country.

In certain cases a Deputy Ambassador and/or additional Liaisons may be assigned. The decision to create additional positions for a country will be based on several factors to include:

the number of qualified applicants for the position,
the preference of the country or organization,
the size of the country or organization memberships,
countries with multiple societies,
countries with complex ethnographic make ups,
the complexity of the emergency medicine domain in the country, and
other factors that the ISSC may wish to consider.

In cases where a resident in emergency medicine desires to serve, the resident may be appointed as a representative for ACEP, working under the auspices of the Lead Ambassador or Committee member assigned oversight responsibility for the country/region. This situation could occur, for instance, in cases where the resident is familiar with the country, culture, and language.

With respect to Deputy Ambassador, Liaison, or Representative appointments, the Lead Ambassador will be involved in the decision process both for creating the position and for deciding on the best candidate.

Organization representation

Individuals will represent ACEP without specific allegiance to any one organization and may find it necessary to represent multiple entities, but only in cases where such organizations are not mutually antagonistic towards each other, since such circumstances could jeopardize ACEP’s standing in that particular country. Further, organizations that are antagonistic towards the ideals of ACEP will not have an ACEP Ambassador, Liaison, or Representative.

The term “organization” may refer to an emergency medicine society, a non-emergency medicine society wishing to advance emergency care, a certifying body for the specialty, or an academic group in a country without an emergency medicine society.

Application Process

Individuals are appointed upon recommendation from the Committee and ISSC. Appointment decisions will be based on the following:

Current Curriculum Vitae (CV)
History/involvement(past work/experience)
Existing/established relationships/contacts
Ties to developing emergency medicine
Fluency/familiarity with primary language and culture
Disclosure statement to include disclosures for all organization/company affiliations with ties to or operating within the country/region of interest as well as family political ties

Applications undergo a three-tier review process as follows:

Tier 1 – Initial review by the Committee and/or the country specific Lead Ambassador.
Tier 2 – Committee recommendations will be reviewed by the ISSC.
Tier 3 – The ISSC will submit a formal recommendation to ACEP’s President for final approval.