Sections FAQs

Sections are subcategories of national ACEP membership available to all ACEP members. ACEP's 40 sections of membership were developed for members who share areas of interest or life stages. Members of ACEP sections have the opportunity to cultivate ideas and develop programs to improve the care of emergency patients worldwide.

• $40 annually for active members
• Emergency medicine residents, medical students, and individuals in fellowship training programs receive a free section membership in the Young Physicians Section, may join another section of their choice for FREE and join additional sections for only $20 each.

It's simple. If you are interested in forming a new section, notify the Sections Manager at ACEP headquarters and you will be given the details. You must find 99 other individuals who are interested in supporting the formation of the section you wish to start. Keep in mind that sections must be directly related to the clinical or administrative practice of emergency medicine and must maintain a minimum of 100 members.

• Newsletters - Each section sends up to four newsletters per year to its members.
• Section Grant Program - Section members interested in applying for a grant should work with their section chair to submit a Letter of Intent during the application cycle.
• Online Community - The section online communities (engagED) facilitate communication among section members. The communities can be used to help complete section activities and serves as a mechanism to discuss topics related to the section's area of interest.
• Annual Meeting - Each section holds an annual meeting during ACEP's Annual Scientific Assembly to discuss the accomplishments of the year and plan for the coming year. Many sections hold elections and include an educational presentation during the meeting. The annual meeting also gives section members the opportunity to network with other physicians who have similar interests.
• Section Councillor - Each section, with at least 100 active members each December 31, has representation at the Council meeting to advocate for the section's area of interest.
• Section Awards Program - Five awards are given annually to sections for their hard work, creativity, and overall service that section members provide to the College and its members.

Section members choose to participate in a section to benefit from networking and communication opportunities. To advocate their interest areas, sections develop their own goals and objectives, which they must submit to the Board of Directors for approval prior to implementation.

Committees are work groups with specific responsibilities assigned by the president. They do not set their own objectives. Committee members serve for a specific period of time and are accountable to the president for achievement of assigned objectives.

The section newsletter editor simply gathers articles from other section members and contributors and submits these to ACEP staff. Staff takes it from there, posts the newsletter to the section's web page, and sends an e-mail announcement to the members of the section. Each section may send up to four newsletters per year to its members. Every member is encouraged to contribute material for the newsletter to the section's newsletter editor.

Simply contact your section's staff liaison with the material you would like posted, and ACEP staff will take care of posting the information for you. You can find the name of each section's staff liaisons on the section Web page.

The section grant program was established to assist sections in meeting member's needs, educating the public, and furthering the advancement of emergency medicine. Unfortunately, there is no funding for section grants in 2021-22. Should the ACEP Board approve funding for the 2022-23 cycle, application materials will be made available in December 2022.

The Board voted to permit non-members to participate in sections in response to inquiries over the years from members and leaders of several sections about allowing non-ACEP members to participate in sections as non-voting members. Members of these sections interact and work closely with respected partners, such as nurses, PAs and EMTs, etc, who cannot join ACEP, but provide value to section discussions and work products. These non-ACEP members often hold key roles and positions that can be influential in developing policies, guidelines and other clinical and practice resources.

Current interpretation of ACEP Bylaws limits section membership to only ACEP members, and the Board decided to allow the Section Subscription option to encourage more robust participation in the ACEP sections of membership.

Several years ago, section newsletter subscriptions were available to non-members but had limited participation, partly because of the narrow scope of benefit of receiving just a newsletter. The new Section Subscription package includes the e-newsletter and access to the section web site and its e-list for a $50 annual fee.

As they do now, section members and staff liaisons will monitor section online communities (engagED) and will report misuse by non-members, as well as members.

Non-members eligible for subscriptions are physician assistants, nurses, EMS providers, and other mid-level providers. Physician non-members who do not qualify for ACEP membership can also subscribe to a section.

Non-member subscribers will NOT be eligible to vote or hold office in the section. Non-member subscribers will NOT be allowed to submit Section Grants or serve as the project coordinator or participate in College functions that are specifically for College members.

Each Section’s members voted whether to open their section to subscribers. Four sections – Air Medical Transport, American Association of Women Emergency Physicians (AAWEP), EMS-Prehospital Care and Tactical Emergency Medicine – voted to keep their membership exclusive to ACEP members only. The other 36 sections currently allow subscribers.

Approved Oct. 18, 2011

1. Non-member subscriptions will be available only to those non-members who do not qualify for membership.
2. Non-member subscribers will be allowed access to the section including but not limited to the e-list, the e-newsletter, attendance at the section annual meeting, and the website.
3. Non-member subscribers will not be eligible to vote or hold office in the section.
4. Non-member subscribers will not be allowed to submit Section Grants or serve as the project coordinator or participate in College functions that are specifically for College members.
5. Non-member subscribers will not impact the membership count for councillor representation.
6. The rate for this non-member section subscription will be set at $50 and be maintained at $10 more than the member rate.
7. Each section will be allowed to determine whether or not to open the section to a non-member subscription. This process would happen by a vote taken during their annual meeting or by electronic ballot. A simple majority of those voting would determine the question. The same process would be used to revoke subscription membership participation.
8. Subscriptions would be billed on a rolling basis just as membership dues are billed.

Visit the section application page, where you will have to log-in or create an account to subscribe to a section. You might already have a web account if you have purchased form the ACEP bookstore or if you have registered for an ACEP meeting.

Subscribe to a Section Today

Reading the current Section Grant Manual before starting is critical to assure that the project is appropriate for a section grant and that the proper process is followed. A list of successful grants under this program is available here.

Any member of a Section of national ACEP can apply for a grant. Typically this is done through the current Section Chair as the representative of the Section to the Board of Directors.

It is expected that projects funded by the Section Grant Program will be complete within 18 months.

Although the exact date changes from year to year, the initial letter of intent is typically due in late January or early February. Consult the Section Grant Schedule for a current list of important dates.

Letters of Intent must be reviewed and approved by your section staff liaison and section chair before they are officially submitted to the Sections Manager. Reach out to your staff liaison for guidance as soon you start working on your letter of intent.

Yes. If the project would be of significant interest to more than one Section, the interested Sections are encouraged to apply jointly.

Unfortunately, there is no funding for section grants in 2022-23. Should the ACEP Board approve funding for the 2023-24 cycle, application materials will be made available in December 2023.

Refer to the Funded Section Grants for a listing of successful Grants awarded since 2010.