A Brief History of Our Section

2004 – Section is incorporated. Michael Burg is first section chair.

2005 – First Art Gallery “Artistic Expressions” at Scientific Assembly in Washington, DC, in conjunction with ACEP Educational Committee

2006 – First Open Mic Night at SA in New Orleans, featuring all-emergency-physician rock band “The Yum Yums”; brainchild of Liz Mitchell. Second art gallery very successful.

2007 – First Writing Award given to Jennifer Blair for “San Sebastian.” Original awards came from that year’s newsletters, not solicited from section members or the College as a whole.

2008 – Members provided art, music, and book signings for EMF fundraising event.

2010 – Members provide art auction for EMF. Last year of the art gallery due to waning interest.

2011 – Hagan Benefits sponsors Open Mic Night. Commits to 3 years.

2013 – Visual Arts Award is launched in conjunction with Writing Award. K. Kay Moody wins for “Post call early morning self-portrait.”

2014 – Facebook page is launched.

2015 – Twitter account is launched.

2016 – Last year of Open Mic Night, due to waning interest and lack of corporate sponsorship. Section wins a grant to create the online curriculum “Humanities at the Bedside.”

2017 – “Story slam” at SA as part of a sponsored breakfast. Online curriculum here

2018 – Section wins another grant, this time to publish the first 12 years of Writing and Visual Arts Award winners, entitled “Emergency Medicine Narratives: Emergency Medical Humanities Collection.” Two Writing Awards are given this year, for prose and for poetry.

2020 – “Emergency Medicine Narratives” is published and available in the ACEP Bookstore.

2021 – “Med Hums Mondays,” Zoom chats on the first Monday of each month, are instituted.

Section Chairs

2004-2007 Michael D. Burg, MD, FACEP (section founder)

2007-2009 Hans R. House, MD, DTMH, FACEP

2009-2011 K. Edwin Leap, II, MD, FACEP

2011-2013 Jeffrey Sankoff, MD, FACEP

2013-2017 Jay M. Baruch, MD, FACEP

2017-2019 Robert C. Solomon, MD, FACEP

2020-2023 Seth C. Hawkins, MD, FACEP

2023-2025 Kamna Balhara, MD, MA, FACEP