Artists Among Us: ACEP's 2021 Annual Report features original art submitted to the 2020 and 2021 HeART of Emergency Medicine Galleries. This piece, “Eve” by Sanché Mabins, MD, PGY-2, (@mabinssanche) highlights the difficult process of weighing both benefits and consequences of paths yet traveled.
ACEP has always supported the right of our members, and all emergency physicians, to make their own decisions regarding employment type. We recognize that the diversity of our membership calls for diverse practice models. ACEP wants to define and clarify the conversation about physician groups and work to ensure transparency in employment
models, ownership models and leadership models and to stand firm in our support of best practices.
Language repeated in two 2020 Council resolutions directed ACEP to work to ensure billing transparency and due process for emergency physicians. Throughout 2021, ACEP has been working to answer that call.
Explore the New Career Center
In 2021, ACEP developed a Career Center to serve as a one-stop-shop for EM physicians in all career phases. Visit the Career Center to find:
- A vetted job board
- Interactive employment contracts checklist
- ACEP policy statements addressing compensation arrangements and transparency, employment contracts and physician rights and responsibilities
- Career-related webinars, videos, profiles
- Compensation reports
- CV review services
Support from the Strongest Policies
ACEP has continued our emphasis on defining core principles and standing for accountability with all employers. ACEP recently adopted and reaffirmed the following policies:
- Compensation Arrangements for Emergency Physicians (Revised April 2021)
- Emergency Physician Compensation Transparency (Approved October 2020)
- Emergency Physician Contractual Relationships (Revised April 2021)
- Emergency Physician Rights and Responsibilities (Revised April 2021)
Increasing Employer Transparency
ACEP Board and staff developed a process by which ACEP could seek to obtain non-competitive information from all emergency physician-employing entities, including exhibitors, advertisers, and sponsors of ACEP meetings and products, to increase transparency and demonstrate an employers’ adherence to key ACEP policy statements related to employer best practices.
Leading up to ACEP21, ACEP distributed a survey to all employers who advertise with ACEP, including meeting exhibitors, sponsors of ACEP events and advertisers in ACEP
print and digital publications. The survey included:
- an attestation regarding the participant’s authority to answer questions about their group’s employment practices,
- a commitment to six of ACEP’s recently reviewed policies establishing standards by which all emergency physicians and those who hire them should practice,
- a profile to complete on their group’s employment practices.
ACEP incorporated the employer group profile data into a database that provides members with access to each employer’s data.
This initiative was designed to provide helpful information to members, with the potential benefit of encouraging employers to evaluate their policies and practices to ensure a competitive marketplace.
Sections Rise to the Contracts Challenge
ACEP sections are often instrumental in the development of new resources to benefit ACEP members. They see gaps and work to fill those needs. In 2021, two ACEP sections saw the need better support with employment contract review that are now available in the Career Center.
- Med-Legal Section leaders helped create an Employment Contract Checklist for members as they negotiate the many components of an employment contract, including non-compete clauses, geographic location, family/ maternity leave, coverage of extended absences within the group, partnership and more.
- The Young Physicians Section organized a webinar, “Standard Contract Precautions: Identify Employment Contract Pitfalls” in May 2021. It's free and available on-demand for ACEP members.
