President's Message -- March 2023
José Cabañas, MD, MPH, FAEMS

Dear friends and colleagues,

I trust you are all well and getting ready for a fabulous spring season!

It is almost two months since our fantastic meeting in Tampa—the most attended conference in ‎NAEMSP’s history! Our annual meeting brought us together to exchange new ideas and best practices ‎and continue to build relationships that will last a lifetime.

The past three years have been challenging, to say the least. The difficulties and disruptions in ‎healthcare have placed a significant pressure on the great work you all do to ensure communities and ‎patients are safe and receiving access to high-quality EMS care. I was amazed by all the great research ‎and innovation taking place despite the challenges our specialty is facing. Returning from our national ‎meeting feeling energized, a renewed sense of commitment and inspired by the new ideas and ‎scientific advancements we have learned from others is critical to continuing the work we do.

This year, we had a record attendance of new members and medical students. I learned from one of ‎our new members how much they enjoyed learning about all the opportunities for career growth in ‎our specialty. Other attendees shared how much they appreciated receiving guidance from faculty ‎about how to approach challenges in their communities, while other attendees shared how much they ‎enjoyed networking with others pursuing similar projects or initiatives.

Our Annual Meeting is also a forum that not only fosters the exchange of new ideas but also supports ‎an environment for mentorship for our next generation of EMS clinicians. Sharing knowledge while ‎cultivating relationships contributes to the growth and advancement in our field. Mentorship plays a ‎crucial role in the professional development of individuals by providing them guidance, support, and ‎constructive feedback throughout their professional journey.

I want to take this opportunity to share the Board of Directors’ recent approval of a new national ‎award for our association. This new award—The Nancy Caroline Award—will be awarded for ‎mentorship and education. Thanks especially to the Women in EMS committee for their leadership ‎and for putting forward this proposal. Their wonderful description of Dr. Caroline’s contributions to ‎EMS follows:‎

Dr. Nancy Caroline is most recognized as the author of the first EMS curriculum and the textbook, ‎Emergency Care in the Streets. In addition to her renowned leadership in education, Dr. Caroline served ‎as the medical director of Freedom House Ambulance, which both pioneered prehospital care as we ‎know it today and demonstrated a clear vision for community representation and inclusion within the ‎EMS profession.

Dr. Caroline embodied many admirable traits. Key among them were her dedication to mentorship of the ‎EMS clinicians with whom she worked and her unwavering pursuit of excellent prehospital care for all ‎patients. The Nancy Caroline Award will be awarded to an NAEMSP member who, through their actions, ‎has demonstrated a relentless commitment to advancing educational excellence and the mentorship of ‎others within the EMS specialty.


Thank you all for your engagement, commitment and dedication to our profession. We had record ‎participation at all our committee meetings, which are the lifeline of the organization. Our committee ‎members are collaborating to provide meaningful impact in our specialty. Please consider sharing your ‎expertise through one of our committees as you all play a critical role in advancing our mission.

I look forward to seeing you all at our Government Relations Academy that will take place on June 8th ‎in Washington, D.C. Please don’t forget to RSVP!‎

Thank you for all you do, ‎
José

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