June eNews 156: Don't Take this Time for Granted

A message from VACEP President Cameron Olderog, MD, FACEP

As emergency physicians, we see death every day. And while we honor every life lost in our emergency departments, we also train for and recognize death as part of this job.  

Yet even in our experience of witnessing people pass far more than the typical person, there are still moments where I realize that, despite the reality of our specialty and the losses of the last 16 months, we still tend to take this life for granted.  

At VACEP, we’ve been living one of those moments over the last two months, as we mourn the loss of Catherine Augustiady-Becker, DO. She was an emergency physician in Newport News and a mom of three young boys who was tragically killed in May. Her death stopped us all in our tracks and humbled us. Not only as a fellow physician but as a mother of three myself, my heart goes out to her family, colleagues, and friends.   

While it may sound trite, Cat’s passing has caused me — and I know I speak for my VACEP peers — to reflect on how short life can be and the importance of making each day you have count. Cat was dedicated to the practice of emergency medicine, physician wellness, and involvement of young physicians in VACEP. Over the last two months, I have been on Zoom calls and in-person meetings with her colleagues at Mary Immaculate. Despite their grief, they have pressed on with the business of the College, and continued to show up to their scheduled shifts. I know Cat’s spirit drives them to keep going and to make every moment — with their families, at work, and through VACEP — count. 

Cat worked tirelessly during the time she had and impacted emergency medicine in Virginia for the better in the moments she was involved. She made it count. And her legacy is empowering the next class of leaders to step up. 

Summer is a time of endings and beginnings in medicine. There are medical students graduating, interns starting and residents becoming attendings. 

For VACEP it also means the close to one class of Leadership & Advocacy Fellows and the selection of a new class. At our June board meeting, we accepted all five 2021-2022 L&A applicants — our biggest class ever. The three fellows this year completed their projects and did outstanding work. 

Jason Bavarian, DO created a guide to equip emergency physicians with a better understanding of coding and documentation. It's helpful not only for new attendings, but experienced physicians moving to a performance-based pay system. Get it here. 

Jessica Nguyen, MD focused heavily on substance use disorders, educating physicians about how to obtain the X-waiver and how to bridge opioid patients to office based opioid treatment (OBOT). She also lobbied members of the Virginia General Assembly on scope of practice for NPs. 

Next month, we'll bring you a package of new guidelines for substitute decision-making for emergency care in the ED. That project was led, in part, by our third fellow, Aubrey Miner, MD.

We’re also excited to announce our five new fellows — our biggest class ever. They are:

Benjamin Blackwood, MD of Emergency Physicians of Tidewater  

Darwin Castillo, MD, MBA, FACEP of Commonwealth Emergency Physicians

James Humble, MD of VCU Health

Scott Sparks, MD, RDMS, RCMS, FACEP of Riverside Regional Medial Center

Theodore “TJ” Tzavaras, MD of Emergency Physicians of Tidewater 

Get to know more about our new Fellows.

As a fellow L&A Fellow myself, I wish our incoming class the best and urge them to make the most of these 12 short months. Our Fellows will have access to emergency medicine mentors to help them build their careers. But even if you’re not a Fellow, VACEP is here to serve every individual emergency physician in Virginia. Don’t take this time for granted and reach out to us if you want to get involved.

I wish everyone a wonderful summer — two summers in one, really, as we make-up for last year. You’ve earned it.