Artifact: 
Early last year I applied and was accepted to something called the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association Leadership Academy. This is a program aimed at medical students and residents going into emergency medicine who are looking to develop their leadership skills.
I’ve always felt that physicians are inherently leaders just by nature of their position in the hospital. They are in charge of coordinating care for the patient and have the final say over the mid-levels, nurses, etc. What I’ve come to realize in the past couple years is that
Throughout the year, we’ve had meetings with different thought leaders in emergency medicine about different aspects of leadership. We’ll usually have some readings and videos to complete beforehand, and then we meet virtually do listen to a presentation from whoever the guest is that evening. We’ll then have open conversation about the topic, along with Q&A for the guest.
Here is a list of a lot of the topics we discuss:
What it Means to be a Leader
Emotional Intelligence
Conflict Resolution & Navigating Difficult Discussions
Positivity/Energy
Focus: Setting Goals and How to Reach Them
Public Speaking
Team Dynamics
Building Your Own Brand
Personal Reflection, Deliberate Practice, Mindfulness
Through these conversations, I’ve learned a lot about what it means to be a leader. I’ve also learned that a lot of things that I thought were innate (emotional intelligence, positivity) are actually skills that can be enhanced with further practice. This course has helped me lay a foundation from which I can work to improve my leadership skills.
My goal is to become further involved with EMRA during my intern year. I plan to join a committee (EMRA Committees) before I begin residency, as well as possibly attend their Leadership and Advocacy Conference in Washington DC.