Is ACEP Assembly worth it?

[STEMI_voy]

PGY-3 here. When I was first interested in emergency medicine, I remember hearing from residents that ACEP was the meeting they had to go to because of networking, jobs. Is that still as true today? There have been lots of discussion in my class re: the cost prohibitive nature of ACEP (~$costly registration AND in San Francisco; not including other costs) and whether the benefits of going justify the cost. Thanks!

ETA: Apparently reduced pricing for residents ~$500

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[Angry Birds]

No.

 

[bravotwozero]

Well if you’re a PGY-3 you should have CME funds to cover your expenses. I would go at least that one time, the networking isn’t 100% essential, but useful nonetheless.

 

[STEMI_voy]

Well if you’re a PGY-3 you should have CME funds to cover your expenses. I would go at least that one time, the networking isn’t 100% essential, but useful nonetheless.

You're absolutely right re: CME; it's available to us. Our total CME for the year would be spent on this one conference though is the concern.

 

[bravotwozero]

You're absolutely right re: CME; it's available to us. Our total CME for the year would be spent on this one conference though is the concern.

Up to you, if you really have more pressing things you absolutely need to use CME money on, then I guess you shouldn’t go…

 

[Mbekweni]

Not needed. Most useful thing I got out of it was a CMG sponsored party where they must have spent 1M+. Good reminder that the smart groups were using their money to pay doctors not recruit suckers from the next graduating class who had a good time in Vegas.

 

[AlmostAnMD]

Another vote here for not giving acep a dime

Even if it's not your money

Giving them any money at this point is just wrong, a total failure of an organization that now only exists to perpetuate itself

 

[JAFERD_MD]

Not that this should encourage you to go but it's cheaper for residents. $495.
Or $75 for the guest pass for the parties.

I went for 3 years and stopped (never paid out of pocket for any of them). I refuse to support an organization actively bringing down the downfall of my specialty. Many lectures are in the category of edutainment and the whole conference has a vibe of partying. Maybe I have a skewed view, but having gone to a bunch of non-EM conferences before, the emphasis was on research and pushing new frontiers of the field.

 

[DeadCactus]

Go to whatever conference is in the best city that most of your co-residents will go to. Bonus points if you have a friendly rapport with your faculty and they are going too. The lectures at ACEP/AAEM are not going to be super novel or informative to someone just coming out of residency. Networking is helpful but your faculty and recent graduate network are going to be more important than random people you bump into at a conference. A "work" trip to a fun city with the people you just spent years in the pit with right before you all part ways is the best thing you can get out of CME money right now.

 

[Birdstrike]

I went to ACEP a long time ago, in residency. I’ll go back as soon as I feel a burning desire for some toxic positivity.

 

[EctopicFetus]

Go to whatever conference is in the best city that most of your co-residents will go to. Bonus points if you have a friendly rapport with your faculty and they are going too. The lectures at ACEP/AAEM are not going to be super novel or informative to someone just coming out of residency. Networking is helpful but your faculty and recent graduate network are going to be more important than random people you bump into at a conference. A "work" trip to a fun city with the people you just spent years in the pit with right before you all part ways is the best thing you can get out of CME money right now.

Or go to the city but don’t blow money on the SA. Just air hotel etc.

for actual useful educational content essentials of EM or something specific to what you want to learn. Aka difficult airway course etc.

the sa lectures suck imo.

 

[deleted813736]

ACEP stands for Actively Cutting ER Pay by supporting more and more residencies. stop giving them your money to hear about how Xarelto works fine in the morbidly obese. google.com will do a better job.

 

[Franzd'Epinay]

Going to ACEP is probably not the best use of time or CME funds for most people.

That being said, since it is the biggest EM conference in the country, I do think everyone should go at least once to see for themselves if it's something they like.

 

[gamerEMdoc]

Going to ACEP is completely unnecessary for jobs. Nearly the entirety of the massive job fair are CMG jobs. The lectures are good, and the variety and sheer numbers of them are great. But you can get just as good of CME without having to go there in person. The parties are usually decent. Probably the best part of going to ACEP tbh. Seeing people I know from all over, ex-residents, people I went to residency with, former attendings, etc. That's the main reason I go at this point. It's basically a big EM reunion.

 

[gro2001]

I think going for networking when on the job search may be good, but mostly so if some of your faculty are going too and can take you under their wing to introduce you. The best jobs aren't advertised. And most hiring decisions in academia are more or less made long before the job is advertised. So if there is a mentor who will introduce you to all of their buddies you may hear of some opportunities you wouldn't have heard of otherwise.

I agree that the educational portion is not going to be helpful to you. The information will all be familiar, though the quality of the talks themselves may be better. That was the only value I got out of it as a resident: picking up some tricks of the trade from the pro speakers. The research portion is also pretty light, and if that's your interest, SAEM is way better.

A few years ago I said I'd never go to ACEP again, partly for dislike of the organization, partly because I felt I didn't actually get anything out of it. I may actually go this year though because I am far enough out of residency that the refreshers may be useful, I have friends in the area and love California, and the only other similar option seems to be AAEM (while I like the organization more than ACEP and am a member, this year it's in New Orleans; given the whole Roe v Wade repeal it feels icky to go to a state that's going to be so hostile to half the attendees; so unless either New Orleans changes their laws or AAEM moves their venue like SCCM did in response, it's probably going to be a no for me).