Amy Zeidan, MD

I am an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, Adjunct Professor at Rollins School of Public Health, and Co-Director of the Georgia Human Rights Clinic. I received my medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, completed residency at The Hospital of The University of Pennsylvania, and completed an Emergency Ultrasound fellowship at the University of Kentucky. I am currently in my second year as AWAEM Vice President of Communications. Throughout my academic career, AWAEM has always been a constant and integral part of my career. I joined AWAEM during my second year of residency as the resident representative and have been an active part of AWAEM ever since. I recall my first AWAEM meeting as a resident, nervous and intimated to be in the presence of such phenomenal leaders. I was relieved to be instantaneously welcomed with encouragement and support and treated as an equal despite just beginning my journey in emergency medicine. AWAEM has always been this for me – a source of mentorship, sponsorship, collaboration and friendship. The day I joined AWAEM I gained unparalleled mentorship from women all across the US that truly propelled my career. I have had the opportunity to serve in a number of AWAEM roles; resident representative, CORD liaison, awards committee member, awards committee co-chair, treasurer and Vice President of Communications. I have been an active member of the executive committee for four years and am confident that I have the organizational knowledge, motivation, and skills required to serve as the AWAEM president elect. I have experience working with organizations dedicated to gender equity and have engaged in a number of research projects focused on identifying and eliminating gender inequities. Previously, I worked closely with the organization FemInEM as Finance co-chair, assisted with conference planning for FIX17, FIX18, and FIX19, and helped launch FemInEM Forward at FIX19. In addition to my committee experience through AWAEM, I have also been active on a number of other executive boards and committees. I am an Executive Board member of the Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network (GAIN), Co-Chair of the Research Agenda Subcommittee for the Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers, and a member of the Georgia State University Refugee Prevention Resource Center Community Advisory Board. It has been incredible to watch AWAEM grow exponentially over the past six years. AWAEM is now one of the largest academies and provides limitless resources to women at all stages in their careers. As the world of emergency medicine and our world at large has become increasingly complex, the challenges we face as women physicians have grown as well. It is even more important to have a community like AWAEM leading the way as we navigate new struggles and endure existing and novel inequities in our careers. If elected, I will continue to foster the creation of initiatives and resources to serve our members as changes in our practice and professions arise. I am committed to ensuring AWAEM does what it has always done – be a welcoming and safe space for all members. If elected, there are a number of areas I would like to expand upon. Inclusivity has always been a pillar of AWAEM values. I hope to re-commit to this pillar and fully understand what inclusivity means for all of our members. This may include an environmental scan of our members needs and identifying gaps in the resources we provide. It may also include partnering with other academies to share knowledge and experiences as well as thoughtful consideration of our recruitment and retention strategies as an academy. I also hope to expand upon scholarship opportunities for members that will support promotion and advancement. AWAEM already has a number of phenomenal opportunities for scholarship, from the SAEMF/AWAEM grant, to the internal AWAEM grant, and the research committee and consulting service. I am excited to continue to promote these opportunities and facilitate collaboration through shared research endeavors, publications, presentations, etc., but also identify what, if any, barriers exist to accessing these services to their fullest and identifying solutions. This also includes rethinking what ‘scholarship’ means in order to recognize the unique contributions of women in our specialty. Specifically considering how to incorporate scholarly contributions beyond traditional research including administration, advocacy, community-engaged work and appropriate recognition of these contributions. Finally, I hope to enhance our abilities to recognize the contributions of our AWAEM members to our specialty and beyond. Our members have shaped the current and future state of our specialty in noticeable ways. Celebration of these achievements should be the norm and an inherent part of our operations. I am excited to continue to brainstorm with AWAEM members how to expand our current recognition systems, including highlighting the paths of previous AWAEM leaders and harnessing these avenues for newer members. Joining AWAEM has been one of my best decisions both personally and professionally. I was fortunate to have a sponsor who encouraged me to join and apply for AWAEM leadership positions even when I didn’t feel qualified or worthy enough. I hope to provide this for all AWAEM members on a micro and macro level if elected to serve the academy.