Episode Details

On this episode of ACEP Frontline, Dr. Ryan Stanton chats with ACEP President Dr. Tony Cirillo to discuss a major advocacy victory that reinforces one of the core principles of emergency medicine: physician-led emergency care. The conversation explores the collaborative efforts between ACEP, state chapters, the American Medical Association, and the American College of Surgeons that resulted in updated ACS Committee on Trauma Level IV trauma center standards requiring physician staffing in emergency departments. Dr. Cirillo shares the behind-the-scenes story of how relationship building, strategic advocacy, and persistent engagement helped shape this important outcome, while highlighting the critical role state chapters played in defending physician-led care. The discussion also examines Kentucky's legislative efforts surrounding physician staffing, the importance of maintaining emergency medicine as a physician-led specialty, and why advocacy often succeeds through collaboration rather than confrontation. This episode provides a firsthand look at how ACEP works every day to protect patients, support emergency physicians, and advance the specialty, often through efforts that members may not see but benefit from every day.