Kari L. Gorder, MD

Kari Gorder, MD, has a servant’s heart, and said that for her, volunteering to do more in the specialty she loves seemed like the next logical step.

“We sacrifice a lot personally and the path to becoming a physician is arduous and long. Through volunteering, I get to give back to a community that has given me so much. I get a lot of advice from others and I use a lot of resources from ACEP,” she said. “I think a natural part of the educational cycle is giving back.”

Dr. Gorder, a member of the ACEP Critical Care Section, has a special interest in cardiovascular critical care. By getting involved with the section, she can be a represent this subspecialty.

“I wanted to be part of the voice for a growing group of members who are moving into the critical care space,” Dr. Gorder said. “Over the last decade, emergency medicine critical care has become a real burgeoning force within the critical care field. As emergency physicians, we need to make sure that we have a seat at the table with regard to advocacy, policy, practice changes, board certification and just to be a voice for the growing number of physicians who are out there every day giving incredible care.”

Six months ago, Dr. Gorder became the section’s Secretary/Newsletter Editor.

“I’ve been blown away by the people who are in this group … Just being a part of the community has been really beneficial for me,” she said, adding that the other volunteer members put an extensive amount of time, work and thoughtfulness into creating content for the section’s work projects.

As the Section prepares for its annual meeting in conjunction with ACEP24 in Las Vegas (Sept. 29 - Oct. 2), Dr. Gorder said she and her colleagues have been thinking through a variety of topics.

“We’re really trying to think about what people want. What do the section members want to see? How can we make sure that we’re advocating for them and being their voice?” she said.

Dr. Gorder suggests that volunteering with an ACEP section can be rewarding for any member.

“It’s a lot more fun than you might think. It’s not a ton of time. We meet every quarter and it’s fun to catch up with friends. You get to hear cool stuff that people are doing and then you actually get to have a seat at the table. You get to have a voice,” she said.

“A lot of times in medicine we’re so stuck and we work so many hours and we get so frustrated about things we feel like we can’t change. You can change it,” she added. “Get out there and volunteer. Be a part of professional organizations like ACEP. You can make a difference and shape the trajectory of your field in a way that is meaningful to you and would also help your patients.”

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