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October 19, 2016

Insights For Early Career Professionals

What I Wish I Had Known as an Early Career Physician: Advice For My Younger Colleagues

By L. Samuel Wann, MD, MACC, a member of the American Medical Association's House of Delegates.

Thirty years has passed since I finished my cardiology fellowship and became a proud Board certified cardiologist entering practice, opening the first 2D echo lab at a VA hospital and starting a stress echo program in the era of 30-degree mechanical sector scanners. I wish I had more pearls of wisdom to offer my young colleagues. Indeed, I have made many mistakes during this long period, changed directions a few times and experienced both success and failure. I am still learning that it is more important to focus on the path rather than the destination, and am resolute in recommending the cardiology path to you for the opportunities and challenges it continues to offer. Read more on ACC.org.

ACC's 2016 Legislative Conference: Advocacy and the Early Career Professional

By Olivia Gilbert, MD, member of ACC's Emerging Advocates Program, with a forward by Dmitriy N. Feldman, MD, FACC, and Jeffrey Anderson, MD, FACC, co-chairs of the Early Career Professionals Leadership Council Advocacy Workgroup, and Anthony Hilliard, MD, FACC, chair of the Early Career Professionals Leadership Council.

ACC's 2016 Legislative Conference provided Early Career professionals with a unique and exciting opportunity to interact with policymakers in order to shape important policy issues and have discussions that will impact how we provide cardiovascular care in daily clinical practice. We had terrific representation of young, eager cardiologists who got a chance to learn what happens in the government at a local and national level. The first two days of the conference started with education on the interworkings of advocacy, how particular groups such as Early Career members can get involved, what tools are available and the current legislative issues. Read more on ACC.org.

Acknowledging the Contribution of Women in Cardiology

By Caitlin M. Giesler, MD, FACC, director of the Women's Heart Center at Seton Heart Institute. Follow her on Twitter at @HeartDrGiesler.

I'm technically early in my career but have enough experience to know my trajectory and how I fit into the community. I am a 41-year-old general cardiologist in private practice, now essentially employed by a hospital system. I have a special interest in cardiovascular disease in women and have recently become the director of our Women's Heart Center. I am also a wife and mother to two sons, ages six and nine. The most important lesson I have learned over the past 10 years in the world of cardiology is that I am an important contributor to my group and my community because I am a woman, not despite it. I am not another warm body to add to the call schedule. I bring an important female perspective to the group dynamics and to our patients. Who else would be interested in treating cardiovascular disease in women so passionately? Read more on ACC.org.

Email Kristin West, kwest@acc.org, for more information on how to get involved in the Early Career Section.

The Buzz

• CMS Finalizes MACRA Regulation Outlining New Medicare Payment System Implementation
• ACC Global Education Program on Heart Disease Prevention Expands to 10 Countries
• My Experience at ACC's 2016 Legislative Conference
• Study Shows Popularity of CVD Conversations on Twitter
  JAMA Cardiology
• ACC Journal Club Faculty Discussion of Influence of Sacubitril/Valsartan on 30-Day Readmission After HF Hospitalization

What's Trending on #ACCEarlyCareer

• ECG of the Month: 48-Year-Old Man Presents With Fatigue, Dyspnea and Palpitations
• Veterans Affairs Health Care System as Cardiology Training Site
  Journal of the American College of Cardiology
• 'I am CardioSmart' Contest Now Accepting Entries

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