Poonam Velagapudi, MD, MS, FACC

Tami M. Atkinson, MD

As the holiday season approaches, we take time to reflect on the year's accomplishments, the importance of family and friends, and the role of community in our professional lives. The ACC Early Career Council has undertaken a number of efforts this year to connect the Section and fortify the role that early career physicians have within the College.

In early 2019, a wellness initiative was born within the council. Poonam Velagapudi, MD, MS, FACC, and Tami M. Atkinson, MD, drafted an outline regarding the importance of provider wellness – both for professional satisfaction and for patient care.

This toolkit, which included tools and interventions, was provided to the ACC Board of Governors, and has represented a starting point for a number membership-directed wellness efforts.

From an engagement perspective, we have recruited a number of ACC Early Career Section colleagues to help as editors for the ACC.org webpage, coordinate social media efforts and initiate early career-focused discussions on the ACC Member Hub.

These opportunities are novel ways for Early Career Section members to get involved in the College, represent a pathway to express issues important to early careers to a broad audience, and potentially serve as a launchpad to greater overall engagement within the College.

We have also reinvigorated international engagement efforts. International teams of Early Career Section members have been identified and periodic meetings have been initiated.

Stay tuned in 2020, as you will get to read about a "day-in-the-life" of our international counterparts. There are many things that unite early career professionals, but certainly there exist challenges that reflect geography and local regulatory environments.

I expect these to be fun to read and to pull our section together across the globe.

All in all, it has been a busy and productive year for the Early Career Section Council.

We wish you the happiest holiday season, and trust that the time off many of us receive will be time to relax, reflect, and prepare for the challenges and successes of 2020!

This article was authored by Scott M. Lilly, MD, PhD, FACC, chair of the Early Career Section Leadership Council.