Chairmans Corner

Michael Gibbs, MD

I have always felt that “emergency physicians (EP’s) have the best job in the world.” Pretty bold statement. How could this possibly be true?

Well, we are the only physicians who have the privilege of caring for everyone who comes to our door, no matter what is wrong with them, how old they are, what time of day it is, and whether or not they can pay the bill. Our patients share their deepest secrets with us when they are most vulnerable. They put their lives in our hands even though we have never met before and we are unlikely to ever see them again. With them we experience joy, relief, pain and tragedy. Not everyone is built to be an emergency physician, but when everything lines up just right, there is simply nothing like it.

With the privilege of being an emergency physician comes immeasurable responsibility. The responsibility of taking care of every single patient as if they were a member of your own family. The responsibility of keeping up with a Mt. Everest-sized pile of rapidly changing medical information. The responsibility of leading an emergency department (ED) team through challenge and chaos without missing a beat. The responsibility of being a constant ambassador of our specialty and dedicating yourself to moving emergency medicine forward. It sounds humbling and it will definitely feel overwhelming at times. The inside secret is that the responsibility amplifies the reward.

If you choose Carolinas Medical Center as your home next year I will expect a lot of you. As you can see above, the challenges of our profession are significant. In return, our pledge is to provide you with an incredible clinical experience, mentoring and teaching by the best emergency medicine faculty in the country and the opportunity to hone your skills as a clinician, educator, scientist and leader. Know that our pinnacle goal is to allow you to become truly exceptional.

Thank you for deciding to devote yourself to our specialty. We look forward to being a part of your professional journey.

As I am sure you will discover soon… we do indeed have the best job in the world.

Mike Gibbs