Next week is Celebrating Acute Medicine Week, which some of you may remember from previous years was called Acute Medicine Awareness Week. From 23rd September, we’re using the hashtag #CAMW2024 to celebrate the specialty and all the great work being done across the UK.
This year the theme is sustainability, and we’re particularly keen to hear about innovations you’ve undertaken to make your unit more green. But more importantly, we want to celebrate anything and everything that’s brilliant about Acute Medicine.
The more cynical among you may question why we should be celebrating at a time when clinical pressures have never been higher and morale has never been lower. But I’d respectfully disagree. I think we have an enormous amount to celebrate in Acute Medicine, and today I’d like to talk about why I think that is.
Now this blog is mainly for medical students and junior doctors contemplating careers in Acute Medicine. The reason I (and I’d be willing to wager quite a few others) chose this specialty is because of the people. I’ve always been struck – not just by how enthusiastic, friendly and welcoming acute medics are at SAM events – but by how keen they were to challenge conventional wisdom and find new, pragmatic ways to do things.
That’s what I love about Celebrating Acute Medicine Week. If you check out last year’s hashtag (#AMAW23) on xformerlyknownastwitter, you’ll see dozens of examples of fabulous innovation, whether that’s embracing point-of-care ultrasound, sharing QI insights or finding new ways to teach. The introduction of ecoSAM shows how the specialty is using innovation to address the climate crisis.
None of this is happening in a vacuum. It’s happening in acute units working under unprecedented pressure. The fact that people are showing up to work, enthusiastic about providing the best possible care for patients and about finding new ways to make their units better, is a thing worth celebrating.
The fact is that Acute Medicine is a young specialty, and its story is still being written. There’s a fascinating article on the SAM website about the early days of the specialty, but those early days are not that long ago. I reckon there’s a brilliant book to be written about the first 50 years of AMU in about 20 years, and I can’t wait to read it. If you’re a medical student considering a career in Acute Medicine, maybe you’ll be the one to write it!
For me, it all comes back to people. A job is only as good as the colleagues you share it with and that’s why I look forward to coming to work, even when work is tough. If you’re looking for a specialty that celebrates innovation and that welcomes new talent with open arms, you’re in the right place.
And if you’re currently working in the field – whatever your profession – we’d love to hear about the work you’re doing next week. We’ll be on TwitterwhichIwillnevercallX and Instagram. Don’t forget – that hashtag is #CAMW2024.