This year’s Celebrating Acute Medicine Week #CAMW2025 will be taking place on 15th-21st September. Given this year marks the 25th anniversary of the Society for Acute Medicine, we’re celebrating in a big way by having TWO themes! The first theme for #CAMW2025 is wellbeing. The Society for Acute Medicine has recently developed a new initiative called ‘Flourishing on the Frontline’, to highlight the difficulties faced by staff on the frontline and to show what the Society is doing to address this, as well as signposting support for its members. We are all aware of the increasing struggles faced across the whole of healthcare, but this can be particularly felt on the frontline in Acute Medicine. We often find ourselves in situations where we feel like we are providing substandard care, whether it be due to the volume of work we face or having to manage patients in inappropriate locations throughout the hospital. This can be very hard to deal with emotionally, in a career where we have a duty and desire to do the best for our patients. Levels of moral injury and burnout are soaring, and it has never been more important to look out for ourselves and each other. That’s why we want to focus on the ways in which your Acute Medicine departments promote wellbeing. It doesn’t matter how small – we would love to see your photos and videos with #flourishonthefrontline #CAMW2025, showing the ways in which you look out for each other and boost morale. Whether it be social activities, yoga or the classic weekly cake bake, we would love to share your ideas and inspire other departments. Back in the day, on my very first F1 job, I introduced a biscuit rota to the surgical department I was working in, as a light-hearted way of providing a bit of a post-ward round boost. I recently found out that it is still running to this day and still brings a lot of joy (and is one of the first things mentioned at the surgical induction for the new F1s…). Our second theme is why I still love Acute Medicine. As previously mentioned, this year marks SAM’s 25th anniversary, and the Society has driven so much incredible change for the specialty over this time. However, the NHS has also changed drastically over this period and not always for the better. This can make the job seem quite daunting to those who are newly starting in the specialty, or who are considering it as a career. But we want to remind everyone that we are still without a doubt one of the most varied and dynamic specialties, with so many opportunities to tailor your career to your personal interests. We are also one of the specialties that really makes a difference to patients at the front door – getting them diagnosed and treated early, as well as getting them to the right place, whether that be to another specialty or their own home. So share a photo or video with #whyistillloveacutemedicine #CAMW2025 and tell us your reasons for still loving our amazing specialty and what keeps you coming to work every day. You never know, you might just be inspiring the next generation.
