Hello, my name is Toni Spivitz, and I'm an intensivist. I've been a member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine since 1987, joining when I was a fellow. Getting involved in the society has been a very important and prominent part of my career. Through SCCM, I've met people from all over the world who have similar ideas and approaches to the delivery of critical care medicine. The SCCM has truly helped form the physician that I am today. Let's talk about what you can do to maximize your membership. Today we'll talk about an overview of the society, an overview of the college, some committees you can be involved in, and networking in general. For those not familiar with the structure of SCCM, this schematic shows how business is done. First of all, the council develops strategy, it sets goals, approves resources. Next, business lines coordinate so that there isn't redundancy and there's a smooth pathway. And finally, teams deliver programs. There's over 70 committees and working groups currently. There's many ways to get involved in SCCM, including research, delivery of education in numerous formats, quality, and outcomes. When you join SCCM, you can designate three sections. If you haven't done that, go back into your profile and do so. That way, you'll hear about activities in those sections and you can get involved. So how do you get involved? Well, it's really quite easy. First of all, just show up. Reach out to people. Introduce yourself. Do you have a mentor attending the meeting with you? Ask them to introduce you. Show up for section meetings. Again, introduce yourself. Ask to be involved. Most committees are open meetings, so you can do the same there for areas that you're interested in. When people see that you're interested and that you deliver when you say you're going to do something, you will, in fact, be asked to do more and more. So how does that happen? Well, you go online and you register for committees before May 1st of each year. The incoming president then works to assign committees so that the following year at Congress, you would start your new term. There are over 1,800 volunteers making up SCCM's creative community, many, many people involved. There are over 90 staff supporting them. These are the people that make things happen. So the college. The college is the honorific section of the society. The main task of the college is, in fact, to produce guidelines to help clinicians deliver the best possible care. The structure of the college. Well, the Board of Regents is made up of people from the various sections who have designated seats on the board, as well as at-large seats. There are committees who work with staff partners, as well as ad-hoc committees, depending upon the work that needs to be done. So do you qualify? Well, qualifications generally are practicing for five years after fellowship, being active in the society for at least a couple of years prior to application, being licensed and board certified, spending at least 50% of your time in critical care, demonstrating a collaborative model of care, and having significant impact in one of these areas. Program development, scholarly works, and leadership. This is a graphic of what I've just explained to you. So for the details of application, go online to sccm.org and then fellowship. Have someone who's a member of the college take a look at your CV. One way to think of it is that in order to become a fellow, you can't just do your job. What have you done to advance the practice of critical care medicine above and beyond your job? You'll need to prepare your documents and get your information in by December. Other opportunities to become involved in SCCM, perhaps a little closer to home, there are a number of sections, as well as chapters. There are also kegs. Over the last five years or so, SCCM has developed the knowledge education groups. It's another opportunity to get involved and to have opportunity for leadership roles. Global health is another thing that SCCM has been involved in for many years. It leads in providing support in areas of disaster, as well as providing global education for the care of the critically ill. These are just a few of the recent areas where SCCM has been involved. For me personally, these have been some of the areas where involvement with SCCM has benefited me. These opportunities have been pivotal to my career, and I invite you to get involved to find these benefits and more. Ways to maximize your membership. Sign up for sections, get involved, become a creative community volunteer, and eventually become a member of the Fellowship of Critical Care Medicine. There are so many ways to get involved in SCCM activities. Don't pass up the opportunity to capitalize on this part of your membership. It can and will truly change your life.

SCCM membership

critical care medicine

leadership roles

networking opportunities

career enhancement

Presentation

Professional Development and Education

Leadership Empowerment and Development LEAD

2024

Associate

Professional

Select

Nonmember