On March 26  and 27, 2009, the Department of Emergency Medicine at Christiana Care Health System sponsored the 12th Annual Mid-Atlantic Regional SAEM Meeting at the John H. Ammon Medical Education Center at the Christiana Hospital campus. The meeting was a great success with 167 attendees. We had a tremendous representation from the Delaware Valley, Baltimore and Philadelphia areas, but also some came from as far away as Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, the Medical University of South Carolina and the University of California San Francisco.

The meeting kicked off Thursday with three well-attended pre-conference sessions. Dr. Paul Sierzenski and the ultrasound fellows put on an ultrasound skills session, Drs. Brian Levine, Neil Jasani and Susan Thompson taught an advanced airway session, and Dr. Brent Passarello led a "Medical Education for Medical Students" roundtable discussion with six other leaders. The night concluded with a terrific and entertaining talk from Dr. Joe Lex from Temple University Health System, "Assassinations of Four U.S. Presidents."

The next day featured a total of 62 presentations—5 Plenaries and 57 Orals—in 10 break-out rooms. These sessions were extremely well-attended, and quality of the presentations was excellent. The keynote speaker was Dr. Amal Mattu from the University of Maryland, whose talk on "Becoming a Great Leader in Emergency Medicine" was one of the highlights of the meeting.

We enjoyed a terrific conference, but it wouldn't have been possible without the help of a small army of people. Special thanks goes to all our moderators, abstract reviewers, research nurses, support staff and the planning committee.
Christiana Care's residents really stepped up through participating in the oral sessions, volunteering to assist for the break-out sessions and taking attendees on ED tours. Finally, Melissa Bollinger and Sherrill Mullenix bear special mention; without their extraordinary and tireless efforts this conference would not have been possible.

Thanks again to everyone who helped to make this event a great success!

Best regards,

Neil Jasani, MD
Mike Breyer, MD
Brian Levine, MD

Awards

CATEGORY	NAME	INSTITUTION	ABSTRACT
Best in Session	David Cook, M.D.	Christiana Care Health System	Time to Identify Needle Tip Location is Independent of Ultrasound Transducer Orientation and Physician Level of Training
Best in Session	Jonathan Walker, DO	York Hospital	Bougie Assisted Intubation via King LT (King Systems Corporation) Outcomes Trial
Best in Session	Andreia Marques-Baptista, M.D.	Robert Wood Johnson Medical School	Correlation of ACLS Written Scores with Skills Performance at 0, 3, and 6 Month Intervals
Best in Session	Renee Y. Hsia, M.D., M.Sc.	University of California , San Francisco	Black, Poor, and Old:  Risk Factors for Decreased Access to Urban and Rural Trauma Centers in the US from 2001-2005
Best in Session	Kevin Reed, MD, F.A.C.E.P., F.A.A.E.M.	Georgetown University Hospital	Transverse Pacer Instruction:  Simulation Benefits Instruction of Critical but Seldom Used Procedure
Best in Session	Courtney E. Terry	University of Virginia	Financial Review of a Medical Scribe Program to Improve Emergency Medicine Resident Documentation at an Academic Medical Center :  15 Months after Implementation
Best in Session	Tiffany R. Cohen, M.D.	UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School	Prevalence of Staphylococcus Aureus Colonization among Healthcare Professionals in an Urban Teaching Hospital
Best in Session	Matthew J. Trowbridge, M.D., M.P.H.	University of Virginia	Impact of Urban Sprawl on Emergency Medical Service Response Time in the United States
Best in Session	Joel Schofer M.D.	CCHS	Prospective Durability Testing of a Commercially Available Vascular Access Phantom
Outstanding Medical Student Presentation	Hahn Soe-Lin	Georgetown University School of Medicine	Suicidal Patients Presenting in the Emergency Department:  How many times cans you be triaged for Suicide Ideation?
Outstanding Resident Presentation	David Cook MD	Christiana Care Health System	Time to Identify Needle Tip Location is Independent of Ultrasound Transducer Orientation and Physician Level of Training
1st Runner Up for Best Plenary Presentation	Scott Compton, PhD	Wayne State University	Depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Family Members of Cardiac Arrest Victims
1st Place Winner Best Plenary Presentation	Rajiv Arya, M.D.	Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (UMDNJ)	Impact of Scribes on Performance Incicators in the Emergency Department