Nation’s largest annual gathering of internal medicine doctors meets in New Orleans

Dr. Karen DeSalvo, former Acting Assistant Secretary for Health at U.S. HHS and former Health Commissioner for New Orleans, is keynote speaker at Internal Medicine Meeting 2018

Internal medicine physicians, subspecialists, medical students, and allied health professionals from around the world will gather in New Orleans for the American College of Physicians’ (ACP) Internal Medicine Meeting 2018 from Thursday, April 19, through Saturday, April 21, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

ACP is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 152,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness.

Internal Medicine Meeting 2018 features more than 200 sessions covering a broad array of clinical and practice management topics. Highlights of the meeting include:

• Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, FACP, will deliver the keynote address at the Opening Ceremony on April 19 at 9:30 a.m. A Fellow of ACP, Dr. DeSalvo is a former Acting Assistant Secretary for Health & National Coordinator for Health IT at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and a former Health Commissioner for the City of New Orleans. Dr. DeSalvo's address will focus on lessons learned about health care, infrastructure, and community impacts after Hurricane Katrina. She will touch on how to build health systems that are patient-centered and address gaps in patient care.
• Sessions related to ACP’s Physician Well-being & Professional Satisfaction initiative that was launched in January 2018. The goal of ACP’s initiative is to create a culture of wellness, improve practice efficiencies, enhance individual physician well-being, and reduce administrative burdens.
• ACP Innovation Challenge 2018: Re-imagining the Practice of Internal Medicine. This “Shark Tank”- styled competition on April 19 at 11:15 a.m. will showcase the best and brightest ideas from practicing physicians, fellows, residents and medical students that have the potential to transform the practice of internal medicine. A Grand Prize winner will be awarded $20,000 and an Audience Choice winner will be awarded $5,000.
• ACP will honor outstanding contributions to medicine at Convocation on April 19 at 6:00 p.m. ACP President Jack Ende, MD, MACP, will preside over the ceremony, during which 22 awardees, 59 new Masters of ACP (MACP), and more than 400 new Fellows of ACP (FACP) will be honored.
• The Herbert S. Waxman Clinical Skills Center features a collection of activities offering physicians hands-on learning and simulation models focusing on office-based procedures, examination skills, and assessment and interpretation skills.
  Note: ACP Press Office staff escort is required for registered reporters to visit the Clinical Skills Center. Photography and video may be permitted, but reporters must first ask for the subject's approval.
• National abstract competitions for Medical Students, Resident/Fellows, and Early Career Physicians. Finalists will compete onsite in five categories: Clinical Vignette, Basic Research, Clinical Research, Quality Improvement / Patient Safety, and High Value Care.
• Doctor's Dilemma. Up to 50 teams of residents from around the world compete in a fast-paced, Jeopardy-style medical knowledge competition. The “Final Four” teams face off in the championship round on April 21 at 5:15 p.m. The winning team takes home the Osler Cup -- ACP’s coveted trophy.

At the conclusion of the Internal Medicine Meeting 2018, Ana María López, MD, MPH, FACP, will become president of ACP and Andrew Dunn, MD, MPH, SFHM, FACP, will become chair of ACP’s Board of Regents. Both terms are for one year.

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