Fortifying emergency medicine as an irrefutably essential and fundamental component of health care is a top priority for Aisha Liferidge, MD, MPH, as she begins her three-year term on the board of directors for the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), a 37,000+ member organization.
Liferidge, an assistant professor of emergency medicine and of health policy at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Science (SMHS) and the Milken Institute School of Public Health at GW, began in her new role on Nov. 1. The position is the next step in her involvement with ACEP, which began more than a decade ago when she was a resident. Liferidge served as president of the Emergency Medicine Residents Association, and worked closely with ACEP during her term.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to again serve at [the national] level,” Liferidge said, having served for state chapters in Maryland and Washington, D.C. “ACEP is a wonderful organization whose leadership works tirelessly to create policy, which governs the practice of emergency medicine while advocating for patient access to quality care and emergency physicians.”
Her platform included the desire to ensure adequate patient access to emergency services by leveraging incentives with the insurance industry and policymakers, and to strengthen relations between national ACEP and ACEP state chapters. Liferidge also wants to develop initiatives to effectively address career satisfaction. Emergency physicians reportedly experience high rates of burnout relative to other medical specialties, she said.
Prior to her election, Liferidge chaired the ACEP Associate Member Task Force, currently chairs its Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, and served as president of the D.C. Chapter of ACEP.
At SMHS, Liferidge serves as director of the Department of Emergency Medicine’s Health Policy Fellowship and as co-director of the Clinical Skills and Reasoning Theme. She is also CEO of the Dr. Aisha Liferidge Minority Women in Science Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that seeks to support young women interested in pursuing careers in science.
