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Premier Health Care Services Physician Paul Culler, MD, receives ACEP Fellowship

March 5, 2009

Paul Culler, MD Image Achieving Emergency Medicines (EM) founder’s vision of an EM residency trained and board certified workforce has been difficult to achieve for a number of reasons, including a freeze on residency training slots, the economics of emergency medicine practice, and the unprecedented growth of the EM speciality. One unintended consequence of this conflict between aspiration and reality has been the creation of a subset of members who are excellent emergency physicians, major contributors to the speciality and valued member of ACEP, but who will never be eligible to sit for the ABEM exam.

While this group will eventually be replaced by residency trained, board certified emergency physicians, they have played and important role in the development of the speciality of emergency medicine and will continue to play a significant role in the workforce for at least another decade. ACEP has been clear in its support of this group which is often referred to as Legacy Emergency Physicians. (Linda Lawrence, MD, FACEP).

ACEP Fellowship was first established in 1982 to honor members who made special contributions to the College and the specialty of EM. Requirements for Fellow status include active membership status for three continuous years, board certification by ABEM, AOBEM, or ABP certification for pediatric emergency physicians.

In October 2007, the ACEP Council created an alternate pathway to allow the speciality to honor the first wave of emergency physicians, known as Legacy Physicians. The eligibility criteria for members using this pathway are considerably stricter and apply only to a small number of ACEP members. The change was made to recognize those Legacy Physicians who have made significant contributions and helped build the speciality through their service and dedication. These were Legacy Physicians who gave credibility and respectability to the speciality of EM before it was officially recognized. They made significant contributions and helped build the speciality through their service and dedication.

Those eligible for fellowship under this route would have been an ACEP member when the college closed its ranks to those who had not completed a residency.

During the 2008 Scientific Assembly in Chicago, ACEP recognized and honored this small group of new Fellows who qualified under this alternate pathway. Premier Health Care Services is proud to recognize Paul Culler, MD, FACEP as one of the honored group who achieved this distinction. In 1998 Dr. Culler became Medical Director of Marion General Hospital. Since taking on the role of Medical Director he was encouraged by Drs. Paul and Joan Kolodzik to join the ACEP organization. For the years that followed becoming Medical Director, Dr. Culler participated in many Marion General activities: years on Executive Committee, Credentials, Critical Care Committee, as well as involvement in community services such as Marion Community Foundation Board, the Marion Area Counseling Board, and Team Physician of River Valley High School. The only area Dr. Culler cites that he lacked was active participation on an ACEP committee. He quickly learned what he needed to do from Ohio ACEP and this past summer was elected to the Board of Ohio ACEP.

He received information from ACEP in the fall of 2007 stating that based on some changes in the fellowship process, he could qualify for FACEP status as a Legacy Physician only if he met the qualifying criteria. With that, he qualified and received distinction on October 29, 2008.

Dr. Culler cited, “FACEP status doesn’t make me a better doctor per se, but it includes me in a group of really distinguished physicians. I think ACEP is an outstanding organization and is really about improving the quality of Emergency Medicine in our country. I am honored to be a fellow of the College and am extremely grateful to Paul and Joan Kolodzik who took the time to help and encourage me so many years ago.”

Congratulations Paul Culler, MD, FACEP on this outstanding achievement!

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