Communications Committee Update

I would like to start off by saying that it is a great privilege to be taking over as Chair of the Communications Committee from Dr. Brent Kidd (Immediate Past Chair and Editor); thank you to Dr. Kidd for his leadership and efforts on behalf of the Communications Committee. He oversaw the development of the two sub-committees focused on social media and SOCCA Interchange/Drip respectively and guided us with engagement with our members through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. It is a great honor to be the first woman editor of the SOCCA Interchange and I am excited to continue to build on the work done by the previous Chair. I have been involved with the SOCCA Communications Committee since 2021 and was Chair of the social media sub-committee in the past. As Chair I hope to continue to expand member engagement with our SOCCA Twitter account, promote the work of our members through the Interchange newsletter, and bring timely industry news to our members. I appreciate the mentorship and guidance of my colleagues in helping me develop the skills to take on this new role and look forward to any feedback on how we can serve the organization.

It was also wonderful to see everyone at the SOCCA Annual Meeting in Denver and be able to connect in person after the past few years on virtual platforms. The conference did not disappoint and allowed us to learn, network, and connect in person again. Many participants joined us virtually to participate in the meeting, highlighting the value and convenience of SOCCA’s virtual offerings.

Engagement with SOCCA’s Twitter account continues to grow; we saw an increase in our social media followers of 5% since the start of the year. Our stellar social media team under the leadership of Dr. Liang Shen continues to be engaged in bringing cutting-edge critical care content to our members. We thank our past social media sub-committee chair, Dr. Kyle Bruns, for leading the team and look forward to his efforts as Vice Chair of the Communications Committee. We had a productive meeting with our new members at the Annual Meeting, with junior members interested in promoting our specialty through social media and exploring avenues to increase our reach to medical students, residents, and fellows.

With how busy work and life are, I appreciate the efforts of our contributors who take the time to share their work with SOCCA members via the SOCCA Interchange. In this issue, we have updates from the Program Directors’ Advisory Council regarding the Critical Care Match, an interview with Dr. Jessica Cassavaugh on a pragmatic look at how to pursue research opportunities in your career, and much more. I would encourage all members to follow us on our Twitter account (@SOCCA_CritCare) and frequent our blog (SOCCA Drip) to stay up to date on SOCCA offerings and organization opportunities.

Author

Madiha Syed, MD

Chair, SOCCA Communications Committee

Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland, Ohio