I am a SCCM member as serve on one of their taskforces. This isn't the first time that a non-physician served a one-year term as President (Maurene Harvey about ten years ago and Judith Jacobi not too long ago). It is a multidisciplinary society, folks. Not a big deal. In fact, if you actually took the time to read through the current President's qualifications (as well as the past Presidents) you'd likely realize that they are very prepared to do what is overwhelmingly an administrative job. The most recent Pres traveled a tremendous amount of the time and was constantly required in meetings, etc. Not the easiest job for a physician to take on, and definitely one that requires a strong academic affiliation. I have no insight into how the selection process unfolds.
Some of you are acting like it is a dictatorship where the new President will come in and say that physicians are no longer needed....The tenor of SCCM is very much multidisciplinary, and my experience working alongside nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists, etc has only cemented by belief that the best critical care is that which brings all of this expertise. Even at ATS this week (which is much more of a physician-oriented conference) there was plenty of stellar work presented by both nurses and physical therapists (i.e. evidence of nurse driven protocols, early ambulation for mechanically ventilated patients, etc).
I would advise everyone to put this job in perspective (SCCM Pres) and relax.
