Welcome back to our series on ACC chapter engagement for FITs! The intent of the series is to encourage FITs to actively engage in their state's ACC chapter. Interviews of select state chapters are conducted to glean their experiences to be shared with readers. In this article, I continue my interview with the NYC ACC Chapter's 2022-2023 catalysts, Dikshya Sharma, MBBS; David Power, MBBCH; and Ameesh Isath, MBBS, and 2021-2022 catalyst, Sarah Rosanel, MD. (Read part one here.)

How does ACC impact your FIT career? What do you feel is the most important part of the impact for you?

Rosanel: After completing my cardiovascular fellowship at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, I accepted a position as a non-invasive cardiologist focused on women's cardiovascular diseases, cardio-obstetrics, and preventive cardiology in Hollywood, Florida. Thanks to my experience within NYACC, I joined my new local ACC chapter in Florida. This community of like-minded doctors is unique as we all share that passion for healthcare, for cardiology, with our collective goal to provide the best care possible for our patients. Within the ACC community, the relationships formed will be lifelong. You will gain mentors, who will guide you through your first offer letter or employment agreement, reminding you of your worth, you will be a teacher and guide other fellows and residents as well. In addition to educational opportunities, there are opportunities to network, as well as create research projects outside of my home institution. There is also access to various resources such has webinars on topics ranging from physical wellness and burnout to diversity, to cardiomyopathies. You get to learn from each of your peers and interact with legends in cardiology. I loved being part of the FIT on the Go program, interacting with prominent researchers and thought leaders to provide educational content about up-to-date cardiovascular research. ACC is our primary "home," independent of which institution you belong.

How do you as a FIT committee address diversity and inclusion? How do you promote women in cardiology and ACC?

Isath: One of the fundamental goals of NYACC is to increase the diversity of its members, and diversity with the NY cardiovascular workforce. To achieve this, we have created a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Task Force aiming to improve diversity, equity and inclusion within the NY cardiovascular workforce and the Chapter by offering a diverse array of backgrounds, experiences, ideas, and perspectives. We won an Award for Diversity and Inclusion for Excellence in D&I implementation in 2019. In Feb 2022, we had an event focused on the contributions of Black physicians to the field of cardiology and the role that women's health plays. We are also working on a mentorship-match program that includes FITs, hospitalists, and residents. Outside of the FIT chapter, we have a highly active WIC section that promotes FIT and Early Career women. Overall, the state chapter also completed a 4-part series on Microaggressions, Bias and Toxicity: Navigating Difficult Interactions in Cardiology, where we addressed contributors to workplace toxicity, hostility, and longitudinal interactive programs to create skills to navigate difficult situations. Overall, the NYACC FIT committee has been successful in promoting diversity, equality and inclusion.

What are the future plans for the chapter?

Power: Our NY State ACC meetings always end with forward-thinking emphasis on growth and development of the chapter. These include expanding educational activities for fellows, increasing attending representation at the national and state level for health policy and writing articles on a wide variety of topics. One of our future plans is to work with other regional state chapters to increase the visibility and resources of multiple chapters at once, as we have recently done with the Virginia and Pennsylvania ACC chapters.

What would I do if I wanted to get involved?

Power: There are many ways to get involved with the New York State ACC as a FIT. From a leadership standpoint there are roles that include upstate and downstate FIT representatives and communication roles, that highlight major events of the local NYSACC chapter. Outside of the leadership positions, FITs can participate in FIT jeopardy and Shark Tank Challenge sessions to meet others, network, and gain exposure on the local stage of cardiology. To get reminders of the many fantastic events and talks events that are going on, FITs throughout the state can email us, follow the NYSACC social medial profiles and join us in person or on zoom!

Thank you, Drs. Dikshya Sharma, David Power, Ameesh Isath, and Sara Rosanel, for your highly informative discussion and bringing a great deal of information to the ACC community (national and international) about your efforts!

Be the catalyst for change in your state chapter! The belief in what we do has a meaningful and profound impact on colleagues, the practice of cardiology and especially the patients.

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