From the
President
Bruce A. Scott, MD
GLMS President | [email protected]
a labor of love
M
eetings are a labor of love. We all
know the struggle of finishing a
day at the office, only to remember that dinner meeting we had scheduled
downtown, that somehow morphs into a
three hour re-explanation of old topics before any real work takes place; at the same
time, we all realize the important changes
many of those meetings have helped to bring
about.
Eager to find a solution to this paradox,
our board sought to revamp GLMS meetings from the bottom up. When asked,
members (particularly younger members)
indicated they have a clear desire for more
ad hoc committees and task forces with specific foci rather than standing committees
that encompass many topics, as it is perceived that these often lead to redundancy,
re-explanation, frustration, and a lack of
implementation. Conversely, ad hoc committee members would receive background
information prior to meeting, study it, meet,
make a decision, present that decision to
the board, implement it, and disband. Furthermore, younger physicians made clear
their desire for a less formal atmosphere
surrounding meetings as informal environments foster a freer flow of ideas. Lastly,
they pointed out the untapped potential of
technology to accomplish goals in less time
with more efficiency (and without tedious
business meetings after work). In essence,
members want less reporting, less review,
more discussion and more decision making.
All of this has been taken into account in
our strategic plan.
Overall, the plan is quite simple: reduce
the number of committees, reduce the frequency of the remaining committees’ meetings and in doing so, increase member involvement by decreasing the monotony. So,
our thirty-three committees quickly shrunk
to seventeen, nine of which now only meet
on a quarterly basis. After all the cutting was
done, a number of important committees
remain “standing.” Among these, for those
of you interested in the public health sector,
are: the Environmental Medicine and Workplace Health Committee (which meets to
discuss the impact of environmental issues
on the health of our population and often
supports and endorses research studies or
grant-funded environmental projects), the
Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
Committee (which helps members incorporate nationally recognized peer-developed
performance measures appropriate for patient care and seeks to inform the public
about the importance of “true” quality measurements) the Bioethics Committee (which
studies medical ethical issues and provides
conclusions to the Judicial Council), and
Surgery on Sunday (a new involvement for
GLMS to help provide surgery for those
who fall through the gaps in the system).
For those more interested in the business
aspect of the society, there are the Insurance Issue Resolution Committees (which
meets with the major carriers in Kentucky
to resolve physician hassle reports/complaints, communicate trends, etc.), the
MSPS Entrepreneurship Task Force (for
business-minded members to explore and
launch ventures that benefit physicians), the
Emerging Medical Concepts Committee
(which examines the trends in medicine and
proposes action plans for GLMS), and the
Wear the White Coat Task Force. The political action sector still includes the KMA Delegation (which develops resolutions to be
submitted to the KMA) and the Policy and
Advocacy Team (which educates members
on public policy and legislative issues that
impact medicine while fighting for patient
safety, care, and medical practice). Although
this may seem like an alarming amount of
change, it was actually just the first step.
Along with their desire for a change in
the decision-making structure, many physicians spoke out about their wish for more
social interaction; they wanted to put the
“S” back in GLMS, and so do I. Over three
hundred physicians, friends and families
enjoyed the recent Presidents’ Celebration,
“Bourbon and Water,” at the Water Tower.
Social events are a highlight of the society
for many, and we can do more on this front.
Additional socializing will lead to a
more cohesive community of medicine
in Louisville and greater cooperation as
a whole. More social networking (think
shaking hands not Facebooking at work)
helps harbor a sense of community as well,
something we need as a S-ociety. Face-toface interaction in this manner, rather than
in the structured setting of a board room;
an action-oriented society, rather than a
meeting-centric group of individuals; time
together interacting socia