From the
PRESIDENT
JOHN L . ROBERTS , MD GLMS President | john . roberts @ glms . org
YOUR COMMUNITY IDENTITY
Thank you for your vote of confidence in me when you elected me to become the 118 th President of the Greater Louisville Medical Society ( GLMS ). I am very excited about the upcoming year and I promise to do my best to justify your trust . In turn , I ask not just for your membership in this Society . I need your active involvement as we work together to achieve our mission :
To
• Promote the science , art and profession of medicine ,
• Protect the integrity of the patient-physician relationship ,
• Advocate for the health and well being of the community , and
• Unite physicians regardless of practice settings to achieve these ends .
We should be proud of our Society . It has been in existence since 1892 . Previous members have sustained the Society through wars and epidemics , tornadoes and floods , hospital closures , acquisitions and mergers , and various forms of health insurance , including no insurance at all . The Society has always served as a fellowship for physicians – a venue for physicians to support one another through difficult times and as a way for physicians to join together to accomplish things that individual physicians alone could not .
Today we have our own challenges . You know them well : increasing governmental regulation , electronic health record programs , decreasing reimbursement as the cost to practice rises , the pressure to see more patients - each in less time , and the ever growing complexity of medicine , to name just a few . While our challenges pale in comparison to some of those experienced by our predecessors they nevertheless have led to burnout and a disenchantment with medicine on the part of many of our colleagues . It is all too easy to be focused on these things “ happening to us .” With these pressures in our professional lives , it is easy to forget the joy of medicine – the reasons many of us went into , and have stayed in , medicine .
When I reflect on my own career , as a medical student , a pediatric resident , a neonatology fellow , and finally as a “ real doctor ,” I realize I have always valued two things above all else . The first , being told I helped by the tearful mother who thanked me for saving her baby ’ s life , but also by the tearful mother who thanked me though I did not save her baby ’ s life . The second is the camaraderie of my fellow physicians , the sense of belonging . Whether it was the late night student study group that got me to the middle of my class , or the post-call pizza and beer with my fatigued resident mates , there was a sense that we were in this together and that in medicine we were doing something important . I have had the same sense of belonging as I have become more involved in GLMS committees and leadership .
More than the material things with which I surround myself : the house , the car , the income and other luxuries , those two thoughts , that I help and that I belong , sustain me when I have had a difficult day . It is the looking outward , the focus on others , not the inward focus on self , which fulfills me .
Our identity as “ physician ” plays out on several levels . First and foremost is the everyday relationship we have with our patient . If you are doing this well , your patient identifies you as “ my doctor ” and may praise you when speaking to their friends . This is your “ bedside identity .” Some of us may also have a “ national identity ” by being a physician active in the American Medical Association ( AMA ) or in our specialty society . I am a pediatrician , a neonatologist and a member of the AMA . When I go to national meetings I am identified for my abilities in these areas .
But I propose that a powerful and effective identity , and the most needed today , is your “ community identity , ” as an individual and collectively as physicians .
Historically , physicians , individually and collectively , have been leaders in our community . This requires more than waiting for the patient to bring her illness to your doorstep . It is about taking health to the community : promoting immunizations , clean water , clean air , nutrition and healthy lifestyles ; speaking out against poverty , health care disparities and injustice ; standing up to political , economic and social forces that may not serve our citizens well ; supporting other health oriented organizations in our community with your membership on their boards and your willingness to speak publicly to educate our citizens , and improve our population ’ s health . It is about helping .
And so , in the coming year I will call upon you , sometimes quite directly , to belong and to help . I will ask you to become involved in our community through your membership in our Greater Louisville Medical Society . Membership is more than the “ mug book ,” more than the discounted Centralized Applications Processing Service ( CAPS ). As you get more involved , I hope you will proudly say , “ I am a member of the Greater Louisville Medical Society .” In doing so , you are promoting our community identity and promoting the science , art and profession of medicine . In doing so , I am confident that you will realize again the joy of medicine .
Let ’ s get started !
Dr . Roberts is a neonatologist with the University of Louisville Physicians and the Vice Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Continuing Medical Education at the University of Louisville School of Medicine . He is married to Dr . Janet Smith , a cardiologist with Norton Healthcare .
JUNE 2016 5