FROM THE PRESIDENT by LEWIS HARGETT , MD
Going Far Together
NOTE : THE FOLLOWING TEXT IS TAKEN FROM A SPEECH MADE BY DR . HARGETT AS PART OF THE PRESIDENT ' S CELEBRATION .
To the GLMS Board Chair , GLMS Executive Director , immediate GLMS Past President , officers , staff , colleagues , friends and guests : I would like to say thank you . I look forward to serving and working with you . I also want to thank my family for their love , support , encouragement and guidance through the years – with a special thanks to my wife who is my biggest cheerleader . She continues to support me in all my endeavors . Now , I would like to take the opportunity to reflect upon my 30 plus years of experience in the medical profession .
First , a little about me . I am from Valdosta , Georgia . I graduated from Clark Atlanta College in Atlanta , Georgia . After college , I attended Meharry Medical College in Nashville , Tennessee . While there , the University of Louisville had representatives who came to encourage students from Meharry to apply to their residency programs . I interviewed for the Internal Medicine Program at UofL and matched there . I started my internal medicine residency in 1987 with the intention of becoming a cardiologist . As I was heading into the final year , I discovered that my desire to be a cardiologist had changed . Thus , I needed to alter my future plans . While at Meharry , I had also been interested in Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation . I met with Dr . Linda Gleis , Chief of PM & R at UofL , and expressed my interest in completing a residency in PM & R . I interviewed for the PM & R program at UofL and matched there . I had a transition year between residencies , and I worked as an ER physician at the VAMC . I completed my residency in PM & R in 1994 .
I was excited to start my private practice in PM & R . Having done internal medicine and PM & R residencies , I had formed relationships with several physicians in various specialties over the years . Because of these relationships and their referrals , I quickly had a busy practice as a general physiatrist ( that ’ s the official title for a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician ) doing inpatient and outpatient medicine .
For the next several years , my practice continued to flourish . I was as busy as I wanted to be . I enjoyed helping patients achieve their highest-level function as they recovered from their various disabilities . I had a busy inpatient practice at Baptist East Rehab and Frazier Rehab Institute . I saw patients in skilled nursing units . In my office practice , I looked forward to doing EMGs , injections , IMEs , musculoskeletal medicine , etc . I felt that I was making a difference in the lives of the patients that I treated . I looked forward to the camaraderie with colleagues in the doctors ’ lounge , at medical staff meetings and in the hospital . I had been on various hospital committees and boards . I had achieved my goal of having my own medical practice and being a very successful physician . Life was great .
Over the years though , like my physician colleagues , I also noticed the significant changes in medicine that were taking place . Physicians were increasingly finishing their training and becoming employees as opposed to entering private practice . There were more and more intrusions limiting the ability of physicians to practice medicine and advocate for patients . Entities like big corporations / insurance companies / governments to include state and national and the courts were cutting pay , requiring more prior authorizations and exerting more control on how physicians practiced medicine in this country . Politicians were passing laws that could fine or imprison physicians for practicing their fields of medicine . Malpractice lawsuits continue to be a constant concern .
Also , there has been a proliferation of non-physicians ( mid-level providers ) who have entered medicine to assist physicians and to
4