PRESCRIBING CHANGE
relationships and family , and they help each other survive the fights that keep coming . We are definitely getting closer to me here . And I love pizza . But to be fair , their level of blasé in how they go about doing things is not who I am either .
So , is there a character that defines who I am now and how I got to be where I ’ m at in my professional and advocacy career ? The answer is , “ Not that I know of .” Oh , what power that phrase can have . It lets us maintain a level of authority and trust while allowing us to keep a level of naivete . My advocacy path has been more , “ Not that I know of , but I am going to find out .”
I wasn ’ t always interested in how the health care decisions were made or how they were meted out . I truly think my interest started when I opened my own practice and realized how medical insurance operates in our world . As a patient user , it seemed so straightforward . I pay money now so they will pay money later based on the rules they put out before I picked a plan . Those were my naïve days of “ not that I know of .” Opening a practice where my salary depended on what insurance did quickly had me adding “ but I am going to find out .” Outstanding AR that was previously described as a tax writeoff had me thinking it was a good thing . Then I realized that it was just money lost . So how do the rules get made on who pays what and how much ? Negotiated , you say ? Ha ! Solo practice providers do not get to negotiate . We get what we get and don ’ t throw a fit .
Then I moved back to Kentucky and took on a whole new role as an obstetrics hospitalist . I had less time for personal stuff while working my 24-hour shifts ( where we couldn ’ t leave ), but more time off when I wasn ’ t working : that let me do things like attend a Washington , D . C ., fly-in . We advocated for our two talking points , and I observed the process . I observed the personality styles and the way the experienced people presented themselves . I observed advocacy . For my part , I tried to bring as much humanity to the issues as possible , relating the talking points to their constituents and possible outcomes . For the fly-in , though , I did not get to pick my talking points . point . I tried my hand at writing a resolution which I put forth at a legislative meeting for GLMS last spring . I wrote the resolution with its basic format in mind : what do I want and why do I want it . With the help of feedback and support from members on the team , the resolution was finalized , and the next step was to present it at the 2024 KMA Annual Meeting last summer .
The resolution passed the GLMS session without dissent , but with the entire state KMA House of Delegates , dissenters came . I respect their reasons for dissent , as I would hope they respect my reasons for support . But it is noteworthy that none of the public dissenters are / were working in the OB-GYN field ( that I know of ), and I have a suspicion that the lack of experience in what we do plays a part in their dissent . After all , it still boils down to our experiences that shape who we are and what we stand for .
Recently I had a judge follow me for a day as part of the GLMS Wear the White Coat annual event . We made connections between our struggles as providers in the health care field and her experiences as a patient . We even made connections between her field and mine . I hope that she will begin to see ways that she could make a difference and help solve some of our problems in her own professional way . We were supporting characters for each other and I know our stories will intertwine again .
My animated character may have started out as the child of divorce version of Snow White , but I know that isn ’ t where I stayed . There are too many Lex Luthers and Thanos in the world that make me keep trying to be Black Panther with Deadpool ’ s sarcasm . Now , if I could just talk my husband into another Snoopy for the family , I ’ d be all set .
Dr . Barnsfather is an OB-GYN with Norton Women ’ s Health .
I joined an employed OB-GYN office in 2019 . The founding member of that practice has been the facilitator for my advocacy in this phase of my life . Dr . Susan Bornstein suggested I join GLMS and the advocacy team . You can ask her what she saw in me that made her want to do it , but I suspect it was my very vocal complaints about the health care system and my need to continue to put forth possible solutions . So , I joined GLMS and their advocacy team .
Once again , I observed . I am not afraid to lead , but I ’ m not drawn to it to fill my personal bucket . I ’ m drawn to it when leading helps solve problems . The Dobbs decision and a Kentucky trigger law created a whole new set of problems in my health care world . So , it was again time to lead , only this time I wanted to pick the talking
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