INSIDE WVSMA
Editor ’ s Letter
Physician Leadership Through the West Virginia State Medical Association
Linda S . Nield , MD
GUEST AUTHORS : Shafic Sraj , MD , MBA
Physician leadership is crucial to the betterment of healthcare in our state and nation . Throughout its history , the West Virginia State Medical Association ( WVS- MA ) proved to be the premier organization representing the interests and collective wisdom of the physicians of West Virginia ( WV ). The WVSMA has also provided a path for emerging physician leaders to high-level state and national leadership ; this has been highlighted over the last few years as we witnessed the growth of our own on the state and national scene .
At the state level , in May 2023 , Governor Jim Justice announced cabinet appointments to three new departments of the Executive Branch , including Sherri A . Young , DO , MBA , as secretary of the WV Department of Health ; Cynthia Persily , PhD , as the secretary of the WV Department of Human Services ; and Michael Caruso , MBA , as secretary of the WV Department of Health Facilities . 1 Amongst other prominent leadership roles , Dr . Young is most known to us as the 2019 WVSMA president , and Dr . Persily serves as a reviewer for our journal .
At the national level , in October 2021 , Rahul Gupta , MD , MPH , MBA , was appointed by President Joe Biden as the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy , the first physician to serve in this role . 2 Dr . Gupta ran the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department from 2009 to 2014 , became the director of the West Virginia Bureau of Public Health in 2015 , then joined the March of Dimes as its chief medical officer in 2018 . Dr . Gupta was the 2016 WVSMA president .
Dr . Young and Dr . Gupta are just two recent examples of a trail of physician leaders who rose through the ranks of the WVSMA during their careers . Inspired by their achievements , we realized that while a few may have leadership traits , leadership is truly an acquired set of skills . Therefore , our home-made West Virginian leadership program , Physician LEADS WV , was launched earlier this year . Over 15 students strong , this inaugural cohort is progressing along four paths of leadership education and experiences while visiting various WV regions and meeting state healthcare leaders .
As WV is the locale of major undergraduate and graduate medical education programs and is home to the greatest number of medical students per capita of all states , we strive to have robust resident and student participation in the WVSMA . Our trainees are our future leaders , but they are also current contributors to the successes of our present day WVSMA efforts . Readers , please note that each scientific article in this issue includes a co-author that was a medical student at the time of submission . Hayes and colleagues describe an unusual complication of uncontrolled diabetes , 3 Ludrosky and colleagues present study results about the impact of a prior authorization program in pediatric psychiatry , 4 and Bonar and colleagues describe a patient with a urologic malignancy mimic . 5
REFERENCES
1 . Office of the Governor . Gov . Justice appoints three secretaries to new departments of Health , Human Services , and Health Facilities . Available at : https :// governor . wv . gov / News / pressreleases / 2023 / Pages / Gov . -Justice-appoints-three-secretariesto-new-departments-of-Health , -Human-Services , -and- Health-Facilities . aspx . Accessed on June 15 , 2023 .
2 . The White House . United States Senate Confirms Dr . Rahul Gupta as Director of National Drug Control Policy . Available at : https :// www . whitehouse . gov / ondcp / briefingroom / 2021 / 10 / 28 / united-states-senate-confirms-dr-rahulgupta-as-director-of-national-drug-control-policy /. Accessed on June 15 , 2023 .
3 . Hayes R , Beard GH , Labus A . A Case of Uncontrolled Diabetes Complicated by Nonketotic Hyperglycemic Hemichorea . WVMJ . 2023 ; 119 ( 3 ): 18-20 .
4 . Ludrosky JM , Skidmore B , Quiggle T , Swager L . Examining the Impact of a Prior Authorization Program on Rural Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Patients and Families . WVMJ . 2023 ; 119 ( 3 ): 22-26 .
5 . Bonar EM , Morley CE , Morley HE , Nield LS . Renal Abscess Complicated by Renal Vein Thrombosis Mimicking Clinical Stage T3a Renal Cell Carcinoma . WVMJ . 2023 ; 119 ( 3 ): 28-30 .
6 • www . wvsma . org