Connecticut Governor's Newsletter November 2025
In this Issue:
- Governor's Message
- REFLECTIONS: by Dan Tobin
- DOCTORS DILEMMA AND DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS CONTRIBUTION
- ADVOCACY
- VOLUNTARY DONATION
- VISA WEBINAR
- MEDICAL STUDENT & RESIDENT ENGAGEMENT: MEET A MENTOR
- ANNUAL MEETING UPDATE
Daniel G. Tobin, MD, FACP, ACP Governor
Governor's Message
Dear CT ACP Colleagues:
CT ACP has had an incredibly busy fall, and I'm pleased to provide a brief overview of what your Chapter has been doing on various fronts, and what's ahead. I'm also excited to introduce a new section to the newsletter called “Reflections” inspired by Dr. Vinny Quagliarello who led a phenomenal session on narrative medicine at our recent Scientific Meeting.
I don't intend to turn this newsletter into a forum for creative writing, but I left his session with a newfound appreciation for the importance of storytelling in our profession. If you are looking for inspiration, just give his latest publication entitled “Agape Crossing a Barrier” a read – this superb piece published in the October 21st edition of Annals left me speechless. You can link to it here: Agape Crossing a Barrier
The Scientific Meeting was a remarkable success, and I ended the day the same way I started it - feeling dazzled by the depth of talent in the Connecticut Chapter, including the many amazing medical student and resident poster presentations I had the privilege to review. The meeting was filled with outstanding content and there were too many highlights to recount them all, but I hope you will join me in extending a special thank you to our meeting co-chairs Drs. Diana Sewell and Naseema Merchant who, along with the entire planning committee, organized and implemented a truly wonderful day.
In case you missed it, the lunchtime “fireside chat” I had the honor to facilitate was a particularly special event for me. Alongside ACP national president, Dr. Jason Goldman, and Board of Regents Chair, Dr. Rebecca Andrews, we spoke about ACP's efforts to call out misinformation and health care malfeasance, speaking truth to power, and the impact of member engagement. The time went by too fast…we are incredibly fortunate to have Jason and Rebecca leading the way.
If you made it this far, I hope you will take the time to review the rest of this edition of the newsletter. CT ACP has an engaged membership, and there is so much that our colleagues do to serve as role models and representatives of excellence in our profession.
Finally, if you are not yet involved in CT ACP but would like to be, please don't hesitate to reach out to our Executive Directors, Lisa Winkler and Tricia Dinneen Priebe, at lisa@grassrootsct.com Also, be sure to mark your calendars…next year's Scientific Meeting will take place on October 23, 2026.
Sincerely,
Dan
Daniel Tobin, MD, FACP, ACP Governor
REFLECTIONS: by Dan Tobin
Amid the hustle of downtown Philadelphia, the headquarters for the American College of Physicians stands tall. This gorgeous 9-story edifice somehow blends in perfectly with the colonial-era architecture that surrounds it yet still has a flavor of modernity that resonates with the doctors of today.
Walking into the lobby as I arrived for a meeting of the Mastership Committee, I was briefly overcome by the gravitas of the place. Accompanying this sense of awe was a long-dormant feeling of insecurity bubbling to the surface; imposter syndrome is a hardy foe. Even so, the work of the day washed away those jitters and replaced them with a sense of gratitude, thankful to have a voice reviewing the work of giants, including our own Dr. Ruth Weissberger and Dr. Stephen Atlas, both awarded Mastership this year.
Fast forward a month, and I once again found myself surrounded by titans, this time at the Board of Governors meeting in the 110 degree blazing furnace of Phoenix, Arizona. Like the mythical creature for which the city is named, my time there felt like an exercise in rebirth and renewal, invigorated by the passions of other Governors, even though the fear of first succumbing to a blazing sun never quite left my mind. For several days we collaborated, debated, and stumbled through parliamentary procedure to advance the mission of the College. It was brutal, and it was brilliant. Slightly overwhelmed and definitely overheated, I returned home with a renewed sense of purpose leading into our annual meeting.
On the other end of these events, I am proud of our successes but still fretting about the work ahead. Mission-driven work has no terminus, and service as Governor is a 5-year labor of love. Alone, I am sure the lonely road would steer me in circles. Together, the road ahead feels more navigable, and getting lost seems like a happy opportunity for creativity.
Feeling small in a large world can be overwhelming, but ACP allows the voices of a few to be carried further on the unending winds of change. This is remarkable, inspiring, and worthy of reflection; I welcome the opportunity to share these moments with you in the years ahead.
DOCTORS DILEMMA AND DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS CONTRIBUTION:
Our qualifying round of Doctors Dilemma was held on September 4th at Yale where 8 teams competed for the honor of participating in the final round at our scientific meeting. In addition to our 4 finalists, Yale, Norwalk, St. Mary's, and Stamford all joined the fray.
Dr. Mariam Farhan and Dr. Jacqueline Savage did an excellent job organizing the event and created exciting topics with thought provoking questions.
We again linked a fundraising challenge to the Doctor's Dilemma competition, helping to cheer on our teams while promising to pool donations to support the preferred charity selected by the winner. The charities included:
- Bridgeport Primary Care - Doctors Without Borders
- UCONN Traditional - Charter Oak Health Center
- Waterbury - Malta House of Care Waterbury
- St. Vincent's - Kidneys of the Sound
Donations were made throughout the competition by Venmo. Dr. Savage did an excellent job of motivating the crowd and in the end, the Bridgeport Primary Care Team won the competition, with $300 to be donated to their charity - Doctors Without Borders. Congratulations to the Bridgeport Team! We will be cheering them on in April at the ACP National Meeting.
ADVOCACY:
The Chapter's Health and Public Policy Committee (HPPC) has been hard at work on a variety of fronts. Together with CT ACP Governor, Dr. Dan Tobin, HPPC Co-Chair, Dr. Anothony Yoder authored an op-ed titled “Attempts to distort vaccine facts are simply tragic. It must change.” This article, published in the September 11th edition of the Hartford Courant, issued a call to champion science and protect our communities in the face of misinformation. Click here to read the piece.
Throughout the year, CT ACP also keeps a close watch for proposals to change the professional scope of practice for non-physician clinicians across the state, including the recent proposal to allow physical therapists (PTs) to independently order diagnostic imaging studies. In response, CT ACP authored an impact statement to the Department of Public Health (DPH), expressing concern that this expanded practice authority could impact patient safety, care coordination, and high value care. Relatedly, Dr. Anthony Yoder and Dr. Robert McLean are partnering with colleagues from the Connecticut State Medical Society (CSMS) and specialists on the DPH's PT working group, to further consider the proposal.
Among many other advocacy efforts, we are also thankful for Dr. Kirsten Ek, who represents CT ACP while serving on the Steering Committee of the CT Coalition for Climate Action. She recently spoke at the CHPCA conference last week on climate and health, highlighting the health effects of a hotter planet.
VOLUNTARY DONATION:
Help Champion Tomorrow's Leaders TODAY - it's our mission. Every dollar you contribute creates ripple effects that improve patient care for decades to come by supporting our residents and medical students and their engagement with the Connecticut Chapter and ACP. Use this link to donate today!
ctchapter.acponline.org/donate
VISA WEBINAR:
The International Medical Graduate (IMG) Council, together with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Early Career Physician (ECP) Committees, hosted a webinar on September 17th entitled “Immigration Considerations in an Era of Unprecedented Scrutiny & Enforcement.” Attorney Lauren Hopwood, a partner with Carmody Law, provided a better understanding of the current landscape, concerns with international travel as well as visa, J-1 waiver and green card sponsorship needs. Special thanks to Dr. Kanwar Arora and Dr. Medhat Ghaly for facilitating the session.
MEDICAL STUDENT & RESIDENT ENGAGEMENT: MEET A MENTOR
Our 2nd “Meet a Mentor” program was once again a wonderful success! The event was held at our Scientific Meeting and spearheaded by Drs. Naseema Merchant, Varun Jain and Narinder Maheshwari. The feedback from our mentors and our students was incredibly positive. Special thanks to our mentors and the wonderful student reps from Quinnipiac, UCONN and Yale who promoted the event. Our panels included the following groups and mentors:
Residency and Match Panel
Robert Nardino, MD, MACP
Mariam Farhan, MD
Jacqueline Savage, MD, FACP
Medical School-Navigation/General Mentorship Panel
Marilyn Katz, MD, FACP
General Internal Medicine Panel
Primary Care: Eric Schwaber, MD, FACP
Hospital Medicine: Jaclyn Cox, DO, FACP
Subspecialty Panel
Rheumatology: Robert McLean, MD, MACP
Cardiology: John Tiu, MD
Infectious Disease: Rupak Datta, MD
Gastroenterology: Rosemarie Fisher, MD, MACP
Hematology/Oncology: Kapil Meleveedu, MD
Pulmonary and Critical Care: Edward Manning, MD
ANNUAL MEETING UPDATE:
The CT ACP Annual Scientific Meeting held on October 10th at the Aqua Turf Club was a wonderful success. We had excellent attendance and superb content, including over 150 posters presentations and oral presentations. Special thanks to Dr. Jacqueline Savage, Dr. Mariam Farhan and our amazing poster judges for organizing such a well-orchestrated session.
As usual, there was something for everyone at the meeting with topics ranging from Artificial Intelligence in Clinical Practice, to Evidence-based Nutrition for Chronic Disease Prevention, to various clinical updates, networking events, and a wine-enhanced MKSAP review. Our standard keynote address was replaced with a special “fireside chat” with national ACP President, Dr. Jason Goldman, and Chair of the Board of Regents, Dr. Rebecca Andrews, joining Dr. Tobin during the lunch hour to talk about ACP's efforts to combat misinformation and protect patients despite an unprecedented threat to our public health system (see the beginning of the newsletter for more). We were also fortunate to have Senator Jeff Gordon, MD join us and share his insights when he received his Legislative Award.
Meeting co-chairs, Dr. Diana Sewell and Dr. Naseema Merchant, somehow managed to special order a beautiful fall day to complement the amazing content. We are very thankful for their leadership and the efforts of the planning committee! If you haven't already done so, don't forget to complete the meeting survey and claim your CME an MOC credit online at Connecticut Chapter | ACP Online
Congratulations to this year's award winners:
Monica Lockwood, MD:
The CT ACP Chapter Volunteerism Award
Denis Miller, MD:
The Henry Gift Distinguished Internist Award
Naseema Merchant, MBBS, FCCP, FHM, FACP:
The George F. Thornton Teaching Award
Ruth Weissberger, MD, MACP:
The Rosemarie L. Fisher Female Physician Leadership Award
Benjamin Mba, MD, FACP:
The CT ACP Chapter Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Award
Jaclyn Olsen Jaeger, DO, FACP:
The CT ACP Chapter Early Career Physician Teaching Award
Ben Cherry, MD, FACP and Anthony Yoder, DO, FACP:
The CT ACP Chapter Laureate Award
Senator Jeff Gordon, MD and Rep. Cristin McCarthy-Vahey:
The CT ACP Legislator/Public Servant of the Year Award
Special thanks to our exhibitors that supported the meeting this year, including:
