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In this Issue:
- Governor's Letter
- ACP Early Career Physicians Webinar Series
- Join the Illinois Chapter of the American College of Physicians at Leadership Day 2023 in Washington, D.C.
- How ACP Members Can Support Current Disaster Recovery and Aid Efforts
- New Video Series Highlights DEI Grant Projects Funded in Partnership with ACP
Anne Furey Schultz, MD, FACP , ACP Governor, Illinois Northern
Governor's Letter
Relationships. Community. Your story matters.
My dad's 88th birthday is coming up on March 21st. I turn 58 the same day. We have shared our birthdays - two cakes, two rounds of singing - for as long as I can remember. The first time we were separated on our birthdays I was a homesick freshman at college. I got a card from him in the mail: “What a great day for a birthday…”. We've been together for every birthday but one ever since. It was the year he turned 53 and I turned 23 and was studying abroad for a year in Australia. He came to visit me - a father daughter only trip because my mother doesn't fly - and as we traveled around the country, the hotels kept giving us one bed. We thought this was an odd Australian custom until one of the last nights when the hotel clerk overheard me call my father "dad" and looked up at us, embarrassed: "Oh - will you be wanting two beds?" We tell our stories on repeat now when we are together. Last year we celebrated our birthdays preparing for ACP's Story Slam. So this year it was no surprise when I asked my dad if for my birthday I could interview him about his life of love and service. He showed up that afternoon on my doorstep in his Irish fisherman sweater. Best. Birthday. Gift. Ever.
In the interview I asked my dad, a retired internist, what he loved most about being a doctor. He said it was the relationships he had with his patients. When my dad retired at 83, many of his patients came to me, and every now and then his patient, now my patient, will quote my father back to me. Another recites three Hail Mary's when I check his blood pressure - a suggestion of my fathers for his white coat syndrome. All of my patients who were his patients ask me about my father, their doctor, and I feel the importance of my place in their connectedness as their lifelong doctor in their lives.
I started my career in private practice working alongside my father. I learned my bedside manner by studying his. I hear when I use his tone of voice. My review of systems is a direct steal. I keep track of details of my patients' life stories in Epic sticky notes like my dad did in free hand – his manila charts read like tiny novellas.
I left my dad's practice when my son was little to become employed for the security of the salary and benefits and so I didn't have to stop and do the blood draws or EKGs when the college students they hired could not. Although I left, my parents stayed in private practice together for over sixty years.
This month as I turn 58, I will be going back into private practice. I will finish my career the way I started - taking care of patients the way my father did. In doing so I hope to recapture what for me has been getting lost and fragmented in a panel of 1800 patients: my patient's stories and my relationships with them.
Through all my career transitions, I am incredibly grateful that ACP has been my north star and my rock, not only for professional knowledge but also for professional and personal relationships. I stay informed through ACP's advocacy and medical practice and quality and papers and positions statements on Physician Payment and the Medicare Final Rule and Patients before Paperwork. ACP informs and shapes my professional meaning and purpose and helps me be the best doc I can be. As I savor this final year as your Governor, I have been humbled to learn from your stories that I have been privileged and grateful to witness at our Women in Medicine seminars, Early Career groups, Leadership Day outings, and the multiple venues we came together for Residents Day.
Your story matters. Come join us in San Diego this April. We have a terrific venue for our Illinois reception, and come join me for an early morning walk/run with your ACP members and friends. To quote an ACP colleague with whom I'm snowshoeing next month: “I'm saying yes to everything these days.” This has become a bit of a mantra for me as well. I'm saying yes when it comes to relationships, connection, movement, community, and stories - our patients and our own.
Thank you, Dr. Jim Foody, for calling me up personally all those years ago and inviting me to ACP Fellowship. And thank you, Dr. Andy Hedberg, for being a great communicator and role model for so many. Thank you both for sharing with us your lives of love and service.
And happy birthday, papa.
Kindly,
Anne Furey Schultz, MD, FACP
ACP Early Career Physicians Webinar Series
Avoid Hemorrhaging Cash: How Your Employment or Service Agreement Should be Negotiated to Protect Your Finances, Family and Future.
March 22, 2023 Virtual Session @ 6:30pm
Save the Date for future webinars!
Building a Solid Financial Foundation on May 11th
Your Investment Portfolio: Taking a Strategic and Systematic Approach on May 25th
Join ACP IL at our Reception on Thursday, April 27th at 8:00pm following the convocation ceremony.
RSVP Here https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8D2ZCSH
Join the Illinois Chapter of the American College of Physicians at Leadership Day 2023 in Washington, D.C.
The Illinois Chapter is again sponsoring members to attend. Attendees will receive up to $1250 travel stipends for up to three attendees from the following member categories: student, resident/fellow, early career physician (less than 10 years out of training) (3 Total Attendees) Participants receive a comprehensive orientation and briefing on ACP's top legislative priorities and then have an opportunity to meet with legislators and the staff on Capitol Hill.
To enter please submit your response (500 words or less) to the following: “Why is physician advocacy important to you? What do you hope to accomplish by attending ACP Leadership Day?”
Essays should be submitted no later than March 5, 2023.
General information regarding Leadership Day 2023 can be found HERE
How ACP Members Can Support Current Disaster Recovery and Aid Efforts
The earthquakes in Turkey and Syria are being described as the worst in that area in a century. ACP members who wish to provide support in the recovery efforts can help via these organizations.
- The U.S. non-profit Bridge to Turkiye has a history of supporting cultural and educational initiatives in Turkey, and is working on providing food and water through the Turkish aid organization, Ahbap Association
- The Syrian American Medical Society, SAMS, a U.S.-based humanitarian agency that works in Syria and related regions, is providing medical aid to victims and hospitals in Northwest Syria.
- Additional national and international organizations, with reach in the areas affected by the earthquake, are suggested by the New York Times
New Video Series Highlights DEI Grant Projects Funded in Partnership with ACP
A new series of interview-style videos covers the progress of projects that have received grants from the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation's 2021 Building Trust Through Diversity, Health Care Equity & Inclusion in Internal Medicine program. The grants are funded by the ABIM Foundation in partnership with ACP and other medical organizations.
The first video in the series features Dr. Karina Whelan discussing a new curriculum she is creating for the University of North Carolina that implements a health equity-focused quality improvement project for medical students. The first video is available to watch on the ABIM Foundation YouTube Channel .