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In this Issue:
- Message from the Governor-Elect Designee, Dr. Ranum
- Experience the most comprehensive internal medicine learning event, live from Chicago April 28-30, 2022!
- Leadership Day 2022
- Submit a Resolution
- Save the Date! 2022 North Dakota Chapter Annual Scientific Meeting
- Call for Awards Nominations
Fadel Nammour, MD, FACP, ACP Governor
Message from the Governor-Elect Designee, Dr. Ranum
Language matters. What may seem trivial, an inconsequential concession, shapes how we perceive the world. Changing what something is called reframes that entity in our minds. Although we think “we're too smart for that,” it's an insidious erosion rather than a seismic shift. Like a slow drip from a leak can erode stone, changes in nomenclature do influence our perceptions.
These can be harnessed for benefit – a failure is an opportunity to try again and do better; a resident isn't called to do another admission, it's a learning opportunity; alcoholic is giving way to alcohol use disorder. Reframing is a frequently used CBT technique that works.
These changes can also be used against us. Witness the growth in the usage of the term provider. While there's a time and place for such a broad term and its intended brevity, there's a growing recognition among physicians of the corrosive impact this language shift has had. Physician assistants (some of whom are promoting a name change to physician associates) and nurse practitioners have an integral role in our health care delivery system. But, they have a different level of training and skill set than we physicians do. The language of provider blurs these lines and connotes an interchangeable equivocation to the public. (For the record, it's not the advanced practitioners pushing this, it's the bureaucracy surrounding medicine). The lumping of all into the provider category is a symptom of a larger disease – the commodifying, depersonalization, and cook booking of medicine.
The term provider was initially a denigration in 1930s Germany. Jewish physicians were stripped of the label Arzt (doctors) and given the label Krankenbehandler (practitioner or health care provider). Now, this is not to ascribe evil motives to people using the term provider today; it's an example of how language shifts have been used intentionally in the past.
We are all valuable members of the health care team. Our system could not function without the contributions of all – custodians, office staff, aides, nurses, PAs and NPs, physicians, and even administrators. However, our level of training differentiates physicians from the other members of the team. We have a different role on the team and a different role in society as a result. Our nomenclature needs to reflect that.
ACP Leadership, Dr. Nammour, and I call on you to be precise in your language . Use the term physician because language matters.
For more information, please see The Language Game by Drs. Mangione, Mandell, and Post in the December 2021 issue of the American Journal of Medicine.
Experience the most comprehensive internal medicine learning event, live from Chicago April 28-30, 2022!
Internal Medicine Meeting 2022 returns to in-person this spring in Chicago! There's never been a better time to reconnect with your colleagues and experience the three days of valuable, timely content you rely on to stay current in internal medicine.
MASTERING MEDICINE TOGETHERSM
Join ACP and your colleagues as we reconvene to meet our personal and professional goals. World-renowned faculty will present important topics and the latest evidenced-based clinical and practice information that invite you to discover new ways to improve your own techniques and patient care. Internal Medicine Meeting 2022 will also introduce a refreshed schedule and two plenary gatherings featuring must-see speakers.
Register to gain access to:
- Over 200 scientific and practice-related sessions
- Expert faculty with live Q&A and real-time polling
- Livestream access to over 100 hours of sessions during the event
MORE CME THAN EVER, MORE TIME TO LEARN
Maximize your learning with extended access to session recordings after the Meeting. This year you can earn more CME/MOC than ever before! Choose from two access levels to best fit your needs.
- Standard–Access all session recordings for 30 days after the event.
- Premium–Best value! Receive access to all session recordings for 1 year, giving you more time to earn CME/MOC. You'll also have the chance to win a free MKSAP® 19 Complete Green! For a limited time, register for Premium and receive immediate access to the Diabetes for the Internist: 2021 video recordings and bonus CME–an additional $309 in extra value for members.
Can't attend in Chicago? A virtual option is also available. Livestream 100 hours of sessions during the event and engage with faculty through live Q&A and real-time polling.
Leadership Day 2022
ACP is making plans for an in-person event at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, DC on May 17-18 for Leadership Day 2022.
Leadership Day enables the College to increase its presence on Capitol Hill and bring our issues of concern to U.S. lawmakers. ACP members will receive two days of in-depth briefings on the College's legislative priorities and an opportunity to meet with elected officials.
ACP members interested in participating in Leadership Day 2022 should contact the ND Chapter to let us know of your interest and to be included in the chapter delegation congressional meetings. A $50 registration fee to attend Leadership Day will be charged to attendees at the time of registration, with the exception of medical students and Residents/Fellows in-training members. Attendance will be limited to ACP members only.
For more information, please visit Leadership Day 2022.
Submit a Resolution
Are you concerned about a practice or clinical issue or have an idea you'd like to suggest? If so, you might consider submitting a resolution to your Governor or chapter council.
Initiating a resolution provides ACP members an opportunity to focus attention at the ACP national level on a particular issue or topic that concerns them. Participating in the Board of Governors resolutions process provides the ACP grassroots member a voice and allows you to shape College policy that impacts the practice of internal medicine. When drafting a resolution, don't forget to consider how well it fits within ACP's Mission and Goals. In addition, be sure to use the College's Priority Themes to guide you when proposing a resolution topic.
Not sure how to begin drafting a resolution? Researching the College's position on an issue can give you a start. Visit the ACP Online homepage and click the “Advocacy“ link in the right-hand, top margin to access ACP policy positions, read about recent ACP advocacy activities, or search ACP's library of policies and recommendations.
Members must submit resolutions to their Governor and/or chapter council. A resolution becomes a resolution of the chapter once the chapter council approves it. If effecting change interests you, the deadline for submitting new resolutions to be heard at the Fall 2022 Board of Governors Meeting is March 30, 2022.
Share your good idea with us. Draft a resolution.
Save the Date! 2022 North Dakota Chapter Annual Scientific Meeting
The 2022 North Dakota Chapter Annual Scientific meeting will be in Grand Forks on October 7. The poster competition, Doctor's Dilemma competition will be on Thursday, October 6. We plan to join the North Dakota Medical Association for their meeting and luncheon. We will partner with the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) for the afternoon sessions on Friday.
Call for Awards Nominations
Do you have a mentor, colleague, or peer deserving recognition?
The North Dakota Chapter Awards Committee would appreciate your assistance in recognizing our chapter members that have made outstanding contributions in the practice of medicine, research, public service, leadership, and medical volunteerism.
The recipients will be honored during the North Dakota Chapter Scientific Meeting, October 7, 2022.
Please review the list of chapter awards below and submit your nomination to Carla Mosser - Chapter Staff. If possible, please include the nominee's CV.
Laureate Award
The Laureate Award is designed to honor those Fellows and Masters of the College who have demonstrated, by their example and conduct, an abiding commitment to excellence in medical care, education, and research, and service to their community, their chapter, and the ACP.
Fostering Diversity Award
The award is given to an individual with outstanding accomplishments in advancing diversity in clinical medicine or research, and/or access to care in relation to diverse populations. “Diverse populations” are understood to include: 1) economically or socially disadvantaged patient populations, for example, minorities, immigrant groups, or the homeless; and 2) groups underrepresented in the healthcare workforce.
Volunteerism & Community Service Award
The award is given to an individual who has distinguished themselves in voluntary service in the area of medicine. Recipients of this award have distinguished themselves as true humanitarians to be honored for their voluntary contributions in medicine. Nominees could be non-physicians.
Woman Physician of the Year
Honors an outstanding woman physician with a distinguished career in areas of exceptional patient care, medical education and/or research.