North Dakota Governor's Newsletter May 2026
In this Issue:
- Knock, Knock, Hi! with the Glaucomfleckens Podcast
- IMM San Francisco
- New well-being champion online curriculum
- Save the date! Upcoming meeting opportunities
Joshua C. Ranum, MD, FACP, ACP Governor
Knock, Knock, Hi! with the Glaucomfleckens Podcast
If you haven't listened already, check out Erik Heitkamp, MD, FACP, on the Glaucomflecken Podcast. “What Happens When Doctors Get Involved in Legislation? with Dr. Erik Heitkamp & Courtney Koebele”
Erik highlighted the importance of advocacy, ways to get involved, and the long game strategy necessary for success. You represented the NDMA, ACP, and North Dakota very well, Erik!
Additional podcast links:
IMM San Francisco
Congratulations to our 2026 Chapter Awardees recognized at the IM Meeting Convocation in San Francisco:
- Hassan Attique, MD FACP. Newly recognized as an ACP Fellow
- M. Omar Saleem, MD FACP. New ACP Fellow
- Puvanalingam Ayyadurai, MBBS, MD, FACC, FACP. New ACP Fellow
- Fadel Nammour, MD MACP. Chapter Laureate Award winner and new ACP Master!
Dr. Ayyadurai, Dr. Ranum, Dr. Saleem, Dr. Attique
The North and South Dakota chapters combined for a lively reception at SPIN, a ping pong social club. Dr. Attique, fresh off his new fellowship, held court. I believe he watched Marty Supreme on the airplane.
Dr. Saleem and Dr. Attique - Dr. Bande and medical students on the far table.
Kaitlyn Berwald, Dr. Dinesh Bande, Dr. William Newman, Elena Linster, and Brian Olson
Our Doctor's Dilemma team was in prime position to advance after the first round of the competition, but the second-round board was quite unfriendly. Congratulations to Rita Ahmad, Hussam Almasri, and Leesha Heitkamp on qualifying for the national competition.
We had two medical students and one resident advance to the National Poster Competition in San Francisco after winning at our local chapter competition. Congratulations to Leesha Heitkamp, Elena Linster, and Brian Olson!
Your new governor-elect, Dr. Dinesh Bande, and I will be working on leadership transition over the next year. He's got a lot of great ideas and will help propel the chapter forward. I look forward to working with Dr. Bande on his transition to governor and the Board of Governors during my final year as your chapter governor.
We plan to reboot our Midwest Regional Webinar series this fall. Stay tuned for more information on that. We're also working on some potential changes to our annual meeting format as well as increased collaboration with the South Dakota chapter.
To those who presented, were quizzed, or were honored at the IM Meeting, congratulations.
Best wishes,
Josh
New well-being champion online curriculum
The ACP has recently launched the Well-being Champion curriculum, a free member-exclusive program designed to help internal medicine physicians, trainees, and future physicians lead meaningful change and foster cultures of well-being.
This on-demand learning series provides practical tools, leadership strategies, and evidence-based approaches to improve physician well-being in your workplace, training program, or professional community. Whether you want to advocate for system-level improvements or support peers more effectively, the curriculum equips you with skills you can apply immediately. CME and MOC credit are available.
What You'll Learn
- How to develop leadership skills as a Well-being Champion
- Practical tools to promote professional fulfillment and reduce burnout
- Strategies to design data-driven well-being initiatives
- How to apply quality improvement frameworks to support physician well-being
By completing this curriculum, you can play an important role in advancing a culture of well-being in internal medicine.
Our chapter will strongly support anyone interested in participating.
Save the date! Upcoming meeting opportunities
2026 South Dakota Chapter Annual Scientific Meeting
October 1-2, 2026
The Lodge at Deadwood | Deadwood, SD
2026 North Dakota Medical Association, SHM, and ACP meeting
October 16, 2026
Alerus Center, Grand Forks