Tennessee Governor's Newsletter July 2026
In this Issue:
- Governor's Greeting
- Internal Medicine Meeting 2026
- ACP Leadership Day
- Chapter Awards
- News and Notes
Daniel S. Ely, MD, FACP, ACP Governor
Governor's Greeting
Hi Tennessee ACP!
I hope you have had a great spring. As we head into summer, let's recap the year so far, and talk about what's ahead. But first, Save The Date and Register for the Annual Tennessee ACP Chapter Meeting in Franklin, October 9-10. This session promises to provide:
- High-value scientific content.
- Resident/student and Early-Career Physician programming.
- Thieves' Market presentation by none other than Dr. David Scrase, MD, MACP, the originator of Thieves' Market.
- A great chance to connect with colleagues from around the state.
Internal Medicine Meeting 2026
In April, many of you attended the ACP Internal Medicine Meeting in San Francisco. As always, it was an incredible blend of outstanding education and a look toward the ever-changing future of medicine.
During Convocation, we celebrated Tennessee's newest FACPs. They represent communities across the state, and it was a pleasure to recognize their achievement. Although not everyone was able to attend Convocation, we would still like to recognize all of our members who have earned the distinction of FACP.
If you know one of Tennessee's newest FACPs, please be sure to congratulate them on this well-deserved achievement.
2025 Tennessee Fellows
| Bukola Afilaka | Ian E. Garrigan | Debaroti Tina Mullick Borschel | Shirisha R. Vallepu |
| Jordan Anderson | Amelia M. Goodfellow | Taopheeq Ayodele Mustapha | Venkata Vedantam |
| Federica B. Angel | Venkata C. Gourineni | Sunday D. Ogunde | Brendan Williams |
| Chinelo Animalu | Paula C. Herrmann | Anna Owings | Juli D Williams |
| Rachel KP Apple | Deirdre J. James | Mark Owusu | Johnson Wong |
| Eric D Blakney | James A. Joslyn | Wesley Phillips | Samin Yasar |
| Bradley W Beeler | Muhammad Junaid | Snigdha S. Priyadarshi | Sandra Zaki |
| Ali A Bokhari | Sukhdev Khadka | Jorge A. Rodriguez | Teresa M. Zoffuto |
| Jennifer M. Carman | Nerissa L. Licup-Taylor | Sahar Takkouche | |
| Aswathi Chandran | Kevin Y. Liu | Christopher Terndrup | |
| Ryan A. Costello | Richard X. Lyn-Cook | Admasu T. Tessema | |
| Jason J. Della Vecchia | Owita R. Mays | Amber L. Thacker | |
| Nicholas A. Flynn | Michael D. McCann | Naganath Thota |
If you are not a Fellow, I urge you to consider applying. I was proud to celebrate our Fellows, award winners, and our newest Master, Dr. Catherine Womack, at the ceremony.
I was also very proud that our chapter was the recipient of a prestigious Evergreen Award for Dr. Mukta Panda's “Rituals and Traditions” series. Congratulations, Dr. Panda!
A number of those from TNACP presented at the meeting. In Doctor's Dilemma, our state's training programs were very well represented by the team from ETSU, which lost in a tense and exciting heartbreaker! The national ACP meeting represents all the best in new scientific advancements in internal medicine.
Next year's Internal Medicine Meeting will be in Los Angeles, CA, April 15-17, 2027. If you haven't been, you simply MUST go!
ACP Leadership Day
In May, a group of students, residents, and internists from across the state met in Washington DC for ACP's Leadership Day. This effort was led by Drs. Michelle Allmon and Kevin Smith, co-chairs of our Health and Public Policy Committee. We were there to advocate for the interests of internists and our patients. Our efforts focused on three areas:
- Strengthening and stabilizing the Medicare payment system through the Provider Reimbursement Stabilization Act of 2026.
- Protecting access to well-established vaccines through the Protecting Free Vaccines Act.
- Reducing student debt through The Resident Education Deferred Interest Act.
The HPPC was also very active at the Annual TMA House of Delegates Meeting. Three TNACP resolutions were debated and passed by the HOD, including on understanding the impact of private equity in healthcare, increasing access to obesity treatment, and a very timely resolution for the creation of a state immunization advisory committee. For a more detailed accounting of the activities of the HPP committee, click on this link.
Leadership day and the HOD are amazing ways to learn about and be involved with the legislative process. If you are interested in being involved in future advocacy efforts such as these, please let us know. Enrolling in the Advocates for Internal Medicine network [AIMn] is a great way to start. Joining AIMn is easy and free, and is a way Tennessee ACP can strengthen its advocacy efforts. Members will receive legislative updates on key policy issues. If you have a special relationship with an elected official, please let us know. Personal relationships are among the most helpful ways to advance our interests. Click the link to join AIMn.
Chapter Awards
Do you have an outstanding peer? Then nominate them for an award! The Awards committee, chaired by Dr. Waldon Garriss, would love to recognize deserving TNACP members during our annual Chapter meeting. Use this link to see the full list of awards and to nominate one of your outstanding peers.
The deadline for nominations is August 15, 2026.
News and Notes
Are you an ECP (early career physician)? We want to help you be involved! Young physician leadership is the future of TNACP. Please let us know what you are interested in.
Are you interested in TNACP committee membership or running for a position on the Governor's Council? There are opportunities for those who are.
The following are just some of the committee opportunities:
Membership, Health and Public Policy, Volunteerism, Student/Resident/Fellow Council, Early Career Physician
Please let me know if you are interested in joining a TNACP committee.
Throughout the year, TNACP members across the state are active in efforts to serve their communities. Led by Dr. Tracey Doering, chair of the Volunteerism committee, we will soon have a site where you can share your efforts and read about how others are in service!
I feel strongly about the positive impact ACP has for internists and our patients. It is my hope that you do as well and will join us in TNACP's efforts in the coming year. Together, we can really make a difference!
With warm regards,
Dan Ely, MD, FACP
Governor, American College of Physicians, Tennessee Chapter