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In this Issue:
- From The Governor
- Help Wanted!
- Ohio – Air Force Chapter Meeting
- Doctor's Dilemma
- Hot Topics
- New Master, Fellows, and Members
- Calendar
COL Matthew B. Carroll, MD, FACP, USAF, ACP Governor
From The Governor
Greetings from Ocean Springs, Mississippi. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…”. That is the opening of the 3rd chapter of Eccelesiastes, a reference to the changes that we experience. While the New Year represents the change from one year to the next, as we are aware, changes occur around us all the time. Sometimes they are obvious, and sometimes they are subtle. Regardless, change is a constant of life, and as members serving (or having served) in the military we have lived our lives around a constant state of change.
Reflecting on 2020, it has undoubtedly been a year of change. A pandemic raging around the globe but with a vaccine that might help start to reign in the carnage the virus has brought with it. Economic downturn from the virus has now someone rebounded, but life is far from “normal”. If you can't host it in person, you can meet on Zoom, a virtual platform that likely virtually few of us knew much about 12 – 18 months ago. The amazingly fast incarnation of telemedicine and virtual visits, something that has been talked about for a while, but few have made a part of their routine practice. We survived another election year, or have we?
Your Air Force ACP Chapter will also experience some big changes in the not-to-distant future. I am sad to say this, but this will be my last newsletter as your Governor. Dr. Angie Collamer, our Governor-Elect, will start expertly leading our chapter starting late April 2020. She will send out the Spring newsletter.
I would like to try to thank everyone who has supported me these past four years. I am indebted to Dr. Collamer for serving as our Vice Governor and sustaining the fantastic relationship we have with the Ohio ACP Chapter. Dr. Derek Smith has been my dedicated Awards chair, Dr. Jesse Wickham my diligent Treasurer (fiercely watching every penny as he would a hyponatremic patient's sodium), and our several Educational Liaison's that we have had over the years. There are so many others to extend thanks to, and if I did not mention you personally, please do not take offense. I would like to say that I was blessed to have a “cloud of witnesses” who all provided manpower, resources, and their personal time which helped our chapter accomplish all that it has. I would also like to thank the Army and Navy Chapters for all that they provided to make so much of our endeavors as successfully as they were—a “joint” effort in this day and age of joint operations.
As a team our chapter has accomplished so much over the last four years. Here is a list of all that we have done together:
- Won the Chapter Excellence Award each year
- Nominated (with the Army Chapter) for the Tooker Evergreen award
- Revitalized/Revamped the Combined (now TriService) Chapter meeting (complete with CME and MOC)
- With the Army and Navy hosted the first national chapter Zoom (TriService) Annual meeting
- Nominated six members for Mastership with three receiving the honor to date
- Nominated one member for a National ACP award
- Renamed our USU Medical Student award in honor of Dr. Arnyce Pock (our first female Governor and recent Master recipient)
- Inaugurated two new Chapter level awards
- Bestowed ten Laureate awards to outstanding Chapter members
Again, thank you for all that you have done to support our chapter and help us stand with distinction and honor as a mid-size chapter in an international organization! I ask that as much as you have graciously and ardently supported me these last 4 years you will devote the same time and energy in making Dr. Collamer's time as Governor even more successful.
Help Wanted!
On behalf of our Governor-elect Dr. Angie Collamer, I am putting forth this “Help Wanted” request. To continue to grow and excel as a chapter we need you! The successes we have enjoyed are because of the hard work and dedication you have invested in our chapter. To that end, we do have positions open (or soon to be open) that need to be filled. I would also ask that if you have a specific interest (for example, Women in Medicine or Wellness) or skillset (for example, a Zoom-ologist or Twitter/Facebook) please let Dr. Collamer or myself know. Here are some of the positions:
- Treasurer
- Secretary
- Credentials Committee (Chair and committee members)
- Women in Medicine (Chair and committee members)
- Wellness
- Nominations Committee
- Chapter Educational Liaison
- Medical Student Council
- Resident & Fellow Member Council
- Early Career Physician Member Council
- Information Technology
This list is by no stretch exhaustive . . . if you have a desire to serve or any aspirations for our chapter, we need your help! Please feel free to reach out to Dr. Collamer angiecollamer@gmail.com or myself mcar100210@yahoo.com at your earliest convenience.
Ohio – Air Force Chapter Meeting
The Ohio – Air Force Combined Chapter Meeting was a virtual meeting held in late October 2020. Feedback from our chapter members who attended the conference was great—high quality speakers covering topics relevant to our practices! If you missed out and would like to view the sessions follow this link.
Doctor's Dilemma
On 2 December 2020 we held our virtual Doctor's Dilemma. A three-person team from Keesler, Wright Patterson, and SAUHSEC each battled it out to see who would be the winner to represent the Air Force chapter at the National ACP Doctor's Dilemma that will be held in May 2021. After an impressive show of knowledge and gamesmanship, the Wright Patterson team was victorious! The members of the winning team are in the picture below:
The members of the winning team were Captains (Drs.) Joe Yuhas, David DeMasters, and Brian Elliott, pictured with their Chief Resident Captain (Dr.) Jessica John.
On 4 December 2020 our winning team battled the winning teams of the Army and Navy ACP Chapters. While we didn't win, we put up a good fight. The Navy team was victorious and thus the winners of the inaugural “Military Bowl” knowledge competition. A donation was made to the winning Service support charity that serves the great men and women of our Armed Forces.
I would like to extend my thanks again to everyone who made the virtual Doctor's Dilemma a reality! In a “joint” effort the Army, Navy, and Air Force ACP Chapters all contributed technical support and expertise, manpower, EMCEEs, score keepers, and judges to host this important event. The technology worked exceptional well. Much like the fight we bring to our enemies when our nation calls, our joint effort went extremely well!
Hot Topics
ACP Leadership Programs Available in Hospital Medicine or Primary Care
In partnership with the American Association for Physician Leadership, the ACP Leadership Academy offers a flexible, 18-month-long Certificate in Physician Leadership program with tracks in Hospital Medicine and Primary Care.
The program includes a combination of formal training through 46.5 hours of online coursework, online group discussions facilitated by leaders in internal medicine, and a capstone project that demonstrates successful mastery of leadership concepts.
This program offers exclusive training by leadership experts and important career-building skills. In addition, National ACP provides participants with access to a number of professional development and membership engagement opportunities.
Participants complete the program as part of a cohort start 1 July. If you have any questions, please contact National ACP at lead@acponline.org.
Board of Regents (BOR) Action on Fall 2020 Board of Governors (BOG) Resolutions
In August/September I sent an email requesting feedback on resolutions that are drafted by various chapters and subcommittees of the ACP for debate during the BOG meeting that was held virtually in October 2020.
A summary of Board of Regents (BOR) actions on resolutions debated at the fall 2020 Board of Governors (BOG) virtual meeting is now available at this link.
Resolutions initiated by ACP members and endorsed by a chapter council and the BOG become ACP policy when adopted by the BOR. If you have an idea you'd like to suggest to ACP, consider submitting a resolution to your Governor/ACP chapter.
ACP Joins National Primary Care Organizations to Launch Joint Vision to Rewire Primary Care Financing
Seven of the nation's largest primary care physician organizations released recommendations on the urgent need to change the way primary care is delivered and financed. These recommendations can be found here.
The American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Board of Family Medicine, the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American Board of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, and the Society of General Internal Medicine represent more than 400,000 physicians and have created a unified vision to change the conversation and modernize primary care as we know it.
With COVID-19 as a catalyst, the organizations developed recommendations to fundamentally change the way primary care is financed, improve health equity and boost clinicians' ability to offer seamlessly integrated care. Handling nearly 40 percent of all health care visits, primary care clinicians have made incredible adaptations to continue to provide care during the pandemic, yet they have been largely left out of national pandemic relief legislation. A series of clinician surveys conducted during the pandemic has shown widespread closures and layoffs among primary care practices despite the critical role these practices and clinicians play in pandemic recovery efforts.
New Master, Fellows, and Members
Congratulations to our newest Air Force ACP Fellows:
MAJ Keith Beam, MD, FACP
MAJ Catherine J Blasser, MC USAF, FACP
MAJ Lauren Lee, MD, FACP
MAJ David R Geottman, MD, USAF FACP
Kristen Bader, MD, USAF FACP
Our newest Members:
John Allen Garrison
MAJ Lorena B Rodriguez, MD USAF
Kelsey Wilson, DO
Reginald Hurtt, MD
Bashir El-Khoury, MD
Our newest Resident/Fellow Members:
Marc Gutierrez
Yonatan Dollin
MAJ Jeffrey Myers, DO
Our newest Medical Student Members:
Laura O’Keefe
Maggie Case
Annelore Trujillo
Alexandra Foster
Kirsten Linnartz
Meghan Guinee
Josiah Douglas
Yung Shu Wong
Kacie Klott
Danielle Souza
Jeremy Stelmack
Hannah Nelson
Nicole Lopez
Alexander Zorrilla
Calendar
29 April – 1 May 2021 ACP Internal Medicine Meeting (Virtual)
September 2021 Tri-Service ACP Chapter Meeting