SGIM Forum Template

Society of General Internal Medicine SGIM TO PROMOTE IMPROVED PATIENT CARE, RESEARCH, AND EDUCATION IN PRIMARY CARE AND FORUM GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE Volume 26 • Number 2 • February 2003 2003 ANNUAL MEETING GENERALIST PHYSICIANS AS AGENTS FOR CHANGE: EDUCATION AND RESEARCH, PRACTICE AND POLICY Helen Burstin, MD, MPH and Linda Headrick, MD, MS he SGIM Annual Meeting is rap- can serve as agents for change at every idly shaping up to be an innovative point where we interface with the health Tinternational meeting for general care system. Against a background of in- internists from the U.S., Canada, and creasing concerns with the loss of physi- many other countries. In addition to the cian autonomy, the erosion of profession- Contents exciting venue of Vancouver, British Co- alism, and the inability of the health care lumbia, we are also collaborating with our system to address problems of quality and 1 Generalist Physicians as Agents for colleagues from the Canadian Society of access, the knowledge and skills of gen- Change: Education and Research, Internal Medicine (CSIM) for the first eral internists are ideally suited to provide Practice and Policy time. Vancouver is an incredibly entic- leadership, change and improvement. ing locale and our conference facilities are In Education: Generalists are the 2 Career Support Task Force Update at the epicenter of an amazing range of backbone of clinical training for medical activities for you and your family. With students, residents, and fellows. As we 3 President’s Column the mountains only 30 minutes from embrace 21st century health care, we can Vancouver, outdoor activities include vis- use our role as change agents to ensure 4 Research Funding Corner its to Grouse Mountain or the Capilano that we are offering medical education Extension Bridge. As you think about that meets the challenge of an evolving, your vacations for the year, please con- more diverse healthcare system. 4 One-on-One Mentoring Program at the sider that a trip to the SGIM Annual In Research: General internists are a Annual Meeting and the New Year-Long Meeting in Vancouver can be the perfect critical force, through the documentation Mentoring Program launching point for amazing vacations and improvement of the quality, access, and cruise ship excursions. and outcomes of health care services. We 5 ACGIM Column We are also hopeful that the annual can more effectively use research to in- meeting theme will inspire many of you fluence health policy and improve the 6 Helpful Tools: ACP-ASIM Guide to from different paths in general internal delivery of appropriate health care ser- Preparing for the Abstract Competition medicine—education, research, practice vices. and policy—to meet and share your In Practice: Primary care physicians 6 UpToDate Goes Mobile thoughts about general internists as po- can effectively serve as change agents in tential agents for change. As generalists, ways that will immediately benefit our 11 Classified Ads we have a unique lens through which to patients and our practices—using con- examine the health care system and we continued on page 7 SGIM FORUM SOCIETY OF GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE OFFICERS PRESIDENT Career Support Task Force Update Martin F. Shapiro, MD, PhD • Los Angeles, CA [email protected] • (310) 794-2284 Sankey Williams, MD PRESIDENT-ELECT JudyAnn Bigby, MD • Boston, MA he August 2002 issue of SGIM Our goal for the coming year is to [email protected] • (617) 732-5759 Forum unveiled two new initia- conduct one site visit of each type, and tives to support SGIM members in use that experience to develop a better IMMEDIATE PAST-PRESIDENT T Kurt Kroenke, MD • Indianapolis, IN their daily work. One of these was the site visit program. Our goal for the [email protected] • (317) 630-7447 SGIM Career Support Task Force, future is to conduct more visits each which met in Washington, DC October year. TREASURER th th Eliseo Pérez-Stable, MD • San Francisco, CA 7 and 8 . The following people We also discussed a reverse site visit [email protected] • (415) 476-5369 attended the retreat: Julia Arnsten, Jim program, in which a particularly Byrd, Marshall Chin, David Karlson, successful division of general internal SECRETARY Julie Machulsky, Carol Mangione (by medicine is designated a host institu- Ann B. Nattinger, MD, MPH • Milwaukee, WI [email protected] • (414) 456-6860 conference call), Kay Ovington, Martin tion, and people in other divisions are Shapiro, Bill Tierney, and Sankey invited to visit it on a specific day for SECRETARY-ELECT Williams (Chair). presentations, discussions, and consulta- William Branch, MD • Atlanta, GA [email protected] • (404) 616-6627 tions. Several divisions could be host Site Visit Program institutions, each with its own focus or COUNCIL A new site visit program is the Task in its own region. Bill Tierney and Jim Christopher Callahan, MD • Indianapolis, IN Force’s highest priority for the coming Byrd will be contacting ACGIM [email protected] • (317) 630-7200 year. In this program a team of senior members to describe the program and Kenneth Covinsky, MD, MPH • San Francisco, CA SGIM and ACGIM members will travel determine the level of interest in it. [email protected] • (415) 221-4810 to an institution to assess its general Susana R. Morales, MD • New York, NY internal medicine activities and suggest A New Mentoring Program [email protected] • (212) 746-2909 ways that general internists might SGIM has two mentoring programs. Eileen E. Reynolds, MD • Boston, MA improve what they do and contribute “One-on-One Mentoring” at the [email protected] • (617) 667-3001 more effectively to the institution’s Annual Meeting will enable several Gary E. Rosenthal, MD • Iowa City, IA missions. dozen residents, fellows, and junior [email protected] • (319) 356-4241 The group identified three types of faculty members to meet individually Harry P. Selker, MD, MSPH • Boston, MA site visit opportunities. In one type, a with senior SGIM members and discuss [email protected] • (617) 636-5009 division chief invites SGIM to send a issues related to the junior person’s EX OFFICIO site visit team, either because the professional development. In the Regional Coordinator division chief is newly appointed or “Research and Education Mentorship Jane M. Geraci, MD, MPH • Houston, TX because the division chief is facing new Program,” a junior faculty member [email protected] • (713) 745-3084 opportunities or challenges. One identifies a research mentor at another Editor, Journal of General Internal Medicine division chief has already contacted us institution and competes for money to Eric B. Bass, MD • Baltimore, MD about such a visit. In the second type, pay one year of travel costs, limited [email protected] • (410) 955-9868 the chairperson of medicine invites us research costs, and an honorarium for Editor, SGIM Forum because the institution does not have a the mentor. This program provides Melissa McNeil, MD, MPH • Pittsburgh, PA division of general internal medicine mentorship for fewer than five people [email protected] • (412) 692-4886 and the chairperson is considering each year. HEALTH POLICY CONSULTANT establishing one. Again, a newly We therefore designed a third Robert E. Blaser • Washington, DC appointed Chair of Medicine has mentoring program and made it our [email protected] • (202) 261-4551 contacted us about such a visit. In the second highest priority for the coming EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR third type, we solicit an invitation from year. The new program, limited to David Karlson, PhD an institution because its general junior faculty members, will be open to 2501 M Street, NW, Suite 575 internists are not well connected with educators, administrators, and research- Washington, DC 20037 SGIM or ACGIM and we believe the ers. A person at one institution will be [email protected] (800) 822-3060 institution could benefit. We have matched with a mentor at another (202) 887-5150, 887-5405 FAX identified one such institution but institution in the same SGIM region. recognize that there are many others. continued on page 9 2 PRESIDENT’S COLUMN TRIANGULATION Martin F. Shapiro, MD, PhD came to the United States a quarter American people three kinds of organiza- of a century ago, wanting to see this do not vote for tions that should be doing Icountry adopt a health care system politicians who a lot more and could shape like virtually every other industrialized raise taxes, and this debate and its out- nation in the world that would guaran- there are no come. In the fashion of the tee health care for all of its people. It scenarios for day, let’s characterize this has not happened and appears very creating a univer- triad as a triangle of unlikely to happen any time soon. I sal program of inaction (“axis” being have spent a good part of my career health care that do spoken for, and “evil” not researching issues in access to care, like not involve tax being conducive to a number of others in SGIM, but increases. Politi- reasoned discourse). They nothing meaningful has been done to cians are just doing their jobs. are: our academic medical institutions, end the appalling inequities in health Private organizations such as the organized medical profession, and care in this country. The time has come Physicians for a National Health Plan researchers on health care delivery and for a just war: one against a health care do what they can, but their influence its organization. Let’s take them one at a system that needs to be fundamentally has been limited because they do not time. reconstituted. Who are to be the appear to be speaking on behalf of Many academic medical centers are generals in this war? major interest groups or voting blocks.

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