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September 2007 News

  Welcome West Valley Medical Center

As of September 1st, the West Valley Medical Center will join ACMEC as a member. We welcome the opportunity to have West Valley Medical Center share in our mission "to enhance and/or maintain competency in physician medical knowledge". We believe this partnership will enhance the overall communication and cohesiveness of the medical community of Southwestern Idaho.

  Reminder for those Seeking Seminar Credit

ACMEC has received a significant increase in the number of seminar applications submitted for CME credit. The application forms can be downloaded from acmec.org. Please note that there is a 30 day advance deadline to submit applications.

  Burkholder Lecture in Oncology

This years Burkholder Lectureship will host Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D., F.A.C.P. from the Translational Genomics Research Institute where he serves as Director of Translational Drug Development. Dr. Van Hoff will present on "Translational Genomics and it's Relationship to Cancer", Wednesday, September 12th, 8:00 a.m. in the Anderson Center of St. Luke's RMC.

  18th Annual Diabetes Workshop for Healthcare Professionals

On September 30th the Humphrey's Diabetes Center will host a day long conference at the Doubletree Riverside Hotel. The first hour of the conference will replace the regularly scheduled Grand Rounds and will be free to physicians. Dr. Richard Christensen will present on "Body Weight Regulation in the Brain". The conference will also feature Dr. William Polonski, PhD, CDE and author of Diabetes Burnout: What to Do When You Can't Take it Anymore.

There will be a $75.00 fee for those attending the entire day. Registration information is available at www.hdiabetescenter.org or 208-331-1155, ext. 32.

  Medical Simulation for Instruction

In June, ACMEC, with the assistance of Idaho State University and VA Medical Center staff demonstrated the new technology available to simulate critical care/emergency patient management. The demonstration incorporates the high tech competency driven mannequins that represent the cutting edge of simulation. If you missed this demonstration we encourage you to catch it again on September 14th at Saint Alphonsus RMC Grand Rounds or September 29th at 12:30 p.m. at West Valley Medical Center.

  John Butler Lung Conference

This year's John Butler Lung Conference will be held at the Centre on the Grove, October 12, 2007, 8:00-5:00 p.m. 6.5 CME credits will be offered. Please call 422-1356 for conference and registration information.

  Upcoming Conferences

Idaho Orthopedic Society; September 15, 2007 - Sun Valley
John Butler Lung Conference; October 12, 2007 - Boise

  Anderson Center - Wednesday, 8:00 a.m.

 5 Michael Rinaldi, PhD, Professor and Director of the Pathology, Fungus Testing Laboratory, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas.
12 Daniel Van Hoff, M.D., Physician in Chief and Director of Translational Research at TGen, and Clinical Professor of Medicine, Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona.

  MEMBERSHIP: The following members were approved:

Provisional Membership: April Dawson, M.D.

  October 2007

 4 Asthma: Causes and Treatment, Joe Callanan, MD
10 Update on Migraines, Stuart Tepper, MD
11 Update on Migraines, Stuart Tepper, MD
17 Update on Osteoporosis, Joseph Shaker, MD
18 Update on Osteoporosis, Joseph Shaker, MD
24 Functional Bowel Disorders , Michael Saunders, MD
25 Functional Bowel Disorders, Michael Saunders, MD
26 Critical Care Conference, Pulmonary Fellow

The Marketing Frenzy

That there is much advertising in medicine today is not in dispute. What is troubling is the extent to which physicians have embraced it. We live in a time of unprecedented change in the way medical practices are structured. Competing forces are tugging at all of us and economic realities are making us look at new ways of coping which present new moral challenges. Previously physicians built their practices by word of mouth, taking call more often, and joining groups with similar interests. Now the competition for patients has us advertising on TV, radio, the Internet, and the print media. New physician announcements fill quarter page advertisements in the local paper and include information hardly necessary for patients to make rational choices regarding their medical care.

Hospitals have been transformed from previously altruistic institutions into business oriented profit centers. Glitzy marketing and image building with boutique features seem more important than caring for the sick and injured. Slick techniques which lure or scare patients into using certain services often over emphasize expensive technology and neglect less profitable personal care. Much of this marketing goes far beyond merely informing the public of services and of training and can only be described as crassly commercial.

Physicians themselves are not in agreement on the nature of their relationship with patients. To some medical care is merely the purchase of a service from someone skilled in a certain procedure or with a certain fund of knowledge� hence the need to market that skill. This group may have started out wanting to do "good for patients" but many end up wanting to do well for themselves.

To others the doctor/patient relationship is one of service and collaboration which places the good of the patient above other considerations. In asking "How may I help?" the physician places the needs of the patient above his or her own self interest thereby deserving the trust which the nature of our duties invites.

Sometimes it's forgotten that we exist because of patients and not vice versa. We treat people not some euphuistic abstraction. They are people like you and me. If the practice of medicine is simply a profit making business with slick marketing and not a sacred bond between patient and physician we will have forfeited our claim to this high calling, and should hardly object if we are subjected to the same scrutiny as any other business endeavor.

John J. Mohr, M.D.

 

September 2007 Conferences

  Anderson Center, Wednesday 8am

 5 The New Microbiologic Monster: Fungal Infections in Contemporary Medicine, Michael Rinaldi, PhD
12 Burkholder Lectureship in Oncology, Daniel Van Hoff, MD
19 Overuse Injuries, Kevin Shea, MD
26 Movement Disorders, Lauren Seeberger, MD

  Winter Room, Wednesday, 12:30 p.m.

 5 The New Microbiologic Monster: Fungal Infections in Contemporary Medicine, Michael Rinaldi, PhD
12 Diabetes and the Latino Patient, Olivia Galvez, MD
19 Overuse Injuries, Kevin Shea, MD
26 Movement Disorders, Lauren Seeberger, MD

  AW Horsley Learning Ctr., Thursday, 8:00 a.m.

 6 TBA
13 Topic TBA, Joseph Shaker, MD
20 Iraq-Changes in Combat Medical Care, Ron Glasser, MD
27 TBA

  Indian Creek Room, Thursday, 12:30 p.m.

 6 The New Microbiologic Monster: Fungal Infections in Contemporary Infections, Michael Rinaldi, PhD
13 Practical Dermatology , Gavin Powell, MD
20 Update on HTN, Robert Lee, MD
27 Medical Simulation for Learning 2007 (Demonstration), Paula Carvalho, MD

  Centennial Room, Friday, 8:00 a.m.

 7 Update on Osteoporosis, Joseph Shaker, MD
14 Medical Simulation for Learning 2007 (Demonstration), Paula Carvalho, MD
21 Critical Care Case Conference, Pulmonary Fellow
28 Diabetes Conference *Doubletree Riverside (Today's GR will be the first hour of the Diabetes Conference.)

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