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The Conference Hangover

What was the last great meeting or conference that you went to? Do  you remember? What was it that inspired you or motivated you? Who were the people that you met? How did it change your professional life? Unfortunately, for most people, a conference is kind of an escape from reality for a few days until you come back to the cubicle and resume work life right where you left off.

This is something that really frustrates me. Last week, I was in Kansas City for a huge Family Medicine advocacy and policy making meeting. I reunited with long time friends, and met new friends. We talked and proposed solutions to what frustrates us about our broken health care system. We pledged to keep in touch and to keep the momentum of advocacy going.

Now what? I wait. I wait and see if people are really going to see if after they "talk the talk," will they "walk the walk." And, don't get me wrong, if nothing happens, it's not like they were lying. It's just that reality too often conflicts with their intentions to change their current professional course.

I've seen this too many times. All this positive emotion and great feelings are generated by an awesome conference, then "The Conference Hangover" wears off and people slip back into their old habits of the status quo and we're back to square one of frustration, feelings of helplessness, and inability to bring about change.

So, I'm calling out #FMRevolution! As many of us were saying last week, Turn Your Emotion Into Action! Your patients need you and your community needs you. Remember what you heard last week to "Give A Damn" about your patients, to "Adapt And Overcome," and to be "Part of the Unstoppable Force of Family Medicine."

Social Media Wrap-up of 2012 AAFP NCSC/ALF

It's hard to believe that this is the last day of the AAFP National Conference of Special Constituencies. My flight leaves in just a few hours, and I wanted to capture some thoughts before I headed to the airport. I have always said that coming back to meetings like NCSC/ALF continue to recharge me and re-emphasize my choice to becoming a Family Physician, and this week's meeting certainly does that. Thanks to the NCSC Leadership Team and to AAFP staff for putting together a great meeting! Here are some random thoughts... 

  • Social Media and Family Medicine presentation: Everyone knows how much fun I have talking about these subjects. I really feel bummed out that I had problems with my video camera and I was not able to record the session. I really appreciate those who tweeted out the presentation. My main points are that Family Physicians need to utilize social media to tell our story and to find community - like the #FMRevolution community.
  • Social Media Coverage at Meeting: I tried an experiment and recorded some video interviews during the meeting. In the video above, you'll see one of the interviews. The second one is here and the third one is here. I see a lot of potential of doing these type of "person on the street" interviews.
  • Twitter Coverage At The Meeting: Kirk Ackerson, who is the social media manager of the AAFP, has done a great job of aggregating the tweets using a tool called storify. Check out his 2012 ALF/NCSC coverage here. Also kudos to AAFP Board Member Reid Blackwelder for great coverage of election results. Check out his twitter feed here.
  • Video recording of Business Sessions: I really appreciate that the AAFP is recording business sessions including Candidate Forum and Elections and the Joint Session Caucus. I hope that the Academy continues to record these type of sessions so that AAFP members can be aware of what's going on and feel engagement in the process. 
  • Candidates being asked questions from Twitter: This year, something very unique was the opportunity for those from twitter to ask candidates questions that are only 140 characters. What I really liked what that, usually, the best questions are just 140 questions so that they get to the point.

There is definitely a different feel and vibe to the NCSC meeting with the addition of social media. It's always exciting watching and talking with those people who are here for the first time. Everyone coming to this meeting have a great story that they bring. With opportunities like this meeting, it is a chance for our stories to come together, find common ground, and make recommendations to improve the health care of our patients! See everyone next year!

Ep256 Wrap-up: Live at NCSC12

Thanks to Dr. Ryan Kaufmann and Dr. Kim Yu who were guests on Family Medicine Rocks Podcast Episode 256 broadcast live this morning. They are candidates for election for the 2013 Conference Chair (or Convener) of the American Academy of Family Physicians National Conference of Special Constituencies. I structured the Q&A with 4 standard questions: 1) Introduce yourself and describe your current practice situation, 2) Why do you love Family Medicine?, 3) Why do you love the NCSC meeting?, 4) Why do you want to be the 2013 NCSC Conference Chair/Convener?

Also in this show, I played some snippets from the band Revolve who will be playing at the meeting here tomorrow. At the end of the show, I share some information of what I will talk about during my Social Media and Family Medicine presentation this afternoon. I invite you to follow the meeting at one or more of the following hashtags for the meeting: #ncsc12, #aafpncsc (official hashtag), #aafpalf (official hashtag). I have some big social media plans for the meeting!

You can listen to the entire show on the player below. You can also download the mp3 audiofile here or on the link below. I also invite you to "Like" the Facebook page for the show, to follow me on twitter, and to check out my youtube page which has some of my TV interviews with local TV news. Also check me out on Linked-In. Thanks for checking out the website!

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Download Ep256 Here

Ep255 Wrap-up: Countdown To NCSC12

Thanks to Dr. Jay Lee, 2012 NCSC Conference Chair/Convener, for being on Family Medicine Rocks Episode 255 to talk about this week's meeting (download episode here or below). This was actually recorded last weekend and as we recorded it was 7am his time and he was talking to me from his car because he did not want to wake up his children at that hour. How cool is that?

We started with talking about what First Time Attendees would expect from the meeting, and he also shared when he first became active in organized medicine, basically with the California Academy of Family Physicians. We then talked about the social media angle to the meeting, and we ended up with discussion of the NCSC Keynote speaker Dr. Gayle Stephens.

During the course of the show, I made my HUGE announcement, which is in the video above. I was able to record interviews with the two people who are running for the 2013 NCSC Convener position, which for the first time ever - is an elected position this year. Those two interviews will be broadcast live on Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at 10amET/9amCT during Family Medicine Rocks Episode 256.

Finally, I just wanted to thank everyone who have listened to the show and who have supported the show leading up to this week's meeting. At the end of Ep 255, I talk about why I did this. I've been getting a lot of questions about why I did this. And, at the end of the show, I explain that i wanted to show what just one person could do with this stuff. Just imagine of more people were involved recording podcasts, recording videos, writing blog posts, etc. Next stop, Kansas City!

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Download Ep255

NCSC Convener 9pET Tonight

I invite you to join me Tonight at 9pm Eastern Time when Dr. Jay Lee, 2012 NCSC Convener, will be my guest on Family Medicine Rocks Podcast Episode 255. In the video above, we discuss the NCSC Plenary Speaker, Dr. Gayle Stephens. I did not know that Jay himself made the pitch directly to Dr. Stephens to talk at this year's NCSC meeting. The story above is amazing. I will reveal our entire chat including other topics tonight.

In addition to our conversation about #ncsc12 and #FMRevolution, I'll also be sharing the musical stylings of the group Revolve on the show tonight. Revolve will be bringing their music to Kansas City to exclusively play at this week's AAFP NCSC/ALF meeting later this week.

Finally, I will be making a HUGE announcement during the course of the show tonight about an exclusive interview that I will be playing on Wednesday morning's podcast. It will be a groundbreaking and a historic chat. You have to tune in tonight to find out what that will be. Are you feeling the excitement? NCSC begins in 2 days...

Ep254 Wrap-Up: Countdown to NCSC12

 

Thanks to Dr. Robyn Liu for being my guest on Family Medicine Rocks Episode 254. She is the current New Physician Member on the AAFP Board of Directors. We started our chat with why she loves Family Medicine and how she was drawn to medical school in the first place.

A fascinating part of the interview (at least to me) was her experience of going to the While House, meeting the President, and talking to the White House press corps. She even states that she was on her cell phone at the airport with a press member, she placed her cell phone on the security conveyor belt, picked up the phone on the other side, and kept talking (and being yelled at) by the reporter.

We closed the interview with looking forward to this week's AAFP NCSC meeting (#ncsc12 hastag on twitter). She related funny, and sometimes embarrassing stories of when she was running for elected office at NCSC. It was something about sleeping in when she was supposed to be giving a speech. But, there is a good ending (but you'll have to listen to the show for the whole thing.

Our final topic related back to Show 253 when we were talking about how to market Family Medicine to the American public. Fascinating discussion at the end of the show. You can listen to the show on the player below. Or, you can download the show here or at the bottom of the page. I also encourage you to follow me on twitter, "Like" the facebook page for the show, and to check out my you tube page where I have interviews with local TV news. Enjoy!

Download Show 254

Ep253 Wrap-up: Countdown to NCSC12

 

My thanks to Dr. Gerry Tolbert, from Total Access Physicians, (pictured right above) for being my guest on Family Medicine Rocks Episode 253. We talked about the upcoming NCSC meeting and brought up the fact that this will be Gerry's first NCSC meeting. We began this conversation with why he loves the speciality of Family Medicine and that now he is in business with his father in a medical practice.

We also talked about the challenges in describing to the American public what a Family Physician is. Until Family Medicine can do that, the public will still be confused. We also talked about the concept of "Direct Medicine" or "Direct Primary Care" as a medical business model and how their practice provides those services.

You can listen to the show in the player below. You can also download the show here or on the link at the bottom of this post. I also invite you to follow me on twitter, "Like" the facebook page for the show, and to check out my YouTube page which has interviews with local TV news. Enjoy!

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Download Show 253

Ep252 Wrap-up: Countdown to NCSC12

How can you be successful at meetings - particularly advocacy and policy making meetings? In the video above, from last night's podcast, I describe 5 Tips on how to succeed in this type of setting. Here you go...

  1. Ask Yourself WHAT You're Passionate About: The strength of Family Medicine is the diversity of topics and issues for Family Physicians to dive into. Ask yourself what issues and topics really get you upset and want to change
  2. Ask Yourself WHY You're Passionate About That Topic: Passion is good, but the next step is to start building your case about why you feel the way you feel. Sometimes it's not that easy to put together the entire thought process. But that's needed if you want to try to influence policy
  3. Learn To Listen Well: People always want to explain their point of view to change minds. However, how someone garners respect at these type of meetings is the abilty to listen. Another skill that good Family Physicians have is the ability to listen and to interact in a positive and constructive way to what they are listening to.
  4. Seek Out People Who You Disagree With: What? Yes, you read that right. At meetings like the AAFP NCSC meeting, we know that we're all Family Docs and have the best big picture in mind for our patient's, our community, and our specialty. But, we may not always agree on every issue. Having the maturity to seek out those who you respect, yet disagree with - this will make you very effective a policy making meetings. This will "sharpen your argument" and make it better.
  5. Have Fun: Anyone that knows me - they know that I like to work hard, then play hard. I can't tell you how many meetings that I have been at where one moment two people are yelling at each other about a policy, then later they are having dinner or out for drinks at the local establishment. AAFP NCSC is a great time, and I'm really looking forward to it next week.

In addition to NCSC topics last night, I also had commentary about what I call "The Warren Buffett Rule of PSA Screening." I won't go into detail here, but why did his doctor even order the test, when there have been recommendations to the contrary? More importantly, where is the outrage against this doctor for doing this? People are more than happy to come after me when I bring up questions about the Choosing Wisely campaign and my doubt that it will change physician behavior. Where are the statements from Choosing Wisely about this doctor? I don't see them out there.

Download the entire audio podcast here to listen to the rest of the show. You can also listen below. Finally, if you haven't had enough about NCSC, I encourage you to check out today's podcast at 2pm Eastern Time when Dr. Gerry Tolbert will be my guest on Family Medicine Rocks Episode 253. See you then!

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Download Episode 252 Here

Ep251 Wrap-up: Dr. Julie Wood

 

Thanks again to Julie Wood, MD for being my guest on Family Medicine Rocks Episode 251. She is a member of the AAFP Board of Directors, and is a long time friend of mine. She is currently an associate director at the Research Family Medicine Residency Program in Kansas City, MO. She also serves as the medical director of a 55-provider outpatient clinic.

We had a great conversation which started with Julie sharing about what she loves about Family Medicine and what she told some undergraduates about Family Medicine. We then moved into her leadership development history as a medical student and Family Medicine Resident.

I totally forgot that she had to close her practice because of a significant statewide increase in liability/malpractice rates. She was in a private practice that delivered "Full Scope Family Medicine" which included maternity services. This situation thrust her into the spotlight of Family Medicine Advocacy.

We also reminisced about what it was like to first be at the AAFP NCSC meeting to eventually leading the meeting being it's conference chair/convener. A common theme that kept re-occurring was the need for mentorship on many levels whether it be personal or professional development.

You can listen to the show below. You can even download the show here or at the link below. I plan to be doing a lot of podcasts in the next 10 days leading up to the NCSC meeting. Keep track of my twitter feed and the facebook page for more details about future shows. I also invite you to check out my youtube channel and my linked-in page. Enjoy!

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Download Ep251

NEOMED Social Media Talk

 

Later today, I'll be presenting at my medical school alma mater which is the Northeast Ohio Medical University. I've been invited to talk at an event called the Master Teacher Guild Chief Resident Symposium. I was asked to talk about Social Media and Medicine. The title of my talk is "Five Essential Social Media Tips For Physician Leaders." Here's a preview of the talk...

Tip #1: Ask Yourself: What's Your Story?

I'm going to start with sharing my social media story going all the way back to the "Doctor Anonymous" days. I also want to point out that if/when you start producing content for social media, there is a certain amount of transparency that needs to take place to gain & grow your audience. Even if you're doing patient education in social media, sharing part of yourself in your content will add some authenticity to what you write and record.

Tip #2: Protect Your Online Reputation

Especially for physicians-in-training and for medical students, it is very important to be aware of what you place on social media and the internet. As many have asked, like @Doctor_V, "What is your social media footprint?" I've been telling physicians-in-training, medical students, and undergraduate students that it will (if not already) be common practice "to google" and "to facebook" as part of the application process. If people don't like what they see, then you could be compromising your future

Tip #3: Be Aware Of The E-Patient

Every day in my office, patients ask me about information that they find on the internet. Future doctors cannot ignore the internet, and need to embrace the rise of the e-patient. Patients are part of virtual support groups, networking with other patients, and even creating their own content on the internet.

Tip #4: Watch Professionalism In Social Media

Sharing patient information on the internet is just as bad (if not worse) than talking about patients on the elevator. I'll be sharing some examples of missteps that have occurred in social media. Groups like the Ohio State Medical Association have guidelines and tool kits for physicians/providers on how to approach social media in medical care.

Tip #5: Find & Share The Best Social Media Examples

At the bottom of this post, you'll see some of the slides I posted to my slideshare account. I'm going to try something different in that I didn't give the meeting organizers a powerpoint to distribute to participants. I will direct the meeting participants to this blog post for notes and for the slides. We'll see how that works. I'll also try to videotape my session and post here. Would love your feedback on any of this! Thanks so much!

 

Social Media Tips For Physicians In Training
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