World Family Doctors' Day 2013

​In 2010, in Cancun Mexico, the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) declared World Family Doctor Day. The logo above was conceptualized by a couple of physicians in the Philippines. According to their website...

The first World Family Doctor Day was celebrated on 19 May 2010. It has been taken up with enthusiasm around the world and has given us a chance to celebrate what we do to provide recognition to family doctors, to highlight important issues and the work we perform in supporting health care for all people in our local communities, our nations and around the world.

We have much to celebrate as governments around the world have really begun to realise the value of our specialty. In some countries there is work to do, and celebrating World Family Doctor Day will open up many opportunities to highlight the important contributions of family doctors.

This day creates an atmosphere of global solidarity among family doctors and it will be a positive and visible contribution of WONCA’s leadership and contribution to family medicine. 

​I admit that the only way I knew it was World Family Doctors' Day was checking my social media today. In my opinion, from an advocacy and public awareness point of view, the Family Medicine community lost another opportunity to share our story. Wouldn't it have been nice to coordinate a social media campaign among the Friends of Family Medicine (even internationally) to share why we (as Family Docs) believe that we give the world the best medical care. Oh well, maybe next year...

FamMedRocks 304 Wrap-up: Your Health Talk

​My thanks to the hosts of the Your Health Talk podcast for being my guests on Family Medicine Rocks Episode 304 recorded today. If you didn't already know, the hosts of the podcast are Second Year Medical Students in the Kansas City area. (How do they have time to do a podcast in the midst of their studying?)

We had a great discussion about why they applied to medical school in the first place, what it's like being a medical student these days, what are board exams for med students, and their social media backgrounds before they started the podcast.​

It was really fun listening to them talk about the origins of the podcast. For the 2nd half of the show, I turned the show over to them, and they asked me questions. Thanks to our pal Dr. Neu for calling in close to the end of the show!​

You can listen to the entire audio podcast below, or download here. In the video above, I asked them what they would do if a patient tried to friend them on Facebook. You'll want to see the answer in the video above. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast here, along with following me on twitter, facebook, youtube, and linked-in. Enjoy!​

Jolie Spotlights Prevention

​Actress Angelina Jolie wrote a New York TImes Op-Ed this morning entitled, "My Medical Choice," in which she says she had a preventative double mastectomy because she has a breast cancer gene which puts her at higher risk for cancer.

I admit that I'm not a big fan of Angelina's movies, but, today, this gives me an opportunity to talk to my patients about the idea of preventative medicine. It's not just about breast cancer, but also about other aspects of cancer prevention (like lung cancer, colon cancer, and other types of cancer). In addition to cancer prevention, it's a chance to take a look at other aspects of people's health like cardiovascular risk prevention and even mental health topics.​

News cycles are so quick these days, so it's important for physicians to take advantage of this opportunity of a celebrity in the news to talk about preventative medicine issues - not just breast cancer. Family Medicine focuses on the entire person and the entire family. That's why I love what I do!​

FamMedRocks Ep303 Wrap-up

During this most recent episode, I've been trying out some new audio equipment for a future project. So, we'll see what happens. I encourage you to check out Family Medicine Rocks Episode 303.​

​I'm very excited for next week's show in which I'll be interviewing the hosts of The Your Health Talk Podcast. These are medical students from the Kansas City area who write, produce, and direct these podcast episodes. This will be a Live Show at 11am on Thursday, May 16, 2013 on the Family Medicine Rocks podcast.

In addition on episode 303, I talk about a future podcast where I am the person being interviewed. I invite you to check out The Just Talking Podcast with host Chris. The podcast will be released later this month. Then, Chris will be a guest on my podcast and we'll give you a behind the scenes of our chat. That will be fun.​

Don't forget to subscribe to the Family Medicine Rocks podcast on iTunes. You can also directly download Episode 303 right here. You can also listen in the player above. Also check me out on twitter, Facebook, youtube, and linked-in. Enjoy!​

Wrap-up of #aafpncsc 2013: Blip or Trend?

​Last week was another successful Family Medicine Leadership meeting by the American Academy of Family Physicians. You can re-live the meeting through tweets via the AAFP storify account.

​Even though I was not physically there, I got an idea of the energy, enthusiasm, and empowerment that was happening during the meeting. It happens every year. The question is "What happens now?"

Even though by the data, this was the highest attendance for this meeting ever, and the most candidates running the the prestigious New Physician on the AAFP BOD position ever, I'm still kind of skeptical if this momentum will carry on.​

I've seen this too many times before. People get back home and are back in their usual routines and will forget the magic of this year's NCSC meeting. However, this is where social media can take over. We can continue to keep in touch and we can continue to encourage each other through twitter, facebook, and other platforms.​

So, the question becomes, was 2013 NCSC a flash in the pan? A blip? A really great three day leadership meeting, and that's it? Or hopefully, the participants and the leadership will find a way to continue the great work that was started last week, and make this a leadership trend. Only time will tell....​

FamMedRocks Ep302: NCSC/ALF 2013

​What a great day watching from thousands of miles away the Family Medicine Leadership meetings known as ALF/NCSC. I have written blog posts about this meeting in the past. To read a post from NCSC 2010, click here.

The day began with the Family Medicine Rocks Podcast Episode 302. Thanks to Dr. Gerry Tolbert, Dr. Kim Yu, and Dr. Troy Feisinger for being guests on the podcast talking about this year's meeting. You can listen to the show in the player above, or, you can download mp3 episode here.​

In addition to the audio file, I also recorded a video segment from the podcast which you will see below talking with Gerry, in which he reported some breaking news. You'll have to listen to the audio podcast or watch the you tube video below. Well played Gerry.​

And, then for the rest of the day, I was tracking the meeting on twitter and facebook. Missed the whole day? No worries, because our pals at AAFP did the hard work of accumulating the tweets of the day and placing them on the storify platform. You can see the tweets in the window below or click here.​ Another graphic below shows some twitter data from a sample of 50 tweets reaching over 100k twitter accounts. Not bad from a small meeting.

What will happen on day two? This is when some real fun begins with the presentation and debate of resolutions along with listening to speeches and voting for candidates. Continue to keep track of these twitter hashtags for your enjoyment: #aafpncsc, #aafpalf, #FMRevolution

2013 AAFP NCSC/ALF Meetings

​For a long time, I have said that Family Medicine leadership is important. Tomorrow begins a huge Family Medicine leadership meeting in Kansas City. Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend this year, but I have been there many times before.

Whether physicians know it or not, they are leaders. Unfortunately, "leadership training" per se, does not occur on a formal basis in college, medical school, or residency. I have learned through the years that there is a set of skills that need to be learned to communicate a message to your patients, the community, and especially, legislators.​

It's always inspiring, invigorating, and empowering to be around friends and colleagues with similar interests and common goals. This synergy is needed to formulate and execute the ideas to change our broken health care system, and, frankly, to change the world.​

​The social media presence of this meeting continues to amaze me. In a previous post, there have been many youtube videos posted to help promote the meeting. In addition, I share the video above and the videos below to let you know that passionate Family Physicians are embracing digital communication to help spread the message.

Best wishes to all those attending the meetings this year - the American Academy of Family Physicians Annual Leadership Forum and National Conference of Special Constituencies. Sorry I could not be there this year. But, I will feel like I'm there while monitoring social media using #aafpncsc, #aafpalf, #fmrevolution

2012 AAFP NCSC Revisited

As NCSC 2013 starts tomorrow, it's always fun to look back at last year. Here are some videos of some highlights for me from last year's meeting. Enjoy!​

Nebraska AFP Meeting

Thanks again to my new friends at the Nebraska Academy of Family Physicians meeting for the invitation to speak at their Annual Meeting about the topic of Social Media and Family Medicine. I've been doing these type of talks for Family Docs from coast to coast for about 2 years now, and I'm happy to report that I'm seeing less and less clueless looks from the audience.​

The Family Medicine community, through the education efforts of many of my friends from #FMRevolution, is starting to come around as far as recognizing the importance of social media for patient education, marketing, and advocacy.​

I intentionally did not tweet a lot or use facebook that much during sessions, because I found myself in a lot of "sidebar" conversations with people I sat next to. I made a lot of new Nebraska friends at the meeting, and I caught up with long time Family Medicine friends.

The strength of "in person" meetings is still the "in person" part. Already on twitter, just this weekend, I'm seeing Family Medicine meetings in Nebraska, Michigan, New Hampshire, Oregon, and, of course, Ohio.

I encourage my #FMRevolution friends to not only use social media this weekend, but don't forget to make those more important "in person" connections as well. We WILL spread the Family Medicine Revolution: One person at a time...

The Golden Rule Of Traveling

I'm on my way to speak at the Nebraska Academy of Family Physicians meeting about Social Media and Medicine. Unfortunately, Mother Nature got in the way yesterday with lots of volatile storms in my travel path, causing the delay and the canceling of flights across the country (including my flights).

Traveling is definitely an exercise in patience, especially with the gate agents who have to rebook your flight. I mean, hey, it's not their fault about plane mechanical problems and about bad weather in your region. Give them a break people! If you treat them with respect, you will receive that in return (and it doesn't hurt to share that on social media)

Which got me thinking: this is a great analogy for work and for life. I remember when I was a medical student and as a Family Medicine Intern/Resident. One of the top pieces of advice what this: Treat the nurses extra nice, and you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results.​

During your intern year, there are times when you feel like a very clueless new doctor. People are turning to you for answers, and you may not have them. Sometimes the intern, in a moment of stress (which happens often), turns to the medical student to ask a question or to confirm a thought. ​

It is moments like this when nursing staff can really save you. When you're a new doctor, there is nothing like turning to experienced individuals to help you learn - whether a senior resident physician, an attending physician, or a long time nurse. And if you treat your colleagues with respect, especially nursing staff, you will be surprised with how much people go "above and beyond" to help you out. This happens at work and this happens in life as well.

Today, I'm starting this traveling exercise all over again. In checking The Weather Channel, severe storms are expected again today. And, when I finally get to Omaha, I'm expecting a 30 degree temperature drop from where I'm sitting right now, and snow (yes snow still in April). Keep track of my travels on twitter, and wish me luck!