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Mental Illness Vs Gun Control Debate: Again

Last night, twitter sprang into action again announcing another shooting in Fort Hood, Texas. Yes, that Fort Hood. You know, the one where there was an active shooter five years ago where there were 13 dead and more than 30 injuries.

And, just in an instant, the 24 hour cable news cycle changed from obsessed about MH370 to this story. In addition, this morning there was a report of a shooting at Kent State University. Yes, that Kent State University where 44 years ago next month, leaving four students dead and nine others injured.

It is inevitable in the next 24 hours, if it hasn't happened already, that the partisans will take their place again on social media and start blaming the other. One side will say, "We really need more gun control this time!" The other side will say, "We really need more help for the mentally ill this time!"

I have written about guns, the mentally ill, and everything else dozens of times on this website. This post today is not to score political points. This post is again to vent my frustration about actually solving the problem. I blame both political parties and their surrogates who are high on rhetoric but low on solutions.

As everyone says during situations like this: What's it gonna take to try to solve the problem? The press are going to continually mention the list: Fort Hood, Fort Hood again, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, and on, and on, and on. What's it gonna take, really?

NephMadness 2014 Preview Podcast

Happy World Kidney Day 2014! Thanks to the guys from NephMadness 2014 for being guests on Episode 326 of the Mike Sevilla Radio Program. In the video above, you'll see the opening moments of the show.

The idea for NephMadness pairs together National Kidney Awareness Month (which is this month of March) and the US NCAA National Basketball tournament (also known as "March Madness"). The beginning of our podcast interview talk about what a "Nephrologist" is and why they are important for patients and the US healthcare system.

We then talked about NephMadness 2014 which begins this Sunday, March 16, 2014 at their NephMadness website. Participants get to select teams who will advance in their "tournament" and you will have the opportunity to select the eventual winner of the tournament.

In NephMadness, you will learn more about the specialty of Nephrology and why kidney function is important - especially for particular diagnoses like Diabetes. Last year, there was a lot of fun on twitter in which people were "trash talking" others and their picks. Follow the fun this year using the hashtag #NephMadness

You can listen to the entire audio podcast interview in the player above and in the player below. You can also download the audio file here and listen anytime to the show. Welcome to those of you clicking over from the NephMadness website. I invite you to check out my website, along with my links on twitter, Facebook, youtube, linked-in, my podcast, and more!

#NephMadness 2014 Preview

I invite you to join me Live on Thursday, March 13, 2014 at 1pm Eastern Daylight Time for Episode 326 of the Mike Sevilla Radio Program. During this show, we will be previewing the #NephMadness 2014 tournament.

March is National Kidney Month to raise awareness about prevention and detection of kidney disease. In 2011, kidney disease was the ninth leading cause of death in the United States. NephMadness is the fusion of National Kidney Month and the fun of "March Madness" which is the US NCAA Basketball Tournament which determines college basketball's national champion.

My guests on the podcast will be four Nephrologists (physicians who specialize in the kidney): Drs. Joel Topf, Kenar Jhaveri, Matt Sparks, and Edgar Lerma. They are the principal organizers for NephMadness 2014.

During our interview (preview of the interview is above), we discuss the origins of the NephMadness in 2013. We also talk about why these physicians are passionate about their specialty, why more Nephrologists are needed in the future, the impact of the 2013 event, and fully previewing the 2014 event which begins on Sunday, March 16, 2014 at NephMadness.com.

In addition, we also discussed the clinical topic of the latest High Blood Pressure/Hypertension guidelines that were recently announced; And let me tell ya, these guys definitely have opinions about that! So, I hope you can join me LIVE on Thursday, March 13, 2014 at 1pm Eastern Daylight Time at BlogTalkradio.com/DrMikeSevilla to check out our entire interview. Hope to see you then!

#HersheyCME 2014 Wrap-up

I had a fun weekend in Hershey, Pennsylvania last weekend. I was at a conference put on by the great people of the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP). Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the entire meeting, but I encourage you to check out their website for full coverage of a jam packed schedule of events.

On Friday, I attended an all day educational session having to do with the complicated topic of Asthma. This was a clinical topic module to help maintain my Board Certification through the American Board of Family Medicine.

On Saturday, I took part in what was called DOT Examiner Training, which was also an all day course. A lot of my patients require paperwork for their employer for what is called a "DOT Physical" or "CDL Physical." "DOT" stands for the US "Department of Transportation" and "CDL" stands for "Commercial Drivers License." Many of the people requiring these are truck drivers.

A little more than 2 months from now, May 21, 2014, to be exact, Medical Examiners (like me) who perform DOT/CDL physical exams need to be certified with the Federal Government, or they can no longer perform these exams. This is a huge change from previous, and many physicians are scrambling to get the required training and take the exam.

This PAFP course has been sold out for months, and it was a long day with lots of material to cover. Kudos to the presenters who did all the preparation for this course! Something that was unique to this DOT Training course was that in addition to the physician presenters, there was also a real truck and a representative of a trucking company at the sessions.

During our lunch break, we got to see some of the tasks that truck drivers perform. This really put things together for me in that I was able to appreciate some of the specific muscle groups that are used during something like getting into and out of a truck, climbing into and out of the back of the truck, and the repetitive muscle actions it takes to shift gears and turn the knobs in the cab.

Going through this course really made me appreciate the labor intensive work that these male and female drivers go through on a day-to-day basis. Thanks to PAFP for putting this course together and bringing the truck along for the course participants.

What follows below are pics from my camera from the meeting. They include the AAFP President Dr. Reid Blackwelder, many from the DOT course, and some from the approximate 300 mile trek across the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Enjoy!

#HersheyCME 2014 This Weekend

This weekend, I'm in the great city of Hershey, Pennsylvania trying to learn something. I'm at the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP) CME Conference. On Friday, I'll be taking the Asthma module for the SAM study group. And, then on Saturday, I'll be taking the sold out DOT Medical Examiner Training Course. Did you know that physicians will have to be certified to perform US Department of Transportation physical examinations?

From a social media standpoint, the PAFP has been doing a great job in promoting their association and promoting the specialty. For the meeting, they will be using the #HersheyCME hashtag. They also have a strong PAFP facebook page and PAFP twitter feed.

If you have been reading my past posts over the past few months, you've seen that I've been enjoying writing about the personal interactions that I've had at these in-person meetings. Tonight, I got to meet up with some long time friends, and I keep track of their lives on a day-to-day basis on what they share on social media.

People are probably sick about reading phrases like this, but there really is nothing like getting together with people in person. In this digital world, the image that you put out there on social media, this only gives half (or even less than half) the story. In person meet ups are so unique and so special, I wish I had more time in my schedule to chat with people.

People will probably want to hear about some of the great content that I'll be learning this weekend. I also hope to share some of the "behind the scenes" stuff for me, the people that I meet, and the experiences I have. Have a great weekend everyone!

Leadership & The Olympics: #AAFPWC14 Wrap-Up

Every time I go to a Family Medicine leadership meeting, I have a unique experience. This weekend was my first national committee meeting in eight years (wow, that's a while ago). So, I admit that I was actually nervous going into this. I mean, I was prepared, and I knew some people going into this. But, you always want to make a good first impression with new people, right?

Once the topics started being discussed and the ideas started flowing, all that initial anxiety goes away. The focus is clear: How can our organization and Family Medicine best help patients? It is so interesting hearing different solutions from physicians in different practice situations, from different parts of the country, and from different life experiences. The passion that these physicians have as they tell their stories - This is powerful.

I always enjoy meeting the Medical Students and Family Medicine Resident Physicians at meetings like this. They are so much more talented that I was at that age. They remind me of why I wanted to be a Family Physician with their energy and idealism.

Speaking of youth and energy, the 2014 Olympic Winter Games from Sochi Russia are on the television as I write this essay. These athletes train for years to try to have an opportunity to compete in the Olympics. Of course, the goal is the winning of the goal medal. But, the journey of the competition makes it fun for these athletes.

Advocacy work and leadership can be thought of in the same way. My Family Medicine leadership journey began when I gave my first speech and ran for my first national leadership position more than 10 years ago. Since then, I feel that I have been sharpening my skills and gaining valuable experience to prepare me for my "olympic" moment - that once in a lifetime opportunity - that I will be ready for. And, why not have a little fun along the way!

What are your goals and dreams? Are you just hoping that they will happen, or are you taking active steps to try to make them a reality? Are you expanding your knowledge in that area? Are you networking with friends and colleagues to try to improve your skill set? How prepared are you for your potential "once-in-a-lifetime Olympic moment?" Take some proactive steps today!

Direct Primary Care Update: Feb 2014

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet someone in person whom I've been a fan for a long time. Ryan Neuhofel, DO, MPH, is a Family Physician in Lawrence, Kansas. He is opened NeuCare Family Medicine two years ago using the model of patient care called "Direct Primary Care." In this model, they do not utilize traditional insurance, and patients pay a monthly subscription fee for their medical care.

In the interview above, Dr. Neu reflects on his two years in practice using this innovative model of patient care. One of the main themes of our chat is something that I've heard other Direct Care Physicians say as well. When these physicians open their practices, they spend a majority of their time making the case why Direct Care is a better model, and now the questions he gets from potential patients is more how Direct Care works. You'll hear that in this clip below from the first ever Direct Primary Care Summit a few months ago...

Something else has really struck me from talking with Dr. Neu last night, and talking with other Direct Primary Care physicians in the past. They are exceedingly happy about this career choice that they made. Yes, trying to convince patients and employers about a paradigm shift like this is very difficult. Yes, it is very challenging not only building a practice from scratch but also building it with an innovative model of care. But, these physicians are satisfied that they are really making a difference now, and this is the reason they went to medical school.

Finally, another physician I've known for a while celebrated an anniversary this week. Our pal Dr. Rob celebrated One Year after opening his Direct Primary Care practice which has the tagline "Old Fashioned Health Care Made New." It's been fun following his success. In the player below, you'll hear our interview a few months before he opened his practice. (You can also download the audio podcast here) Hopefully, I'll be able to do a follow-up interview to reflect upon the past year and see what he thinks about the future....

2014 AAFP Winter Committee Meetings

Sometimes you just have to get out of town and get recharged. This is one of those occasions. I'm on my way to Kansas City (where it currently feels like -9F wind chill) to hang out with other Family Medicine Physicians and to be advocates for our patients.

Committee meetings for the American Academy of Family Physicians will take place over the next few days. They affectionately call this the "Winter Cluster" meetings designated on twitter by the hashtag #AAFPWC. For some reason, I've never liked using the term "cluster" but that's just me.

There are currently seven AAFP Committees (actually called Commissions) and they cover areas like Medical Education, Governmental Advocacy, Quality and Practice, Health of the Pubic and Science. The Commission I was appointed to is called Membership and Member Services.

Why would very busy Family Physicians take time away from their families and away from their practices to take part in these discussions? For me, it gets back to trying to make a difference for my patients and for my community. There is nothing like getting together with your friends and colleagues to brainstorm and to put into action - those ideas that will make a big impact for our patients. Being with this group of people and talking about these ideas really recharge me.

I had big plans to social media promote this weekend, but, as always happens, life got in the way, and I just ran out of time. I hope to possibly record some interviews for the podcast and to take lots of pics to try to generate some buzz and to recharge our Family Medicine friends at home and let them know our organization of Family Medicine docs are working for them. Stay tuned, especially on twitter with #aafpwc and #FMRevolution

Family Practice Center of Salem visits The Banquet In Salem

Kudos to the fabulous staff of the Family Practice Center of Salem who gave us the opportunity to participate in The Banquet in Salem which has been around for almost 10 years in the community and continues to serve hundreds of area residents with good food and good company.

There is a great description of The Banquet in this October 15, 2013 article from The Salem News. "Anyone wanting to stop in and have a good meal is welcome. There are no stipulations based on need or anything of that sort. It is void of any shame factors. It is not a stereotypical soup line replete with accompanying aspersions - however wrong - cast on those participating. It is akin to a social event, often removing loneliness out of the day for many. For some, it is even their day's highlight."

I've participated in The Banquet on a couple of other occasions, and I very much agree with this description. Not only is it a social event where some families and friends gather, but I have never seen people be more appreciative of the work that is done here and the food that is served. We saw patients from our practice there. Some saw friends there. And, the article is right, there are no shame factors at The Banquet.

Finally, this was a great way for the office to gather is a non-office setting, and still work as a team. The grind of day-to-day work, in whatever industry you are in, can really get to you sometimes. Yes, party settings like the Christmas party are fun times to get together with your co-workers. But, there is nothing like being in a situation to give back to your community with the team that you work with day in and day out. Kudos again to our great staff for giving me the opportunity to "Pay It Forward" to our Salem, Ohio community! Enjoy the pics below...

Salem Regional Medical Center Bed Tower Dedication

It was so much fun being part of today's Bed Tower Dedication for Salem Regional Medical Center. Because of my position on the hospital Board of Directors, I had a unique point of view close to the speeches and close to the great choir for the event.

Below are my personal photos from today's activities. With this new Bed Tower and the name change, I think this emphasizes us as an independent hospital, owned & operated by the local community, and not needing to answer to an out of town organization. I believe that today's events and next week's move-in solidifies the future of Salem Regional Medical Center. Enjoy the pics below!