On the local front…
• Memphis Medical Society continues to work behind the scenes to get the COVID-19 vaccine to Phase 1a2 healthcare workers in Shelby County. Watch your email for the next vaccination opportunity.
• As the vaccinated population grows, I urge you to begin or continue asymptomatic testing of your employees. This is now even more important as the variant strains of the virus begin to circulate in the US. Poplar Healthcare and AEL have low cost testing kits. The information is on our website.
• There’s a great recording on our YouTube Channel (That’s right! You can find us on YouTube!) of a talk given by Dr. David Norris on the Model of Human Behavior, which was recently given to the Mid-South MGMA chapter. Dr. Norris is a healthcare consultant and also educates on financial matters for physicians. Quick side note: Dr. Norris is the Treasurer of his local medical society in Wichita, Kansas.
• Don’t forget: the community needs you! Healthcare workers are needed for the local Medical Reserve Corps, particularly to assist with the area’s vaccination sites. https://www.shelbytnhealth.com/158/Shelby-County-Medical-Reserve-Corps
• Speaking of local, I’d like to thank one of our local partners, DeSoto Floors. You all contact my friend Chris Churchill for all of your home interior finishes needs. Email him at chris@desotofloors.com or call (662) 408-4660
At the state level…
• Tennessee Medical Education Fund, a medical student scholarship fund affiliated with Tennessee Medical Association, has opened its application portal. Applicants need to be TMA/Memphis Medical Society members to apply. The link is here.
• You can get free CME by listening to TMA’s comprehensive and on-demand training course focusing on COVID-19 from A to Z. The link for free registration is here.
• The Tennessee State Legislature is now in session. Be on the lookout for calls to action from MMS and TMA regarding balance billing, graduate medical education funding, PBM’s and attempts to expand scope of practice by several different provider groups. Kudos to our friend Julie Griffin at TMA and her team for leading the fight to advance healthcare and protect the interests of physicians and patients in our state.
In national healthcare news…
• There is a quick read from the AMA regarding vaccine education for those who may be hesitant. Recommendations include explaining that quick turnaround of the vaccine approval was due to advanced science, and that there was a diverse clinical trial pool. The link to the full article is here.
• The University of California Davis/Irvine Fellowship has launched the application process for its Clinician Health and Well Being (CHWB) Fellowship. We highly recommend the program for physicians interested in expanding their knowledge and advocacy of physician burnout and wellbeing. The CHWB Fellowship is a seven-month long clinical education program for trainees and providers who wish to receive advanced training in clinician health and wellbeing. A new cohort begins April 26, 2021 and the application deadline is March 26, 2021. Fellows will learn best practices and have the opportunity to develop and present a program or research project. If you know physicians interested in a deep dive into this topic, I highly recommend this Fellowship program. https://health.ucdavis.edu/psychiatry/education/fellowships/phwb/fellowship.html
• Swinging back to local – be on the lookout soon for a digital edition of our 2021 gala. Since we could not meet in person, we will be honoring a few folks and celebrating 2020 via email, video and repurposing that information right here on our podcast. So stay tuned!
• For those interested, the Society is hiring. MedTemps, our staffing division, is hiring an HR Coordinator. You can learn more by searching for us on Indeed.
• And finally, going back to physician wellbeing, If you’re a physician don’t forget about Thrive, our wellbeing hotline, which connects you to free and confidential counseling with a licensed psychologist. That’s right, it’s free and confidential.
