President's Message

Leave it to a newly-minted 13 year old to bring life perspective into focus.

Shoveling my driveway after a recent snowfall, reflecting on life’s current challenges, I was grateful to be translating grief and worry into some physical exertion, but it wasn’t really adequate to purge my deep sense of loss:  

Loss of the rural labor and delivery unit in Waupaca – a nearby community that shaped my childhood was now experiencing what so many rural communities have experienced.  The OB care provided there shaped the livelihoods of the Family Physicians who practice there, and it has certainly created access to care for families in that community.  Unfortunately, challenges abound.

Loss of civil discourse across communities related to political division.  For many, a loss of a sense of safety.  For others, a loss of a sense of belonging, a sense of stability, a sense of trust.  “It’s been a topsy-turvy time with a whole lot of loss, including the civil discourse with our neighbors,” I thought.

And that turned to deep reflection on the recent loss of a neighbor - a beloved physician colleague, whose untimely death has revealed to me a lot of hurt among physician colleagues in my own community.  I grieve the loss of his young family’s tomorrows with him, his surgery colleagues’ loss of “the daily influence he had on my surgical strategy and technique” and his future patients’ loss of a truly compassionate surgeon to guide some of their darkest times.  Yet, I reflected on the opportunity for our neighbors to show what a neighborhood truly can be – a tiny cul-de-sac with a lot of love ensuring we’re unified for good.  The visual evidence today is a collection of 3 households with snowblowers and shovels clearing the driveway of their neighbors.  “Somehow, this little cul-de-sac can love each other despite widely varying political and life perspectives that are dividing so many right now”, I thought.

At that moment, my eldest, a newly-minted teenager popped her head out the front door enthusiastically pointing to the horizon “Hey Mom!  The sunrise!  Isn’t it gorgeous?!”

Ah, yes.  The sun rises again with its brilliant show on full display today – a reminder that even in the darkest moments, the sun shall rise again. I had simply missed its beauty in my focus on the challenges in front of me:  heaps of snow and the challenges of life.  I re-focused my perspective and reflection, realizing that with each new sunrise, some truths remain:

• We remain Family Physicians, whose specialty grew out of the counterculture movement; a specialty focused on whole-person care that balances the science and the soul; a specialty focused on building relationships.
• We wake up each new morning in neighborhoods and communities where civil discourse is possible and loving our neighbors is vitally important in challenging times.
• We must recognize we cannot walk this road alone.  We must seek help among colleagues and communities, particularly when times are tough.  
• We gain great education and growth from unexpected sources – like teenagers with impeccable timing creating beautiful cognitive dissonance.
• We must share our collective voice to rebuild community through trust and relationship – including relationship with leaders and legislators.  Family Physicians continue to be a voice of reason in our capitols and C-suites.  We must raise our voices together – our strength in the exam room and the offices of legislators and leaders.

With my driveway and the neighbors’ now cleared, I could feel a sense of warmth despite the frigid February temperature.  I realized these reflections are precisely what I have gained from my year as your WAFP President:  lessons in leveraging our skills as Family Physicians to overcome challenges in our communities; lessons in civil discourse as cherished colleagues have taught me to truly listen to the wide array of perspectives among Family Physicians in our membership; lessons in studying history to better understand our current strengths and threats; lessons in communities rising to serve each other in challenging times – in spite of or because of the beauty of diverse perspectives; lessons in seeking help in challenging times; lessons in the strength of our collective voice; lessons in creating cognitive dissonance in opportune moments; lessons in the beauty of each new sunrise.

So as I sign off in this final newsletter, writing as one more sunrise breaches the horizon, I want to thank you for allowing me to serve as your president and for the lessons you’ve shared with me over the past year.  The real work has only just begun, as we seek many more sunrises together.