President's Message

While on call recently, the work that pulled me out of bed gave me an invigorating reminder of my “why” in Family Medicine.  An overnight labor induction for already-prolonged rupture of membranes with a sudden progression of labor prompted a call of “Hurry!  Come quick!”  That call set into motion the scramble to my car, consideration for whether I needed to run red lights, and my relief upon arrival that our patient was still pregnant.   We had time, including time for a resident to reflect on a couple we cared for together in a very difficult situation and their gratitude for our care when they came for a recent follow up visit.  Shortly thereafter, a beautiful delivery with two capable residents – both future Wisconsin Family Physicians.  Before leaving the room, I could be heard saying, “This is totally worth getting out of bed in the middle of the night!” A team debrief of the delivery reflected the beauty that is the privilege to witness birth and guide a brand-new life into this world.  

Just a few short hours after that hurried call to a pregnant mother’s bedside, I was calling my patient’s family with a different version of “Hurry!  Come quick!”  Just as the pregnant mother welcomed her new baby, my patient was welcoming the end of a long, difficult journey and desired her family at bedside for conversations about hospice.  Once again, the persistent pattern of my career that death and new life are paired closely in time.  I thanked my patient for allowing me the privilege of caring for her all these years and for trusting me to be her doctor – a trust that didn’t always come easily for her, but as the years passed, the trust (and the shared laughter) came easily between us.  Her most clear words that morning were “No.  Thank you!” As we stepped out of the room with moistened eyes, the skilled senior resident working with me reflected, “That is Family Medicine.”  That moment of shared gratitude reminded us both what it means to be a Family Physician.  It is building trust from birth to death, such that we can share in the grandest and gravest of moments with our patients.  

I hope as you gather with those you love as this year ends, that you are able to see your “why” in moments throughout this past year.  As I reflect on this year with WAFP and the forthcoming gatherings of families and friends across our state, I see much heartache and much hope in people coming together – just as I did on my recent call night.  The heartache of the Prevea/HSHS hospital and Family Medicine residency closures impacting our colleagues and the communities of Western Wisconsin, and the hope of residency programs across the state coming together support the residents and colleagues impacted.  The heartache of legislation aimed at dividing our healthcare teams to the hope of colleagues coming together for WAFP’s successful advocacy for maintaining physician-led teams in our state.  The heartache of closure of rural labor and delivery units to the hope of WAFP’s ongoing support of efforts to sustain rural practice for our colleagues and their communities.  

I am grateful for this hope in the face of heartache.  For hope in new life juxtaposed with the heartache of death.  For hope in working together despite the heartache of societal division.  For hope in Family Medicine and the trust we build with our patients and communities as the antidote for mistrust.  For hope in the future of Family Medicine as resident physicians embrace the challenges of our specialty with grit, grace and gratitude.

I am grateful that as Family Physicians, we continue to come together with our patients in exam rooms and in our communities because we can find more common ground in their health and their lives than our society might drive some to believe.  It is those spaces that allow us to find our ‘why’ in our patients’ lives – from their first breaths to their last.

As this year ends and you gather with friends and family celebrating the end of one year and the hope of a new year on the horizon, I hope that you can celebrate your own successes in your practice, your community and/or your personal life.  WAFP will continue to strive to support you, your practice and our dynamic specialty to thrive in the New Year and in the years that follow.