| weekly-rounds-september-30-2022-words-matter-when-seeking-clarity-in-communications | Weekly Rounds: September 30, 2022 - Words Matter When Seeking Clarity in Communications | Leadership | Shared_Content/News/Weekly_Rounds/2022/weekly-rounds-september-30-2022-words-matter-when-seeking-clarity-in-communications | <div class="col-md-12">
<div class="col-sm-5 pull-right" style="text-align: center;"><img src="/images/Newsletters/Weekly%20Rounds/Weekly-Rounds-Article-Graphic-2022-645x425px.png" class="pull-right" alt="Weekly Rounds logo" /></div>
<h5>September 30, 2022</h5>
<h2>
Words Matter When Seeking Clarity in Communications
</h2>
<p>Jennifer Hanscom, CEO</p>
<p>
Accuracy in communication is something we all strive toward but may occasionally fail at achieving. That could be due to how the information is delivered or how it's received. I'm sure, like me, you've had conversations that went along the lines of: "That's not what I meant." And the corresponding reply: "Well, that's what I heard."
</p>
<p>
Words matter. And for physicians, the word "provider" has been vexing for some time, and now seems to be gaining an ever-expanding foothold in health care communications. How many of you have been referred to lately as "Provider Smith" rather than "Dr. Smith"?
</p>
<p>
I realize the growing use of the term is being used as shorthand within health care to encompass various types of medical professionals and facilities with just one simple word. But nothing in health care is simple, including lumping all medical professionals and institutions into a singular term that obscures the qualifications and training levels for the people providing care. In some ways, the simplicity of that term is disrespectful of the long years and effort invested by those who are physicians.
</p>
<p>
At the WSMA, we believe using the term "provider" can lead to misunderstanding and potentially misguided decisions by patients and medical professionals. As per WSMA policy passed and recently reaffirmed by the WSMA House of Delegates-representing most physicians, specialties, and county medical societies in Washington state-the <a href="[@]WSMA/About/Policies/Whats_Our_Policy/Physician_Practice/Providers_Use_Of_The_Term.aspx?_zs=B3aFd1&amp;_zl=lFac8">WSMA does not use the term "provider" to describe a physician</a>. Additionally, as the result of <a href="[@]WSMA/About/Policies/Whats_Our_Policy/Physician_Practice/refer_to_all_medical_professionals_by_their_titles.aspx?_zs=B3aFd1&amp;_zl=nFac8">policy adopted by the WSMA House of Delegates in 2021</a>, the WSMA is highlighting concerns related to inappropriately using one title, such as "provider," to group all medical professionals together.
</p>
<p>
We are not alone in this preference. The American Medical Association has taken <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/2019-04/a19-bot09.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">strong</a> <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/2019-06/a19-refcomm-b-annotated.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2b8GpnXi1V3E85BhNssnUC9Y5J5ONwHcS2ZtGdnAWVmGkhfrYKpP4zGO4">positions</a> against this broad usage of "provider," and multiple national medical organizations, including the <a href="https://www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/provider.html">American Academy of Family Physicians</a>, <a href="https://www.aaem.org/resources/statements/position/term-provider?fbclid=IwAR34WQLN2MUcqaZz4z_LVO5xmhwp2XNrVqUH36zvEXrkjm0HkwBfLN1LtSU">American Academy of Emergency Medicine</a>, and <a href="https://acpinternist.org/archives/2019/09/defining-our-identity-does-not-include-the-p-word.htm?fbclid=IwAR3FzAdIhjL0l2M9vV2O1EKvlH2Sv6g47G9eOm2slFlb0xlNLeByj9x5OhI">American College of Physicians</a>, all have position papers stating their opposition to the use of the term "provider."
</p>
<p>
For clarity and to avoid confusion among licensed health care professions, the WSMA will specify individual professions: e.g., physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. Similarly, when "provider" is used to denote health care organizations, for clarity and to avoid confusion, the WSMA will specify organization types: e.g., hospitals, health care systems, and medical practices.
</p>
<p>
We urge all organizations (including governmental entities) that utilize the term "provider" to instead describe physicians and practitioners by their proper professional titles as per the guidance above.
</p>
<p>
We hope you will join us in this effort and urge your medical group or practice to do the same. <a href="[@]educationmatters?_zs=B3aFd1&amp;_zl=5Gac8">Click here</a> to find more information and detailed guidance to help the public and industry partners better understand the education and training of physicians-the most highly skilled and trained of the health professions-and to explore the problematic issues with the term "provider."
</p>
<p>
This may seem a small or benign concern, but we believe that clarity and transparency in communication can avoid confusion and avert potentially harmful errors. We hope you'll join us in this effort.
</p>
</div> | 9/30/2022 12:00:00 AM | 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM |
| the_whole_person | The Whole Person | Leadership | Shared_Content/News/Latest_News/2022/the_whole_person | <div class="col-md-12">
<div class="col-sm-5 pull-right" style="text-align: center;"><img src="/images/Newsletters/Reports/2022/september-october/reports-sept-oct-2022-cover-article-645x425px.jpg" class="pull-right" alt="cover illustration for WSMA Reports September/October 2022" /></div>
<h5>September 26, 2022</h5>
<h2>The Whole Person</h2>
<p>
<em>Osteopathic principles inform incoming WSMA president Katina Rue's life philosophy.</em>
</p>
<p>
By Milana McLead
</p>
<p>Nestled on the desk amid numerous photos of Katina Rue's daughter, Valeria, and a sign that says "Mom: A title just above queen," rests a heart-shaped red glass paperweight. It's a shiny reminder of an experience that exemplifies Dr. Rue's approach to life, medicine, and community. It was her first year practicing medicine in Yakima, when a patient presented with gout at the after-hours clinic where she worked. Dr. Rue, an osteopathic family physician, listened to his heart, realizing that he had a "whopping loud heart murmur." She recommended an echocardiogram, which revealed a ruptured leaflet. Thanks to her attentive observation, his valve was repaired. Later, his wife brought her the glass heart, noting, "He was here for his toe. I don't even know why you listened to his heart. But if you hadn't, who knows where my husband would be now."</p>
<p>"That heart reminds me that it only takes a few moments to impact patients' lives," says Dr. Rue, "and that the time we spend with patients is a precious opportunity and privilege we have as physicians. It also grounds me in the need to be present with each and every patient."</p>
<p>It's an ethos that's integrated into everything she does, whether it's tending patients, teaching medical students and residents, caring for her family and community, or minding her five-acre farm.</p>
<p>Her colleagues see this in action. Nicole Austin is a program coordinator at Trios Health Family Medicine Residency in the Tri-Cities, where Dr. Rue serves as residency program director. "She is passionate about her role as an educator and community building," says Austin. "She's made a concerted effort to increase the collaboration between training programs and departments within the hospital. Although that can be challenging and at times frustrating, she has not backed down, realizing that the results will benefit not only our programs and organization, but ultimately and most importantly, the patients we serve."</p>
<p>Community, connectedness, and collaboration all played a role in Dr. Rue's journey. In middle school, she thought about heading into marine biology. High school prompted an interest in physical therapy. While shadowing physical therapists during her pre-PT studies at Western Washington University and later at Montana State University, she took note of the education and training they offered in biomechanics, physiology, and more, but felt their scope of practice was limited. After learning about osteopathic medicine, she switched to pre-med and applied to osteopathic medical school at Kansas City University in Missouri.</p>
<p>"What spoke to me about osteopathic medicine was the interconnectedness of&nbsp;the patient, the human condition of the mind, the heart, the body, the spirit, and&nbsp;that we are made in a way that structure&nbsp;and function are related," she says. "It's&nbsp;hard to be well when one aspect isn't—it's not only the physical aspect, it's the&nbsp;whole person."</p>
<p>While she enjoyed surgery, having grown up around the OR with her mom, as well as psychiatry, it was family medicine that felt like the best fit. "Seeing patients over time in multiple settings, getting to make connections with families, being there for the birth of a child and the passing of grandparents—holding that community and space to be together as a family was really amazing," she says. "When you have those relationships and you understand the different aspects of people's lives, it just made sense to me."</p>
<p>Getting involved in organized medicine was another aspect of community in her journey. In medical school, she saw her mentors modeling involvement in state and county medical associations. She stepped up, as well, serving as a student liaison between the Missouri Association of Osteopathic Physicians and the Missouri State Medical Association, and as a student and resident member of the Johnson County Osteopathic Medical Society. When she moved to Washington state, it was a natural progression to join the WSMA and participate in its House of Delegates.</p>
<p>"It was naturally what I did when I got here, because I believe it's what you're supposed to do as a doctor," she says. "I wanted to continue to be part of the passion and commitment to communities, patients, and medicine that I saw modeled by my mentors." Once part of the WSMA, she was all in, helping to launch the early career governing councils and sections with Past-President Ray Hsiao, MD, and others, and later stepping into leadership. "For me, it's what you do to support your profession and to represent it in the best way in the eyes of the public. If you're not involved, if you're not at the table, then, as they say, you're on the menu."</p>
<div class="col-sm-5 pull-right newsbody" style="text-align: center;">
<p><img alt="Katina Rue DO" src="/images/newsletters/Reports/2022/september-october/Rue.Katina_2022.SeptOct-small.jpg" class="pull-right" /></p>
</div>
<!--<div class="col-sm-5 pull-right" style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><strong>
<em>
Would you want your pilot to be the same as your flight attendant?
"Good morning, I'm airline worker Carl and I'll be flying your plane
today." Would you want your trial attorney to say, "I'm Sarah, your
legal worker, and will be defending you today"? I am a physician, yet
somehow it has become OK to refer to me as anything but physician.</em></strong>
</blockquote>
</div>-->
<p>Dr. Rue continues to be passionate about engaging younger physicians in the WSMA. As she looks to the year ahead, other interests include prior authorization, scope creep, social determinants of health, physician burnout, and physician workforce diversity. She is the co-chair of WSMA's newly formed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and is an active participant in WSMA's Latinx Advisory Council. "WSMA's vision and mission can be bolstered by the development of a strong, diverse physician workforce that looks like, sounds like, and understands the patients they serve," she says. "For me, WSMA has been an open and accepting place to grow and be a voice for those who are less represented."</p>
<p>As she embraces her role as president of the WSMA, how will she lead? Her colleague Russell Maier, MD, offers a glimpse. "Dr. Rue is confident, a good listener, looks to the future, and is committed to the house of medicine," he says. "She is committed to community, learners, and improving patients' health." Just as she did for that patient with gout.</p>
<p>
<em>Milana McLead is WSMA’s senior director of strategic communications and membership.</em>
</p>
<h3>Snapshot: Katina Rue, DO</h3>
<p><strong>FAMILY</strong></p>
<p>Husband of 11 years, Aureliano, 10-year-old daughter, Valeria, and "unofficially adopted" 22-year-old Nataliya Frick and her 25-year-old brother, Anthony.</p>
<p><strong>GROWING UP</strong></p>
<p>Lived in Pueblo, Colorado until her family moved to Washington when she was 11. Her mom is a retired operating room nurse and ran the OR in Port Townsend for almost 30 years. Her father was the director of pharmacy at Olympic Memorial Hospital in Port Angeles.</p>
<p><strong>HERITAGE</strong></p>
<p>While Dr. Rue's adoptive mom is of Latino and Navajo heritage, her birth parents were also Latino (and Norwegian!). Dr. Rue's husband, Aureliano, is Mexican, although was born in Yakima, and has family in Mexico that they regularly visit.</p>
<p><strong>AT HOME</strong></p>
<p>Lives on five acres of farmland populated with five cows (Charlotte, Dixie Mae, Lia, Estrella, and Luna), five chickens, three beehives, a Yorkie named Storm, and 30 fruit trees (cherry, apricot, peach, pear, plum, walnut, and quince). Note: Blueberry the bull (who features in Dr. Rue's virtual Zoom background) recently moved to a ranch nearby.</p>
<p><strong>WORDS TO LIVE BY</strong></p>
<p>"Live like someone left the gate open!"</p>
<p><strong>WHAT GETS HER UP IN THE MORNING</strong></p>
<p>"Opportunities! I haven't always been the positive person. But now, in the face of daunting challenges, I see opportunities sprinkled like wildflowers."</p>
<p><strong>PET PEEVE</strong></p>
<p>Hearing people complain about things. "If you are a member, showed up, participated, and taken action—then maybe I'll listen to you complain." She wants to hear feedback, input, and solutions.</p>
<p><strong>FIRSTS</strong></p>
<p>She'll be the first DO and the first Latina to serve as WSMA president.</p>
<p><strong>SPARE TIME</strong></p>
<p>Soccer mom, dance mom, farm wrangler, WSMA leader, Washington Osteopathic Medical Association leader, Washington Academy of Family Physicians alternate delegate to American Academy of Family Physicians, and past president of Northwest Osteopathic Medical Foundation.</p>
<p>
<em>This article was featured in the September/October 2022 issue of WSMA Reports, WSMA's print magazine.</em>
</p>
</div> | 9/26/2022 12:00:00 AM | 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM |
| 2022-wsma-annual-meeting-final-call-for-preregistration | 2022 WSMA Annual Meeting: Final Call for Preregistration | Leadership | Shared_Content/News/Membership_Memo/2022/september-23/2022-wsma-annual-meeting-final-call-for-preregistration | <div class="col-md-12">
<div class="col-sm-5 pull-right" style="text-align: center;"><img src="/images/Newsletters/MembershipMemo/2022/august/2022-annual-meeting-graphic-645x425px.png" class="pull-right" alt="2022 Annual Meeting graphic" /></div>
<h5>September 23, 2022</h5>
<h2>2022 WSMA Annual Meeting: Final Call for Preregistration</h2>
<p>There's still time to preregister and join your colleagues next weekend, Oct. 1-2 in Spokane for the <a href="[@]wsma/events/annual_meeting/wsma/events/annual_meeting/annual_meeting.aspx?hkey=fea49254-3815-4dc9-8710-53ff2e3a100f">2022 Annual Meeting of the WSMA House of Delegates</a>. In addition to the policymaking and networking that are central to the meeting, you'll have an opportunity to attend thought-provoking CME sessions, participate in celebratory events, and be on hand as we inaugurate WSMA's next president, Katina Rue, DO, who will be the first osteopathic physician and the first Latina to hold WSMA's top office. <a href="[@]Shared_Content/Events/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=ANNMTG2022">Reserve your spot today</a>-preregistration closes at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28 (registration is free for all WSMA members). </p>
<h3>A quick look at Saturday afternoon presentations</h3>
<p>Our two plenary sessions on Saturday will seek to uncover what truly inspires us as physicians, what moves us, and what keeps us connected to ourselves and our work. Sessions include:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Obstacle is the Path: Finding Meaning and Purpose in Troubling Times: In this presentation, Washington Physicians Health Program Executive Medical Director Chris Bundy, MD, MPH, will explore the core existential concerns as defined in contemporary discourse and identify strategies that physicians can use to promote meaning and purpose in the face of adversity.</li>
<li>Thinking Deeper - Necessary Components to Achieve Health Equity: A conversation between Fernando De Maio, PhD, and Edwin Lindo, JD, two nationally recognized scholars and practitioners in health equity. This is an opportunity to observe the rigorous intellectual exploration of health equity, as speak about a few of the most challenging elements of this work.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Accommodations and COVID-19 precautions</h3>
<p>Room availability at The Historic Davenport is very limited. If no rooms are available, ask about availability at the Davenport Tower across the street. Call The Davenport at 800.899.1482 for room information at both locations.</p>
<p>The WSMA will have the following COVID-19 precautions in place at the 2022 Annual Meeting, as we look to have a safe and supportive gathering:</p>
<ul>
<li>Conference attendees and guests will have attested that they are up to date on their vaccines.</li>
<li>Wearing a mask during indoor meetings is recommended. We will have masks available at the registration desk.</li>
<li>Refunds for lunch and/or dinner tickets will be offered if you get sick prior to the event and are unable to attend. Please call 206.441.9762 or email <a href="mailto:abby@wsma.org">abby@wsma.org</a> if you test positive or are symptomatic for COVID-19.</li>
<li>We will have a limited number of COVID-19 test kits available at the registration desk.</li>
</ul>
<p><em>Thank you to our corporate partners for their generous support: Physicians Insurance, The Polyclinic and The Everett Clinic, and the UW Psychiatry Consultation Line. If your company would like to be a WSMA Corporate Partner, contact Jessica Martinson at </em><a href="mailto:jessica@wsma.org"><em>jessica@wsma.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>
</div> | 9/23/2022 12:00:00 AM | 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM |