Well, it’s gratifying to find out that the SOMEONE at the American College of Surgeons has reminded the Board of Regents that there is merit to having a spine and learning to “Man Up”, to borrow a phrase from my Mississippi brethren. Obama insulted every physician in America Wednesday, revealing his camoflaged disdain for my profession for all to see. Hopefully, those in positioins of leadership in the AMA and other medical specialty societies will join the ACS and the American Academy of Otolaryngology in their, albeit fairly milque-toast, rebuttals of his insult.

By endorsing HR3200, even if it was a qualified endorsement of a specific component of the plan, they allowed Obama and the Democrats to have a public relations field day- it was a public relations disaster for organized medicine. Endorsing the plan to maintain a seat at the negotiating table, a reasonable strategy that works when you are dealing with someone who truly desires to include your constituents and their input in the process, organized medicine has been allowed a seat in the corner of the room where it is actually the main course for lunch, ostensibly to observe its untimely demise.

Obama and the Democrats have been nothing but disingenuous since this Congress convened, passing bills that are thousands of pages long, have never been read, and are part of a much broader agenda. Please stay informed, and active, even if you disagree with me….debate that is truly open and honest will lead us to an outcome that is best for the nation. Physicians will do best in this process if we maintain the integrity of our profession and emphasize the fidelity and sanctity of our relationship to the patient, and keep the interests of our patients at heart. I still remember the computer username of the now retired surgeon who taught me the most about taking quality care of my patients, Dr. David Waugh of the Temple, TX VAMC: “Patients First!”. The crusty old general practicioner who led me to medicine, the now-deceased Dr. Joe Yelderman of Needille, TX, stressed that “if you take excellent care of the patients, everything else will fall into place”. Those philosophies will serve my profession well through the coming debates.

Phllip B. Ley, MD, FACS
Flowood, MS

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 at 4:12 PM and is filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.