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Becoming an effective advocate
—Maryanne Bombaugh, MD, MS, MBA; vice president of the MMS; obstetrician-gynecologist at the Community Health Center of Cape Cod; Chair of the Massachusetts Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
“A lot of young physicians and medical students are feeling this energy to be politically active to ensure our patients have access to health care. I’ve been involved with the Medical Student Section of MMS since I started medical school, so as the debate around healthcare reform has come to a head
politically I already knew what my avenue would be to make sure my voice is heard. What I love most about engaging in organized medicine is that our policy-making work is all collaborative; we come together to discuss important issues, and I feel a sense of solidarity with my peers from all over the US in
our dedication to making things better for our patients and the profession. The leaders of the MMS are extremely supportive of students. They provide funding for us to attend both MMS meetings and the AMA’s national meetings, so we can put forth our policy ideas and see them through from a
local to a national level. In this way, even as students we can really have an impact."
—Laurie
Schleimer, MD candidate; Harvard Medical School; AMA-MSS Councilor on the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs
“My students and residents think they have nothing to say, but forget that they see patients. They have a powerful voice and need to use it. Policymakers love to hear stories. I started advocating on the local level, and now do a lot on the state and national levels;
for example, on the importance of Medicaid to children, and chairing Tobacco Free Massachusetts [advocacy coalition]. The help and support you get through MMS is very important. I’m able to get appointments with legislators in a timely manner. The advocacy and media training I got through MMS was really incredibly
helpful.”
—Lynda Young, MD; former president of the MMS; chair of the MMS Committee on Publications; chair of the AMA Committee on Federal Government Affairs; AMA Council on Medical Service
Being recognized and supported
“The MMS Information Technology Award was the first prize we ever won. It allowed
Twiage to invest in life-saving technology and gave us credibility when we talked to our first clients. Recognition from MMS empowered hospital leaders to say, ‘This is great technology; there are experts who’ve looked at this, and we want to be on the cutting edge.’ That kind of external validation, especially for a startup, is critical.”
—YiDing Yu, MD; founder and CEO of Twiage; internist at Atrius Health; 50 Healthcare Leaders Under 40 (Becker’s Hospital Review)
“The LGBT Health Award meant the world to me. Like many clinical educators and faculty members, I wear a lot of hats. My LGBT diversity/inclusion hat is all voluntary; that work happens at 3:00 a.m.–5:00 a.m. I’m honored to do this, but it doesn’t come with anything except the personal
knowledge that you are helping people who are vulnerable and in great need of advocacy. The biggest part of my advocacy was for transgender people; there is such a lack of knowledge and education among health care providers. I share the credit with Aleah Nesteby, our nurse practitioner whose dream was to start a
transgender clinic at Baystate High Street Health Center—so we did. We were the dynamic duo; a co-model of care for the community. The award itself gave me the strength to continue to advocate.”
—Lauren Meade, MD, FACP; director of clinical learning and development at Sound Physicians; associate professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine; recipient of the first MMS LGBT Health Award (2014)
Learning from the best
“The MMS charges the lowest dues of all the state medical societies. We haven’t raised our dues in years. The New England Journal of Medicine each week is a fantastic membership benefit. NEJM is extraordinary, its impact factor unprecedented. The best word for the
Journal is ‘trusted.’ That speaks to the thoroughness and rigor of the editorial process.” The practice management is very helpful too, especially to small independent practices. You have help at MMS; you don’t have to pay six figures to consultants. For me
the biggest value in MMS is collegially - meeting other physicians in different fields and from different parts of the state. I learn from them and have made some really good friends.”
—Lynda
Young, MD; former president of the MMS; chair of the MMS Committee on Publications; chair of the AMA Committee on Federal Government Affairs; AMA Council on Medical Service
“Not all the skills we need are technical. To be effective as physicians and leaders, there are many skills we need to cultivate. Physicians are the go-to people in their communities. Whether or not we feel like leaders, as physicians we are. That doesn’t mean we have to become
chief of staff at a hospital; it means patients are expecting us to guide them. These MMS programs [e.g., the Women’s Leadership Forum and Medical Student Mentoring Night] help us embrace that role. They broaden the classic physician archetype to show the spectrum of different people who take on this role. They
help with things as granular as developing one’s executive presence and exercising leadership. Any program I take that’s going to enhance the skills I need to do my job is going to be useful. Because sometimes we ourselves are the medicine.”
—Kathryn
Hughes, MD; acute care surgeon, Falmouth Hospital; cofounder of #ILookLikeASurgeon (Twitter)
Building out your professional community
“MMS membership gives us a cohort of professionals that we can turn to, and programming for physicians who are emerging into leadership and physicians in leadership positions.”
—Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD, MBA; president and CEO of the Dimock Center, Roxbury
“I truly love to be part of such a vibrant community like the MMS. The society has directly enabled me to grow my professional and personal networks. Although I don’t necessarily share patients with most of the doctors at the MMS, I feel personally connected with them through our common
experiences. The tremendous support and resources from the society has been instrumental in the revitalization efforts of the Philippine Medical Association of New England. I believe that the MMS has much to do with our success as an organization.”
—Grace
Perez-Lirio, MD; medical director of the After Hours Clinic at Beth Israel Deaconess Needham Hospital; primary care physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Healthcare Needham Heights; President of the Philippine Medical Association of New England
“This engagement at MMS around women in medicine started many years ago. I am so grateful for everything MMS does. It’s so helpful to get the magazine (Vital Signs), and to feel the community of practice that goes beyond your subspecialty. That community is critical to
preventing burnout. There are a lot of downstream effects of being part of MMS. For example, the award I got for LGBT health advocacy, I was nominated by a colleague on the MMS Women’s Committee. She came to Baystate Health and we mentored each other.”
—Lauren Meade, MD, FACP; director of clinical learning and development at Sound Physicians; associate professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine; recipient of the first MMS LGBT Health Award (2014)
“Our providers were really excited about free MMS membership. It signals a tremendous commitment from the Society to voices from providers of all settings. It’s a two-way win-win, on a practical level and a symbolic level.”
—Holly Oh, MD; chief medical officer and director of quality improvement at the Dimock Center, Roxbury
“The MMS charges the lowest dues of all the big state medical societies. We haven’t raised our dues in years. The practice management for members is very helpful, especially to small independent practices. You have help at MMS; you don’t have to pay six figures
to consultants. For me, the biggest value in MMS is collegially meeting other physicians in different fields and from different parts of the state. I learn from them and have made some really good friends.”
—Lynda
Young, MD; former president of the MMS; chair of the MMS Committee on Publications; chair of the AMA Committee on Federal Government Affairs; AMA Council on Medical Service
