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A
dangerous
business
By
Jake
Margo,
Jr.,
M.D.
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First
of
all,
congratulations
to
all
those
new
future
family
physicians
who
now
know
exactly
where
they
are
headed.
The
match
was
held
recently,
and
we
now
have
a
new
bumper
crop
of
future
family
physicians
who
will
now
have
three
years
to
enjoy
the
benefits
and
support
of
all
of
their
fellow
Academy
members
before
becoming
full
physician
members.
And
now,
on
with
the
article.
Where
can
you
go
and
expect
everyone
to
know
your
name
—
that’s
right,
Cheers.
Where
can
you
go
and
expect
everyone
to
know
what
you
do
—
the
TAFP.
This
is
about
the
only
place
you
can
reasonably
expect
others
to
comprehend
the
extent
of
your
daily
life
and
all
its
demands.
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This
March,
many
TAFP
members
enjoyed
the
2004
Interim
Session.
On
Saturday
and
Sunday,
in
conjunction
with
this
annual
meeting
was
the
Texas
Conference
of
Family
Practice
Residents
and
Students.
Twenty
residents
representing
13
of
the
state’s
premier
residencies
were
in
attendance.
Along
with
many
excellent
medical
students
from
across
the
state,
these
residents
participated
in
discussions
and
workshops,
which
covered
topics
like:
financial
realities
of
being
a
family
physician,
contract
negotiation,
risk
management,
choosing
the
right
residency,
and
family
medicine
in
the
real
world.
David
Schneider,
M.D.,
got
it
started
with
an
overview
of
the
TAFP
and
where
residents
and
students
sit
in
the
world
of
the
AAFP,
and
Leah
Raye
Mabry,
M.D.,
gave
a
primer
on
parliamentary
procedure.
We
also
heard
from
Tom
Banning,
TAFP
lobbyist,
and
Doug
Curran,
M.D.,
chair
of
the
TAFP
Commission
on
Legislative
and
Public
Affairs,
regarding
some
hot
topics
in
the
upcoming
legislative
year.
At
the
risk
of
recounting
the
minutes,
some
of
the
topics
discussed
during
the
resident
section
meeting
included:
preparing
for
the
release
of
the
findings
of
the
Future
of
Family
Medicine
Project,
resident
research
displays
at
the
TAFP
Annual
Session
and
the
National
Conference,
and
means
of
improving
the
collegial
relationships
among
family
medicine
residents
from
across
the
state.
The
resident
section
was
unanimous
in
recognizing
the
need
for
stronger
relationships
among
the
state’s
residencies,
particularly
with
the
decreasing
numbers
in
applications
for
family
medicine
residency
spots.
Recommendations
included
strongly
encouraging
each
residency
to
send
at
least
one
resident
representative
to
each
TAFP
meeting
and
looking
for
creative
means
of
bringing
family
medicine
residents
and
students
together,
other
than
the
formal
residency
fair.
Many
residencies
are
offering
workshops
to
local
Family
Medicine
Interest
Groups
as
programs
for
monthly
meetings.
Barbecues
and
cookouts
are
other
great
ways
to
foster
that
collegial
atmosphere
without
losing
the
opportunity
for
recruiting.
The
bottom
line
from
the
representative
residents
from
across
the
state:
It
doesn’t
matter
if
we
get
them
into
our
program,
as
long
as
we
get
them
into
family
medicine,
preferably
in
the
state
of
Texas.
This
change
in
attitude
from
the
fierce
competitiveness
and
wariness
of
years
past
demonstrated
the
maturity
of
the
representatives
present
and
the
continuation
of
a
new
level
of
cooperation
among
the
state’s
residencies
in
family
medicine.
Residents
even
discussed
partnering
with
colleagues
from
other
programs
to
co-present
topics
at
next
year’s
Texas
conference.
This
“buddy
system”
could
even
be
utilized
in
presenting
to
local
FMIGs
—
an
idea
that
is
particularly
enticing
given
that
more
residencies
are
finding
it
difficult
to
fit
into
the
relatively
few
spots
each
FMIG
allots
for
outside
programs.
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While
these
are
by
no
means
all
of
the
ideas
that
were
discussed
or
solutions
presented,
it
gives
a
taste
of
what
transpired.
As
a
brief
reminder,
all
Academy
members
are
welcome
to
come
to
our
resident
section
meetings,
which
are
typically
held
the
Saturday
afternoon
of
each
business
session
at
the
biannual
meetings.
We
encourage
all
to
attend,
particularly
those
residents
who
were
unable
to
make
our
last
meeting.
As
I
pass
the
torch
of
leadership
of
the
resident
section
to
Alicia
Hart,
M.D.,
and
her
new
fellow
officers,
I
wish
them
all
the
best.
To
close,
I’m
going
to
leave
you
each
with
a
partial
list
of
“Myths
about
Family
Medicine”
in
no
particular
order,
which
was
compiled
by
some
of
the
attendees
of
this
latest
meeting.
As
you
contemplate
these,
may
I
offer
some
more
words
by
Professor
Tolkien:
“It’s
a
dangerous
business,
Frodo,
going
out
of
your
door,”
he
[Bilbo]
used
to
say.
“You
step
into
the
Road,
and
if
you
don’t
keep
your
feet,
there
is
no
knowing
where
you
might
be
swept
off
to.”
Family
medicine
truly
is
the
great
Road
that
will
sweep
you
into
many
wonderful
adventures.
Congratulations
to
us
all
for
ever
taking
that
first
step.
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Top
Myths
about
Family
Medicine
As
compiled
during
the
Texas
State
Conference
of
Family
Practice
Students
and
Residents
Family
physicians
…
-
Don’t
make
any
money
-
Aren’t
very
smart
-
Don’t
do
anything
but
work
in
the
clinic
-
Can’t
have
a
family
life
-
Can’t
keep
up
with
advancements,
can’t
know
it
all
-
Work
too
hard
-
Don’t
get
any
respect
from
colleagues
or
in
academia
-
Are
not
research-oriented
-
Couldn’t
get
into
other
specialties
-
Only
see
broad
problems
or
easy
problems,
like
coughs
and
colds;
not
getting
enough
of
the
“meat
of
medicine”
-
Act
only
as
the
gatekeeper
to
the
specialist
-
Get
no
glamour
and
less
money
-
Always
play
second
fiddle
-
Have
limited
ability
to
specialize
in
the
future
- Are
not
always
proud
enough
of
their
specialty
choice
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