Resident strengthens SCMA support
by Cindy
AbolePublic Relations
American writer Henry Miller once wrote: “Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.”
Dermatology resident Angela Hutcheson, M.D., found her moment and expanded it by 12 months to contribute and initiate change as a past trustee representing the residents-fellows section of the South Carolina Medical Association (SCMA).
Drs. Angela
Hutcheson and Franklin Medio receive SCMA awards on April 29.Hutcheson was elected to her role last April and made great strides on behalf of the state’s resident physicians and fellows. She worked closely with 17 fellow trustees and the state's General Assembly guiding legislation on statewide medical issues and shaping public health policies as the organization’s first resident-fellows representative.
Her involvement with SCMA came at a particularly positive, active time. Shortly before her tenure, the SCMA successfully collaborated with Gov. Mark Sanford to help pass South Carolina’s Tort Reform Bill and companion Medical Malpractice Reform Bill last spring.
“Understanding the realities of tort reform and its prolonged effects, plus advocating for residents on other issues has been a great learning experience for me,” said Hutcheson.
Within her year’s service, Hutcheson spent the duration educating herself about the state’s legislative process and policies of interest for her resident-physician constituents. Her involvement included communicating challenges with Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement, repercussions associated with medical malpractice reform, and advocacy for medical student debt relief. The experience also opened her eyes to learning about other issues beyond her own medical specialty.
“I feel I was able to give a lot back to residents in general through my involvement with a variety of issues and reactions from many different perspectives,” Hutcheson said, who continually polled her peers for feedback regarding issues. “It was great for SCMA to benefit and gain from regular input from residents regarding their services and patient care.”
Advocating for involvement
More importantly, Hutcheson has been a leader steering more South Carolina residents towards involvement and advocacy in organized medicine. She helped expand the SCMA trustee role by creating a 10-member SCMA resident-fellow governing council. The council, which represents residents from statewide residency programs throughout Columbia, Greenville, Spartanburg and Charleston, works in tandem with SCMAs board of trustees, House of Delegates, American Medical Association delegates and more than 30 committees that report to the board.
Regarding Medicare and Medicaid payment legislation, Hutcheson emphasized the importance of resident involvement and advocacy. She said that the actions they conduct today can directly effect how they care for future patients as young practitioners.
“One of the important things physicians forget is that anything that adversely affects physicians, directly affects patients,” Hutcheson said. “The physician-patient relationship is very special and jointly coexists. Therefore, advocacy in health care equals advocacy for physicians and their patients. That’s why it’s so important that physicians get involved early in their careers. Establishing that link through educational involvement and action can be that catalyst to help physicians stay involved throughout the rest of their careers. Patients expect that from us and it would be disappointing if we didn’t provide this type of support from the very beginning.”
Supporting ACGME standards
Resident involvement in South Carolina’s arena of organized medicine has steadily increased. Three years ago, the American Association of Medical Colleges and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) imposed new standards for residency education recommending the support of more systems-based practice competencies based on residents to learn from. More specifically, it called for young physicians to learn and get involved with health care on local, statewide and national levels.
“It is our job to prepare residents and provide them with the right tools and learning experiences to competently work in the health care field,” said Franklin Medio, Ph.D., associate dean for Graduate Medical Education and ACGME-designated institutional official. “One aspect of that is through organized medicine and the role SCMA can play in the professional lives of resident-physicians. We want to help residents learn and function through statewide legislation and medicine and the power of involvement.”
MUSC’s GME office supports residents through active memberships in the SCMA and regionally with the Southern Medical Association, a non-political group that focuses on physicians helping physicians regarding medical practice.
In addition to building resident participation and leadership, Hutcheson supported other SCMA projects. She served as a specialty contributor to SCMA HealthWatch, a newsletter and patient resource dedicated to addressing medical topics and health care needs affecting South Carolinians. Hutcheson wrote the latest entry on skin care, cancer detection and screening.
In April, she helped organize SCMA’s sponsorship of its First Annual Residents and Students Scientific Poster Presentation among statewide residents. The competition, which featured medical research project by resident-physicians and medical students, was held as part of the SCMA Annual Meeting in Hilton Head April 29.
Also during the meeting, Hutcheson was succeeded by MUSC resident Adrienne Coopey, D.O., as trustee. Coopey will work alongside governing council chair David Pucci, D.O., and other resident council members.
“Our focus will be on the continued involvement of residents and fellows,” said Coopey, a child psychiatry resident. “The future of SCMA is exciting. It is our job to keep residents informed and help them discover the politics of making change. Thanks to Angela, there’s much for us to do now.”
By July 1, Hutcheson will begin a one-year dermatology fellowship at Emory Hospital in Atlanta. She is still committed to active roles in organized medicine, more specifically with the American Academy of Dermatology. It won’t be long before she will find a new avenue of involvement with medical professionals and change.
2006-07 SCMA Resident-Physicians Section Governing Council
Dr. David Pucci, chair; Dr. Tenley Palisin, chair-elect; Dr. Adrienne Coopey, Trustee; Dr. Matt Spring, Secretary-Treasurer; Delegates: Drs. David Pucci (de facto); Michael Jacobson, Leah Jacobson; Steve Burdine; Adrienne Coopey; At Large Members: Drs. Tyler Wind and Jason Roberts; MedPac Board Representatives: Drs. Tenley Palisin and David Pucci.
2006 SCMA First Annual Residents and Students Scientific Poster Presentation Participants
Dr.
John R. Barbour, MUSC, winner; Partipants Drs. Sonal Brizendine, USC,
Columbia; Brunilda Cordero, MUSC; Alfred Gitu, Greenwood; Keri T.
Holmes-Maybank (student), MUSC; Heather McCann, MUSC; Young Oh
(student), USC, Columbia; Michael S. Wildstein, MUSC.MUSC surgery resident Dr. John Barbour, right, is congratulated by SCMA President Dr. Jerry Powell on winning the first SCMA Resident and Fellow Poster Competion April 29. Posters were received from statewide fellows, residents, and medical students featuring their medical research progress.
Friday, June 30, 2006
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