Why I joined:
I first became involved with organized medicine as a medical student and learned early on about the benefits of being involved with my county medical society. When I came to Rochester for residency, I joined MCMS in order to re-establish the sense of a medical community that I enjoyed as a student. I immediately found the group of physicians involved in MCMS to be welcoming and eager to help me adjust to life in Rochester.
Why support MCMS?
MCMS provides physicians and physicians-in-training a connection to the wider medical community. As medicine becomes increasingly more regulated and complex, we need an organization that allows us to communicate and engage each other to keep pace. Going through any residency or running a medical practice provides its own particular set of challenges in terms of management of time and development as a specialized physician, but to succeed in today’s practice environment ultimately requires an understanding and familiarity of the health care system as a whole. The staff and physician leadership at MCMS are dedicated to making this aspect easier.
What do you think is the most valuable benefit or service offered by MCMS?
I really enjoy the educational materials prepared by MCMS on important public health and policy issues. In my practice, I depend on MCMS to keep me updated on recent local disease outbreaks so that I can educate my patients with unbiased and scientifically valid information. I also rely on MCMS to help me anticipate changes in regulation. When iSTOP started, I felt adequately prepared for the process through updates from MCMS.
What has MCMS done for you?
In addition to providing the security of being “in the know” about upcoming changes, MCMS has also provided me with the sense of empowerment to fight against changes that would otherwise have adverse consequences for my patients or my practice. I recently participated in the state-wide yearly assembly meeting of the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY) with the help of MCMS where I helped decide on important priority issues for the state society. MCMS encouraged me to stay involved in organized medicine throughout my residency training.
“I cannot say enough about the sense of community I gained through MCMS. In medicine, the tendency is to feel increasingly alone and isolated, but the physicians I have met through MCMS have become my medical family.”