Medical Staff President Elect

by Ali M. Sarram, MD

The next time I enter an airliner, a taxi, a bus, or for that matter my local Starbucks, I will stop and ask the operator if he or she has had a drink of alcohol in the past 24 hours.   After all, this is what happened to me the other day in my office!  A very diligent patient of mine, armed with the latest article from the Archives of Surgery, pointed out that research shows that surgeons (who have a particular fondness for drinking) perform poorly on surgical simulators the morning after a night of drinking.  Five out of the six passed a breathalyzer test before they were unleashed on the unsuspecting simulator, and most did not feel particularly hung over!  I reassured my patient that since I operate on Mondays and never drink on Sundays, Thursdays, Tuesday afternoons, and every other Wednesday, he should be safe in my hands.  This seemed to satisfy his anxieties about a drunken surgeon, and the procedure went off without a hitch!

I have not stopped thinking about this experience over the past two weeks.  What has the world come to, I thought to myself?  Where is this going to stop?  Is it not enough that my every professional move, signature, chart entry, gift of over $5 from a drug rep, free cup of coffee or investment in medical ventures is being scrutinized by the public?  Now I'm being asked about my personal habits in the days leading up to a work day?  What if I like a particular brand of deodorant which the NEJM finds objectionable to people with allergies to pine nuts?  What if I eat garlic on Sundays and the smell of garlic permeating through every open pore of my skin is found to contaminate the sterile air in the operating room?  What if only people with tight skin pores were allowed to operate on Mondays?  What if I run out of clean socks on a Monday morning before I go to the operating room?  My paranoia these days seems to have no end!

No one questions the fact that a compromised physician is NOT a good thing!  Moreover, the article in the Archives of Surgery should give us all some pause about the choices that we make in our personal lives as it pertains to the care of our patients.  We also must come to grips with the fact that the public is fast reaching beyond the traditional, vertical, doctor-patient relationship, asking questions about safety, efficacy and quality of the care that we provide.  Although somewhat intrusive at first glance, the new era of transparency may ultimately result in higher quality, more cost effective care.  The big question remains, are we as a profession ready to take the lead in this trend?  As providers of care, responsible for the expenditure of almost every health care dollar, are we doing what is necessary to keep the public's trust?

At the Medical Center of Aurora, the medical staff leadership is busy reshaping the MEC and rewriting our bylaws to prepare us for what lies ahead.  By building stronger partnerships between various physician groups, and between physicians and the hospital, it is our goal to position ourselves for future challenges.  It is my particular honor to step into the position of the president of the medical staff in July, 2011.  I look forward to working closely with each and every member of our medical staff in the upcoming two years.

Until then, a loud and hearty cheer to Judi Bodnar for her excellent leadership over the past two years, and to Allan Aboaf, for remaining in the position of the past president Ad-infinitum.