From Our President

The annual TMA Day on the Hill

MMS packed a bus full of a record-breaking number of members and headed to Nashville for the day. Members spent the day meeting with legislators and discussing upcoming bills with a focus on making healthcare better for patients and physicians in Tennessee.

Attendings, residents and students carved out time in their week to make this trip, and we invite you to join us next year!

A special thanks to First Commercial Bank for sponsoring our bus ride.

LaTonya Washington, MD

A Q&A with Bluff City Medical Society’s Longestserving President

When did you decide you wanted to become a physician?

I honestly don’t remember ever wanting to become anything other than a physician. My desire to positively impact the lives of others made medicine a natural career choice. I also had severe asthma as a child that required frequent physician visits, so I developed an affinity for my pediatrician. My mother says that from as early as about the age of 5, I would confidently answer anyone that asked that I wanted to be a doctor and specifically a pediatrician.

I chose to attend University of Tennessee Health Science Center for medical school because it was relatively close to home and would provide good training. During my clerkships in medical school, I interacted with several residents that were called “Med-Peds” residents, and I wanted to learn more about the specialty. One of the Med-Peds residents took me under her wing during my pediatrics rotation telling me of all of the benefits of choosing a combined internal medicine and pediatrics residency. I felt like it was the best of both worlds. I could achieve my lifelong dream of becoming a pediatrician and still have the ability to care for adults.

I left Memphis to complete residency at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s

Hospital in Little Rock having the privilege of serving as chief resident during my 4th year.

When did you join Bluff City Medical Society, and what parts of its mission spoke to you?

I was introduced to BCMS during medical school. I was drawn to the organization because I could identify with their membership and the members were always very engaged with the students. I was the student liaison to the Bluff City Medical Society for several years during medical school. One of my first interactions with a Black Physician in Memphis was with Dr. Robert J Smith. He invited me to the operating room with him at Methodist Hospital giving me my first OR experience.

His commitment to students and to the community was my first introduction to BCMS and embodies the mission of the organization.

After returning to Memphis in 2011, I knew I would join the organization as a practicing physician because it had become the foundation of what I knew medicine, outreach, and mentorship to be. In addition, since its founding BCMS has provided a platform for Black physicians to discuss medical issues, share research, and support one another in professional development which also influenced my membership.

During your tenor as President, what were several of your objective and goals for the organization?

I became president of BCMS in January 2019. My goals were to increase the membership of the organization, improve the digital footprint of the organization, increase our community engagement, and improve our name recognition in the community as experts on matters of health in the Black Community. In addition, I valued the mentorship I received as a medical student from BCMS members and felt that the organization could enhance the mentorship experience for not only medical students but for post-graduate trainees as well.

How did you see the organization grow throughout your presidency, and what do you look forward to the organization doing in the future?

I lead BCMS throughout the COVID pandemic which was a challenging time. I understood that the medical community was all consumed and overwhelmed with managing COVID but felt that the organization was an important vector to speak to the Memphis community in regard to education, prevention, and vaccination. During my tenure, the organization revamped our website making it a valuable resource not only for our members but for the community housing Memphis’ only Black Physician Directory. BCMS had traditionally focused on community outreach at in-persons health fairs, but we quickly pivoted to online webinars and panel discussions to share information about COVID, mental health, men’s health, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. I along with many BCMS members became regular faces on the local, regional, and national news outlets news sharing much needed information with the community.

Bluff City recognized that there was a void for support for the post graduate trainees and developed a post graduate section of BCMS for ongoing support and as a pipeline for networking and membership. BCMS members with faculty appointments at UTHSC were awarded grant funding to formalize the mentorship program to provide support to the medical students and post graduate trainees with learning modules in developing study skills, financial literacy, professional development, and dealing with racism and bias.

I’m also very proud of the work we did during my tenure to uphold the legacy of Dr Robert J Smith recognizing him yearly during our Annual Lecture and Scholarship Gala where we’ve awarded over $70,000 in scholarship funds to deserving medical students and hosting nationally recognized speakers and experts in psychiatry, obesity medicine, DEI, and quality and health equity.

In the coming years, BCMS will continue to be recognized as a leader in the Memphis community on concerns regarding healthcare for communities of color. We will continue to pour into young people with a desire to go into healthcare through mentorship and scholarship support to medical students, post graduate trainees, and early career physicians.

What if any changes or growth have you seen in the overall Memphis medical community, and what do you see as future goals for organized medicine in our area?

Memphis has a growing and thriving medical community that has worked to improve healthcare for Memphis and the surrounding areas. The expansion of the medical district has brought with it increased specialized services not available in the area 20 years ago. In addition, there’s been a heightened awareness regarding the need to increase healthcare access and affordability with much needed growth of our local Federally Qualified Health

Clinics providing care to under resourced patients. This much needed safety net has been imperative in our area considering the lack of Medicaid expansion and the large number of uninsured patients. We’ve also seen increased engagement of our healthcare providers in advocating and influencing policies such as expanding healthcare coverage, improving access to specialize therapies, and reducing healthcare costs.

There’s also been a great deal of movement around promotion of addressing health disparities and promoting health equity by addressing the social determinants of health such as poverty, education, access to healthy foods, and safe environments.

I anticipate the Memphis medical community will continue work towards improving healthcare access and affordability, promoting health equity, and addressing social determinants of health, advancing technology and innovation to improve patient care, enhancing patient safety and quality of care, and addressing physician burnout.

What are projects that you are currently working on and excited about?

I have an interest in improving equity at all levels of healthcare. In that vein I had the opportunity to serve as a faculty facilitator for Equity Matters through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) where we were able to implement continuous learning and process improvement in diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism with the goal of influencing curriculum development in post graduate training. I’ve also been selected to participate as a faculty member in the American Medical Association Racial Justice Learning Labs.

I’m working with Xcel Premier Physician Leadership Program as a faculty mentor and coach as well as ACHE of Middle Tennessee Physician Leadership academy to grow in leadership.

Q. My investment portfolio has never been a top priority for me due to the dayto-day demands of my family and medical practice, but when my colleagues asked me to join their investment discussions, I decided to get more proactive about my own situation. I’ve spent time educating myself about investment fundamentals, but the market volatility in stocks over the last few years has made me skeptical about the future. Do you think this period is different than past financial market declines?

A. History has shown that every market cycle goes through the same stages from peak to trough, but the underlying causes vary as much as the severity of the declines. Unfortunately, 2022 happens to be one of those years where most areas in the financial markets are down and momentum seems to be headed toward a market cycle trough rather than peak.

Understanding historical market downturns can provide some context on the current situation. During the period of 1871-2022 (150 years), U.S. stocks (domestic large cap) suffered 22 significant declines. The current drop of 24.7% from December 2021 through June 2022 ranks as the 12th worst decline over the 150-year period. Narrowing the list down to the past 40 years (1982-2022), only five periods (including the current) stand out as significant declines. While the current story must answer the final questions of length, severity, and recovery, the history for stock declines showed an eventual recovery for every span during the 150-year time frame and a handsome reward for investors who were able to stay invested.

Here are some simple investment tips to follow:

· Focus on what you can control. Create an investment plan to fit your needs and risk tolerances.

· Market downturns and economic slowdowns are part of the natural market cycle and can’t be avoided. Don’t panic when faced with challenging market conditions. Predictions and expectations about corrections, bear markets, and recessions should not result in an emotional overreaction.

· It is time not timing that matters most. History shows that no matter how painful a selloff may be, the stock market averages have always gone on to achieve new highs. There is no reason to expect anything different this time.

Managing emotions and separating your money from your moods can be a difficult task when markets are falling, but successful longterm investors look beyond the headlines and stay patient and disciplined through market swings.

Equity investing can be rewarding but the risks must be understood. If you have additional questions or concerns, I recommend that you seek guidance from a financial planner in your area.