MMS Quarterly Winter 2022/2023

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.