Jack Davis (Continued from page 5)
the morning. Today, you go to the Doctors Lounge and no one is there. The medical society has a senior group of 400 physicians. It’s amazing to me that when they get together, the room is full of joy. They spend their time talking about their old anatomy professor in 1942. The vitality they show to each other is remarkable. They have some shared experiences. Many of the senior physicians were trained at the U and they practiced in the same community. They may not have worked together but they never lost touch with each other or lost their respect for each other. Medical practice today is much different. Today’s docs have trained in different places. They are on productivity. They often don’t go to the hospital anymore. Or they’ve chosen to turn their patients over to specialists or hospitalists. They don’t have a common history or opportunities to develop the collegiality that was present in the past. For example, my predecessor in the medical society used to have meetings every night. You can’t do that any more. People don’t want to go to meetings every night. Ed: Has this led to less of a consensus on issues today than in the past? Jack: I think the diversity of opinions was always there. It’s just more visible today. There was a different kind of respect in the past. There was a deference given to the physicians with more experience. Today, it’s much more egalitarian. I also think that today’s physicians, at least the ones that are active in organized medicine, have become a bit edgier — especially on policy issues. They are more willing to speak up.
6
November/December 2009
Ed: Do physicians want the medical society to become more active in policy issues? Jack: That’s what physicians want. They understand that policies at all levels affect their clinical practice. I frequently get a “thank you for the tobacco effort, thank you for the fair contracting bill, etc.” I’ve also tried to get physicians to get involved with policy work because they have the stories that help get policies passed. Unlike medicine, which relies on data and science, policies are built on the experiences of a few people. A single story can make a difference and individual physicians can make that difference with their stories. Ed: What are some of your lesser known contributions? Jack: I’ve tried to focus on leadership development within the membership. One of my jobs was to stage leadership over the years. Society leadership has been great. Looking forward we’ve got the leadership of the Twin Cities Medical Society in place for the next several years. (This is also good for membership because the leaders have to stay involved.) I’ve also encouraged members to get involved in leadership positions in the MMA. In that process I’ve helped keep the voice of physicians at the table. I’ve encouraged them to be involved and active and feisty. I hope this has kept physicians from being stifled. I’ve also added some financial stability to the medical society. When I came to the Hennepin Medical Society they had more resources than we do now, but there were modest reserves. I could see that the financial picture would change over the years, so I planned accordingly. As expenses
MetroDoctors
The Journal of the East and West Metro Medical Societies