Finally, a forum for Med/Peds residents to share ideas and frustrations about our residency
program! Many thanks to Jeff Bates, MD for his dedication to this project and to our program
coordinator, Annette Gonzales, for her help with all of our "projects".
Who knows that you're the doctor for both adults and children? A national survey by the
American College of Physicians (ACP) shows one-fourth of Americans think internists are
"interns" or "just out of school". At the recent Texas Chapter of the American College of
Physicians-Annual Scientific Meeting held in Galveston (November 7-8), the "Doctors for
Adults" campaign got off the ground with T-shirts, posters and magnetized name badges with
the slogan "Internal Medicine, Doctors for Adults". I highly recommend them! To order: Call
1-800-523-1546, extension 2600, and refer to priority code: FILO.
While attending the meeting, I had the privilege of attending a breakfast for chief residents. The national president of the ACP, Dr. William Reynolds, was present to discuss some of the new changes forthcoming to the ACP. This past fall, the ACP and the American Society of Internal Medicine (ASIM) voted to approve a merger between the two organizations. The reason for the merger is "to combine the strengths of the ACP and the ASIM, enhancing the ability of one organization to be an effective advocate in congressional, regulatory, scientific, and other arenas." The current membership of the ACP is 100,000 (including 10,000 medical students), while the ASIM has about 20,000 members (about 12,000 members in common). The new organization is expected to be incorporated on July 1, 1998. In addition to the Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP Journal Club and discounts on the MKSAP and other meetings, the ACP will be planning to provide residents with access to financial planners and to continue offering reasonable rates on insurance plans.
The ACP-ASIM is our voice in Washington on areas of public health and the impact of managed
care on practice and training. You are eligible to become an Associate member as long as you
are in a residency or fellowship training program. The lower rate can be extended for up to 6
years beyond completion of your training. To request a membership application, call the ACP
Member Records Section at 800/523-1546, extension 2700.
Editor's note: Perhaps Med/Peds could also benefit from such a publicity campaign with
something like. "Med/Peds: Specialists in Adults & Specialists in Kids"
Over the past several years, "e-mail" and "surfing" the web have become popular pastimes for
many of us. The instant electronic messages sent and received from around the globe are
incredibly convenient and the search for information or "cool" web sites can really be exciting.
It doesn't take long, however, to realize that these functions are only the very beginning of the
vast power and opportunities that the internet affords.
Corporate America has already begun to harness the power of the internet to market their
products and services. As future Med/Peds physicians, we must also discover ways to utilize this
technology for our benefit. By becoming more familiar with the internet and what it offers, we
can begin to make it work for us. We can then begin to use this media to provide exposure to
the specialty of Med/Peds and to build a unity among Med/Peds residents and physicians.
E-Mail Servers
One of the simplest ways we can begin to make the internet work for us is by utilizing e-mail
servers or "list" servers. These are designed to facilitate group distribution of e-mails to a "list"
of subscribers. Any e-mails sent to the server are automatically forwarded to all other
subscribers. There are e-mail servers set up for nearly any topic you can think of. The most
important ones, of course, are the two that have been established for Med/Peds residency
program directors and for Med/Peds in general. The list for Med/Peds residency program
directors is limited to that group only. However, the other is open to anyone interested in
Med/Peds. These e-mail servers were established in 1996 and are maintained on a server at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in California.
To "subscribe" to the Med/Peds list, all you have to do is send an e-mail to "mailserv@csmc.edu". In the body of the e-mail, type subscribe med-peds add a space and type your e-mail address. It's that simple.
Once you have done this, you will begin receiving the e-mails that are sent to the server. To send an e-mail to all the subscribers of the list, just address it to "med-peds@csmc.edu". As simple as this process is, since January 1996, there have only been about sixty subscribers. This could become an incredible tool for the exchange of information, ideas, job opportunities, etc...we just need to begin using it! There are currently plans for a new e-mail list specifically for Med/Peds residents. As soon as this is established, we will inform everyone of the new site in a future edition of this newsletter.
Web Pages
Another way we can harness the internet is through the establishment of some good Med/Peds
web pages. This takes a bit more time and effort than subscribing to an e-mail server, but it can
be extremely rewarding. Earlier this year, I decided to take a stab at producing one. It was
really not as hard as I thought it would be. In the first six months, the site has had nearly 3000
visitors. I have been amazed by the number of contacts and information I have obtained from
this endeavor.
Through establishing several good Med/Peds web sites, we can create a platform for providing
and exchanging information regarding Med/Peds. One Med/Peds site is currently under
development by the Med/Peds section of the American Academy of Pediatrics. This site and
others like it could eventually become a center for health information, physician referrals,
job opportunities, discussion groups, links to other interesting sites on the web and a host of
other exciting possibilities. For those interested, there are several sources on the web that
provide the basics of web page authoring. Take a look at "A Beginners Guide to
HTML" found at "http://www.hcsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/WWW/HTMLPrimerP1.html
".
These new technologies are advancing rapidly. As the internet continues to grow and mature,
let's take the opportunity to utilize this media for advancing the profession to which we are all
committed. With the investment of a little extra time, we will reap great rewards.