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PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY OF GASTROENTEROLOGY / NEWSLETTER
President’s Message / Karen Krok, MD, FAASLD, FACG President’s Message / David L. Diehl, MD, FACP, FASGE
@Kkrok @DavidDiehlMD
www.pasg.org
www.pasg.org
In April I was able to attend an annual conference that is sponsored by The University of Pennsylvania—the 21st annual Raffensperger Symposium. The Importance Mentoring This symposium is in honorof of one of Penn’s gastroenterologists—Dr. Edward Raffensperger, who started on faculty in 1962 and became a Professor Emeritus attending physicians at one’s The PSG a in 1985. At is thislaunching conference, gastroenterology fellowship programs from around training program work very mentorship programarea formeet GI andown the Southeast Pennsylvania present cases to each other—they hard to train GI fellows, but this is are presented a casecareer conference as an unknown and a fellow from another Fellows andlike early generally different from a mentoring program is assigned to review develop a differential diagnosis. GI physicians. We will the case andrelationship. As the Associate Program Director for the fellowship program at Penn State, be reaching out to those I was able to attend this conference with the Program Director and many of I have been lucky enough to have of who Iwould like tobecause this ouryou GI fellows. write about this conference brought me JOY. some important mentors in my participate in this project. medical career. The first was JOY – a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. Unfortunately, I have heard assigned to me when I was a firstMany us have benefitted fromof medicine manyof colleagues across the field losing this feeling of JOY. We year medical student. His name mentors. Perhapstosome us have are by entered medicine help of others—we nature altruistic and many are was Eugene “Skip” Felmar, MD and suffered for the lackby ofthe a mentor feeling disillusioned administrative burdens, the pressures to see more he was a Family Practice attending during our or training. patients in education less time, and a decrease in autonomy. in the San Fernando Valley area of Mentors can have a lifelong impact Southern California. I enjoyed going on trainees, but the Buttheir on this afternoon, I feltrelationship JOY. It started with the words from Dr. Raffensperger. out to his office and shadowing him does only one direction. Yearsnot ago,goa in colleague from Penn interviewed Dr. Raffensperger and recorded closely while he saw outpatients, Mentors can get much the interview andas clips are benefit selectedand and shown at the annual symposium. on inpatients, and did office satisfaction as their mentees can. being rounded Dr. Raffensperger talks about always humble—there will always be a case procedures. Beyond gaining valuable Gastroenterology, areas of that we are all here that challenges youlike andother so remember to learn every day. insight into the practice of medicine, medical training is akin to a “guild”, We can learn from our patients and each other every day. And on this day, we all I found out why his nickname was where the experienced learned from each other.take We the need to remember that we have patients that come “Skip” after he took me out on his novice wingand to train to us atunder timestheir of stress concern and look to us for guidance and assistance sailboat which he kept docked at them in navigate the arts this of their chosen world of healthcare. We have a privilege as they cumbersome to the Los Angeles harbor. Skip Felmar field. GI fellows,and including us try and remember that. workAll in medicine we should became a role model for me, and way back when, had trainers and the mentor-mentee relationship was coaches thatintypically were staff to these cases On this day April while listening I realized one of the aspects of mutually rewarding. gastroenterologists atthe ourmost—helping program. my career that I enjoy to develop the physicians of the future. Many schools provide for And I medical wondered how could I incorporate this more into my days. I thought about Another highly impactful mentor mentor relationships, but this is less how when I am on service I would work to focus a lecture or a chalk talk to the that I had was someone that I chose common GI training. Certainly, residentsin every week; I would review in more detail an H&P by a medical student myself. Dick Kozarek, MD was (and and if time allowed watch them interview someone. Having these moments can
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INSIDE
1 President’s Message
1 President’s Message 3 Practice Management 4 Governor’s Update 4 GI Supergroups 6 Shareholder Value
6 Venue Shopping 8 Self-Directed Learning 8 EMR or ESD? 10 Point Counterpoint 11 Roulette 13 Colorectal Cancer Awareness
13 Jeopardy Winners 14 Colorectal Cancer Awareness 14 Annual Meeting Highlights 16 Board and Staff 16 Board and Staff