Western Carolina Medical Society: The Physicians' Voice for a Health Community
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May 18, 2016


In This Issue:
Sponsor Message: Keller Williams Realtor, Jeff Stewart
Heartstrings Kids Zone: A WCMS Foundation Fundraiser
Rural Medicine Affinity Group 5/23/16
Emeritus Luncheon 6/15/16
New WCMS Members
WCMS Membership will be offered to Physician Assistants in 2017
Bowtie Briefing for 5/13/16
MACRA Impact on Small Practices
Preventing Burnout: Finding Joy in Medicine
Job Board & Classified Ads
UPCOMING EVENTS 
 
Heartstrings Kids Zone
Want to have fun with your family this Memorial Day weekend?  Come join WCMS at the Heartstrings Kids Zone at the Mountain Sports Festival.  Kids of all ages will have a blast sliding down an inflatable slide, jumping in a bounce house, getting their faces painted, learning about Tae Kwon Do, and more!  Proceeds from the Heartstrings Kids Zone go to the WCMS Foundation, supporting amazing programs like Project Access® and the WCMS Interpreter Network. Learn more and register here
. 
Calling All Rural Physicians to Event and Tour of Cherokee Indian Hospital 5/23/16
If you practice outside of Buncombe County, please join us for the second Rural Medicine Physicians Affinity Group of 2016.

In order to promote attendance from all over Western NC, this meeting will be held at Cherokee Indian Hospital in Swain County.

The featured topic will be "Increasing Recruitment of Primary Care Doctors to Rural Communities" including a presentation from Dr. E. Blake Fagan, MAHEC Family Medicine Residency Director presenting information on the "hub" planned for Spruce Pine.

We may have time to touch on some other items as well, so bring your ideas, and your colleagues (regardless of their membership status with WCMS). 
Emeritus Luncheon 6/15/16
If  you are an Emeritus member, please join us June 15 at the Asheville Country Club to hear WCMS member Dr. Gentry Caton present "Advances in Colon-Rectal Surgical Options." 

LOCAL NEWS
 
New WCMS Members
Click here to view our newest members!
WCMS Membership will be offered to Physician Assistants in 2017
Membership recently voted 73 yes-18 no to opening WCMS membership to Physician Assistants who practice in WNC. A quorum of 75 was needed for the vote to be recognized; 91 responded. 
STATE NEWS
 
Bowtie Briefing for 5/13/16
 
Get your weekly legislative update with Chip Baggett, NCMS Director of Legislative Relations! This week, Chip sums up budget developments and forward movement on the opioid antagonist bill.
Click here to view the video. 
NATIONAL NEWS
 
MACRA Impact on Small Practices
In response to concerns raised by the AMA and others, CMS today issued a small practice fact sheet that outlines aspects of the proposed MACRA regulation that were intended to address the needs of smaller physician practices. In particular, the document explains that the rather alarming impact table projecting a disproportionately severe impact on solo physicians and small groups is based on misleading data.  
Click here to read more. 
ITEMS OF INTEREST
 
Preventing Burnout: Finding Joy in Medicine
Physician Burnout and the Mechanics of Mindfulness

If your answer is Mindfulness Based Stress Relief, you are correct. This is the six-week course of meditation and gentle yoga pioneered by Jon Kabat-Zinn and the folks at UMass.
I field questions on two fronts whenever the topic of mindfulness comes up:

* How does Mindfulness work anyway?
* Do I have to learn to meditate in order to practice mindfulness?
I address both of these in detail in this week's blog post
* Learn a single breath mindfulness tool you can use at work tomorrow
* Why mindfulness is the first thing I teach a new coaching client
* How mindfulness works as the emergency brake on the downward spiral of burnout

Learn that and much more at this weeks article: "Physician Burnout and the Mechanics of Mindfulness"
Job Board & Classified Ads

To find out how you can post a Job or Classified Ad click here.

WCMS is a thriving 700+ member professional association of the physicians of western North Carolina and a chartered component medical society of the NC Medical Society and the AMA. The WCMS is an organization run by physicians for physicians.


Our Mission
WCMS Association: WCMSA is the physicians' voice advocating for the health of the physician, the patient, and the community, through strengthening the physician-patient relationship.

WCMS Foundation: WCMSF is the physician and community-led charitable arm of the medical society improving access to quality healthcare, decreasing disparities in health, and promoting health & wellness.

Our Vision
To be a dynamic physician community dedicated to a healthy, vibrant Western North Carolina.
 

About WCMS
The purpose of WCMS is: 

  • To strengthen the voice of WNC physicians in advocating for the health of the medical profession, the health of the patient, and the health of our region
  • To inform, educate and prepare physicians for rapidly occurring changes in health care at national, state, and local levels
  • To share legislative and policy information and advocate on behalf of physicians in areas of mutual interest
  • To share available resources in areas of mutual interest
  • To promote physician-to-physician communication and dialogue in an open, honest and safe environment

We hope you enjoy our weekly e-Newsletter. If you have questions or suggestions please feel free to contact me.  

Sincerely,

Photo: Miriam Schwarz, WCMS CEO
Miriam Schwarz


 

Miriam Schwarz signature




 

Miriam Schwarz, MPA

WCMS CEO/Executive Director