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Count your many blessings and resolve to join the AMA

AMA Leader Commentary. By William G. Plested III, MD, Jan. 5, 2004.

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AMA LEADER COMMENTARY

A few words about current events in medical practice

SEE ARCHIVES

A message to all physicians from William G. Plested III, MD, chair of the AMA Board of Trustees.

This is the time of year to give thanks for our blessings and to reflect upon past accomplishments. For physicians, these are important exercises, particularly since we find ourselves constantly harried and hassled, as we toil under a seemingly endless array of people telling us how to do our jobs.

We in organized medicine will continue to redress every intrusion and injustice in the coming year.

However, that said, let us take a moment to give our most sincere thanks for the real blessings that do occur in our daily lives.

First and foremost, let us give thanks for our families and loved ones, with whom we are able to live in a degree of freedom and safety unmatched anywhere in the world.

Next, let us give thanks for our ability to be pivotal parts of the most productive medical care system ever devised.

We teach, innovate and provide the results of our research to all nations and peoples. We lead in the generous provision of voluntary, compassionate care, treatment and medications.

We are also blessed by the quality of the colleagues and allied health professionals who help us in our offices, clinics and hospitals. As we have more and more to offer our patients, we rely even more on an ever-enlarging team of specialized assistants. The array and competence of these dedicated people is unmatched.

I am certain that every physician can make improvements to this brief list. My principal concern is that you take time to make a list. A little quiet introspection about what's good in our lives is therapeutic.