• Government
• Profession
• Business
• Opinion
• Health

• Health reform
• H1N1
• P4P
• EMRs
• Medicare
• Liability
• AMA House
• » More

• Book Excerpt
• Business Pitch
• Meetings
• » More

• Contract Language
• Ethics Forum
• In the Courts
• Practice Management
• Technically Speaking
• » More

• Issue dates
• Regions
• Health plans
• Sections
• News briefs
• Columns
• Editorials
• Letters
• Writers
• Other years

• Search tips
• E-mail alert
• Radio
• RSS
• Mobile
• Subscribe
• Institutions
• Staff directory
• Advertising
• Permissions
• Reprints
• News media
• Site guide
• Useful links
• About
• Premium
• Contact

The seasons of life are seasons of opportunity

AMA Leader Commentary. By Duane M. Cady, MD, May 1, 2006.

• PRINT|
• E-MAIL|
• RESPOND|
• REPRINTS|
• SHARE

AMA LEADER COMMENTARY

A few words about current events in medical practice

SEE ARCHIVES

A message to all physicians from the chair of the AMA Board of Trustees, Duane M. Cady, MD.

Last month I had the privilege of returning to my alma mater to receive an award and talk with students, faculty and alumni about the changes and challenges we all share.

I quickly realized that, as a member of the Class of 1955 at Atlantic Union College, had I heard a comparable talk from someone my age as a freshman (in 1951); that speaker would have been a member of the Class of 1901.

Kind of humbling in one sense. But it was a special reminder to me of the rapidity of life, of the speed with which we travel through the seasons of life.

We talked about that and about the changes the college has experienced in a recent renaissance inspired by financial straits of a few years ago. The college has rebounded from hard times -- financially and in terms of its accreditation -- through a combination of hard work, teamwork and focus on the basics.

As a consequence, those challenges proved a powerful stimulus to increase significantly the value of an Atlantic Union College degree.

When King Solomon spoke of the various seasons of life, he spoke of a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to tear down and a time to build up. For the college, the building-up period continues as it prepares students for their roles of service in the decades ahead.

This seems to me to be a worthwhile observation on the role of medicine in society today as well. All of the challenges we face -- from medical liability issues to physician payment snarls to our work to consistently improve the quality of care and patient safety -- are positive inspirations. And the beneficiaries are our patients.