The House of Medicine has been abundantly blessed

AMA Leader Commentary. By William G. Plested III, MD, Dec. 18, 2006.

AMA LEADER COMMENTARY

A few words about current events in medical practice

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A message to all physicians from AMA President William G. Plested III, MD.

As I am writing this column, Thanksgiving is upon us, and by the time it is in print, Christmas will be near. I truly love these holidays and the spirit that accompanies our celebration of them. This is a perfect time for us to pause and focus upon our blessings rather than the problems that confront us. As physicians we have a multitude of blessings for which to be thankful.

We often focus upon the rigors that we endured during our seemingly endless years of training, long hours and lifetime commitment to learning. But the ability to bring comfort to and relieve the suffering of our fellow humans is a precious gift -- a gift that we must never forget nor allow to be diminished.

I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days in New Orleans and spent several hours with a past AMA president, Donald J. Palmisano, MD, touring the devastation that persists as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

I found that I personally had succumbed to the habit, fostered by our information-overloaded society, of exhaustion with a topic or event that makes us consider it solved and to move on to the next titillating issue.

I really believed that New Orleans was making great strides in rebuilding and that the terrible crises were past.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The physical and structural damage is still overwhelming.

Of special interest to me, however, is the plight of physicians, nurses and all health workers. The heroic efforts of these dedicated people during the initial hours and days after the storm have been well chronicled.