President's Message: P. Bradley Hall, MD, Spring 2017

FSPHP Strong through “UNITY”
P. Bradley Hall, MD

I quote from the end of my previous President’s Message in the fall 2016 newsletter:

During my tenure as president, I hope to facilitate the FSPHP’s ability to fulfill its mission ‘to support physician health programs in improving the health of medical professionals, thereby contributing to quality patient care.’ As president the most gratifying thing I can do is focus on the FSPHP organizational maturation and associated goals in hopes of leaving it improved, financially and strategically, during my limited time of service. To do so I will continue to need your help with the power of “WE.” I am so blessed to be a part of this organization!

I’m excited to report the FSPHP has had a tremendous year in the giving of time and expertise from its membership among our many committees, workgroups, and board of directors. I don’t believe in all my years of membership I have seen so much enthusiasm, activity, and associated accomplishments. The collaborations between the committees and the board have been most impressive to the benefit of the FSPHP and the members we serve. “FSPHP Strong,” as Dr. Doris Gundersen says, “has become contagious.” My goal of increased involvement of the FSPHP members is showing success with more member involvement and associated committee activities, which continue to expand today. I laud the efforts of all.

FSPHP board member workgroups continue to move forward with the strategic plan as previously outlined in the fall 2016 newsletter. The awareness of FSPHP funding needs and movement forward is exemplified by 100 percent participation of the current board of directors in donating in excess of $10,000 in support of our funding campaign in 2016. There will be more information and news regarding the first inaugural funding campaign early this summer. Additionally, the interest in participating as a board member was higher than ever in advance of our upcoming April elections.

Having the privilege of attending the FSPHP Annual Conference is always a highlight of my year. Attendees bring enthusiasm and passion to a field of work best understood and experienced by others in similar roles, albeit sometimes isolated, in their own states. There is always “something in the air” at our annual meeting that is not experienced anywhere else. The quality CME, social events, and networking keeps getting better each year. As always, I look forward to seeing my friends and colleagues.

What I see as most encouraging is the collaboration and communication, which occurs among our membership. For years, I have been keenly aware of the adaptability of PHPs within each state in order to operate within individual state statutes, regulations, finances, and relationships as one of the PHP model’s most valuable assets. This same asset, however, can be a liability in that the individuality could lead to unnecessary variations among PHPs that may not contribute to our long-term goal of accountability, consistency, and excellence, thereby not contributing to the long-term availability and viability of the PHP model itself. As we embrace this goal and performance enhancement review of PHPs, there is an obvious desire to increase our common and necessary approaches while also minimizing differences among PHPs. There is a PHP cultural shift occurring from individual silos to a larger more uniform silo encompassing all of the FSPHP.

What I see today from our membership is continued growth, sharing of experience, and expertise, which has allowed us all to grow and learn from each other to all our benefit. The uniqueness of each of our individual members coming together in support of the unified FSPHP mission (noted below) embodies a “unity of diversity, embraced, protected, and maintained in support of a collective voice representing our common welfare to the benefit of those we serve.”

Your president, friend, and colleague, 
P. Bradley Hall, MD