by: Joseph M.P. Zawisza, DO

OSTEAPATHY

Regardless of whether you are a Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, left or right, up or down, cat or dog person, or any other label that can be used to divide us, I think we can all agree that one of the biggest problems we face in our communities, nation, and perhaps world these days is apathy. While the temptation is there to blame this on the pandemic, it existed well before that. One of my two greatest mentors in life and medicine, my father, Michael Zawisza, DO, RPh, talked about what I think of as a precursor to apathy – complacency – when he became president of POMA in 2015. For those of you who know him and the tumultuous year that he navigated, I hope you will agree that he successfully steered the ship away from the Sea of Complacency.

We see the enemy of apathy every day in our lives. Youth sports teams that don’t get a chance to have a season because no parents wanted to step up and coach. Ghosting an employer. Not exercising your right to vote because one vote doesn’t matter. The list goes on and on.  And of course, the example that we probably see most is with our patients. Raise your hand if you’ve had to be a cheerleader for the last patient of your very long day because they weren’t taking their medication even though their A1c was 12.6. Raise your hand if you’ve told your patient for the tenth time that they are five years overdue for their first screening colonoscopy. Raise your hand if...

Unfortunately, I think all of these pressures and frustrations contribute to what can become our own apathy if we let it. Let’s face it, it’s easier now if you are an employed physician to call off your shift than it was when the profession was largely comprised of solo practitioners whose only metric they had to meet was being able to pay their staff at the end of the week. This is not meant to be derogatory, it’s just the reality.  Likewise, it’s easy now to just go home after your day and not be a part of a group, participate in a committee, or do something outside of medicine. This is all part of the term I have coined in the title of this article.

I wouldn’t be a very good osteopathic physician if I identified a problem and walked away without offering a solution. Having a solution or a plan is something my other greatest mentor in life and medicine, my mother, Joan Zawisza, RPh, has always been good at. So, what can we do to combat osteapathy? Here are a few suggestions:

• Answer the Call for Volunteers to provide your expertise on a committee, workgroup, or task force that will be issued very soon by President-Elect Lisa Witherite-Rieg, DO
• Register here for the Annual Clinical Assembly which will be held April 27-30 in Valley Forge as a hybrid event where you can get education and safely socialize with colleagues all in one package
• Subscribe to POMA DOes…, our newly developed podcast series which will enthuse and energize you for the profession and your professional organization, or better yet, offer your expertise for a future episode (including CME episodes)
• Volunteer to be part of a mentoring event for students, interns, residents, and other attending physicians
• Donate to POMPAC which will support Pennsylvania legislators who will work toward the best interests of physicians and their patients
• Run for a position in your district leadership (generally in odd years) or to be a trustee-at-large (this year) on the Board of Trustees, or as a delegate to the POMA House of Delegates
• Submit an article for the How Are You DOing? or DOs DOing More columns of the newsletter
• Or simply attend your local district meeting, we’d love to see you there!

As you can see, the cure for osteapathy is right in front of you.  Share this with a colleague or classmate you haven’t talked to in a while, or maybe a new physician in your area.  And if you’re so inclined, send me your definition of osteapathy, how you’ve dealt with it, or how POMA can help you through it.

by: Diana Ewert

"If only I had an enemy bigger than my apathy, I could have won..." - Mumford and Sons

I found this quote from a Mumford and Sons song especially relevant given the article by Dr. Zawisza. So why do we wait for an enemy to remove the coat of apathy? When the osteopathic profession comes up against an enemy – discrimination in a residency program, projecting an image of DOs that is insulting, dismissive attitudes by insurers – you rally. You embrace the crux of the issue and rise against it. I’ve seen it. You rise when individuals want to practice like and equate themselves to physicians without the benefit of medical school. I’ve seen it in unfair payment practices. I’ve seen it in credentialing. And we’re seeing it in those moving from medical school into residency.

POMA is reaching a point where we need more involvement. More students. More residents. More physicians. There are benefits to getting involved. Become a mentor. Students are hungry for real-world experience. Residents want to better understand what comes after. Is it private practice? Employment? Research? You can discuss the implications of position on health care issues on the Public Policy Committee. You can craft positions on legislation and the impacts of regulation on medical practice on the Government Affairs Committee. On the Membership Committee, you’ll be discussing how POMA can best meet the needs of members like you. Ever wonder who reviews the educational programs we present for bias? This is the role of the Curriculum Committee. You’ve heard the phrase, “we have an app for that?” At POMA, we have a volunteer position for that.

We make statements about POMA being a member-driven association. But we can’t be a member-driven organization without volunteers to set the direction. You see, we are not osteopathic physicians, or residents, or students. Our role as your #TeamPOMA is to do the research, gather data, even provide recommendations based on the findings, but the decisions are yours. The call for volunteers will be coming out in a few weeks. Don’t be osteapathetic… be osteopathic. Answer the call.

by: Andy Sandusky

PA Budget Hearings Take Center Stage

Governor Wolf delivered his budget blueprint to the PA General Assembly earlier this month.  The next month will be filled with separate House and Senate Appropriations Committee hearings where each of the agencies of state government will come make their case for the funding they have requested in the Governor’s budget.  In many ways, the budget will drive not only the spending priorities but the policy discussions as well.  This is because behind each appropriation, there are the names and faces of real people who will be impacted, either negatively or positively, depending on where the money is proposed to be spent, or not spent.  At the beginning of this article, I called the Governor’s budget a blueprint because that is exactly what it represents.  A first offer on what triggers the long process of debate between the Governor and the four caucuses of the General Assembly that will culminate in a final spending plan sometime in late June.  The budget hearings POMA will be acutely interested in are with the Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Department of Drug and Alcohol and Department of Insurance. These agencies literally have hundreds of policies, both directly and tangentially, that impact patient care and Osteopathic medicine.  POMA will monitor and engage as necessary to ensure Osteopathic physicians and their patients are protected and put in the best possible paradigm to ensure quality care. 

District Dish

District 4

District 4 was back at it again last night with members gathering virtually and in-person at Rikasa in Pittston. Members discussed their upcoming CME event, the return of Steps 4 All in April, a possible goat yoga event, and elected their 2022 delegates to the POMA House of Delegates. They also reviewed and discussed pending state legislation and newly streamlined POMA mentoring and shadowing opportunities.

District 4's next event will be free in-person CME event on Saturday, March 5th at the Courtyard Marriot Scranton Montage Mountain. The event will be from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm with up to 8 hours of AOA CME credit available. Click here for more information and to register.

If you would like more information on the POMA House of Delegate or other district opportunities, contact Darlene Dunay, DO, District 4 Chair.

District 6

Baseball and a boat ride? It is coming to POMA District 6! District members gathered virtually on Wednesday, February 16 to make event plans for 2022 and elect delegates to the POMA House of Delegates. The district will host an event at a Williamsport Crosscutter baseball game this summer and also may enjoy a Hiawatha Paddlewheel Riverboat cruise. Stay tuned for more details.

If you are interested in being a delegate to the POMA House of Delegates or other district involvement opportunities, please contact [email protected].

District 8

District 8 members gathered on Saturday, January 29th at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and virtually via Zoom for their annual business meeting. The business meeting occurred during the POMA District VIII  35th Annual Winter seminar. Members received updates from POMA and district leadership including the recent event at a Pittsburgh Panthers basketball game and the proposed osteopathic college at Duquesne University.

District 8 also elected AOA Delegates and Alternate Delegates from District 8 to the AOA House of Delegates for the July 2022 meeting. With the recently vacated term of Secretary of District 8, leadership is accepting nominations and submissions for the unexpired remaining term for District 8 Secretary until next year's officers elections.

For more information regarding the POMA House of Delegates or the AOA House of Delegates, please contact Gene Battistella, DO, District 8 Chair, or POMA staff. Leadership is planning additional social and CME events. Be on the lookout for those details. 

District 11

POMA District 11 members gathered virtually on Wednesday, February 9^th to make plans for 2022. The leadership is looking to organize a family-friendly social event at a Reading Phillies baseball game and possibly an event at the Yuengling brewery. The members also elected the district delegation to the POMA House of Delegates in April.

If you are interested in being a delegate to the POMA House of Delegates or other district involvement opportunities, please contact Jeffrey Gold, DO, POMA District 11 chair at poma@poma.org

The next district event will be in Wyomissing on March 24^th. Stay tuned for more details.

Be a Mentor

The POMA Mentor Task Force is building a database of individuals interested in fostering the next generation of osteopathic physicians. If you are interested in being a mentor, complete this brief questionnaire. The task force will reach out to candidates when someone requests a mentor.

Have You Subscribed to the POMA DOes... Podcast?

Last month, POMA launched its new podcast series, POMA DOes... We are providing a voice for osteopathic medicine by sharing insights on issues important to osteopathic physicians, residents and students, and those who embrace the osteopathic philosophy. Episodes 1-3 have  already been published. Episode 4 will be released February 25 and features a panel discussion on committee involvement.

POMA DOes... is available through all of the popular podcast platforms, services and apps. Find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Audible and YouTube - listen and subscribe today! Episodes are released on the second and fourth Fridays of the month.

Submit your research paper into the 2022 POMA Clinical Writing Contest! The competition is open to all osteopathic medical students attending a Pennsylvania COM and all interns/residents training in Pennsylvania are invited to submit their research papers into this year's contest!

Judging will be conducted in March and finalists will be notified in April. All contest winners will be announced during the Opening Session of the 2022 POMA Clinical Assembly.

The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2022. Learn more here.

View the
newsletter online!

Table of Contents...

1. President's Perspective
2. Executive Opinion
3. Policy Points
4. Register for POMA's 114th Annual Clinical Assembly
5. District Dish
6. Be a Mentor
7. POMA DOes... Podcast
8. POMA's Research Contest is Now Open! Entries Due March 1!
9. SoFi Loan Refinancing
10. COVID-19 News Update
11. Upcoming District Events
12. Save the Date for the 2022 Clinical Assembly
13. Upcoming PGYP Event
14. Welcome New Members
15. District Competition
16. Classified Ads
17. Under the DOme
18. POMPAC
19. Follow POMA on Social Media
20. APOMA

Upcoming District Events

SAVE THE DATE
2022 POMA Clinical Assembly

POMA's 114th Annual Clinical Assembly and Scientific Seminar will be held April 27-30, 2022. Click here to register!

POMPAC is the collective
voice of the osteopathic profession in Pennsylvania.

Send your personal check to POMPAC c/o POMA, 1330 Eisenhower Blvd., Harrisburg, PA 17111, or charge your contribution to your credit card!

PAC contributions are not tax-deductible.

Follow POMA on social media for all the latest news!

APOMA

The positions to be filled for the 2022-2024 APOMA Board of Directors are:

• President-Elect/Vice President 
• Recording Secretary
• Treasurer
• Director

You can find more information and an application here.

Applications are due by March 31, 2022.

Email completed application to  a[email protected]. 

Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association | 1330 Eisenhower Blvd., Harrisburg, PA 17111
(717) 939-9318 | www.poma.org