People have stated that they want to support #2014yearfp, but they want to know what they are supporting. I realize that articulation of a message may be the most challenging part of a movement. Partners want to have something tangible and on a scale that they can pursue to sustain momentum while others may be working on different levels; they want shared ownership. I will go back to the basic premise of #2014yearfp and that is to get Time magazine to have the family physician recognized as their person of the year in 2014. However, the focus is not a coronation, but rather an acknowledgement.
We need to send to Time everything we do as family physicians with respect to the increased demands of the Affordable Care Act. We need to forward how we are touching lives with the scope of the expansion. We need to demonstrate how legislation may be enacted, but the physician actually treating patients are needed to sustain it.
We need to raise our consciousness and awareness and see how we are impacting our communities. We need to be accountant, recorder, historian, and town crier. And, this will reaffirm our values and our place in American life. As family physicians, we have always been there where others have not.
I want to highlight how others are supporting us. Lori Goyne is the treasurer and a board member of the Shasta Community Health Center. Her daughter is a MS-IV at UC Davis who will be entering family medicine. In a scant two to three months, Lori has recruited the County of Shasta, Shasta Community Health Center, Mountain Valleys Health Centers, North Valley Medical Association, Shasta Regional Medical Center, Mayers Memorial Hospital District, Dignity Health North State, Shasta Health Assessment and Redesign Collaboration, and Health Alliance of Northern California to pass resolutions recognizing 2014 as the Year of the Family Physician. She deserves a round of applause for her amazing work. Alone, Lori has gained the support of nine organizations as a non-family physician. As family physicians, we should be in lockstep with Lori’s zeal.
When we Tweet, forward the Tweets to @kellyconniff at Time’s social medial editor. Tweet her and invite her to follow us @UCD_Connectwork. Let’s party like it’s 2014.
