The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society Med Journal May 2019 Final 2 | Page 4

COMMENTARY
Tim Paden, MD
STAND UP FOR MEDICINE
A
s physicians, we set our
sights on the profession
for a variety of reasons
– interest in medicine, family
tradition, a desire to comfort or
heal others. In my case, I trace it back to
fourth grade when my father, Robert W. Paden,
a pharmacist in the small town of Yellville,
influenced me the most with his compassion
for others and willingness to help no matter
the time of day or night. We can each identify
a few influences in our past that directed us in
some way into medicine. When reflecting on the
driving nature and traditions in medicine that
connect all of us in the profession across the
globe no matter the location of your training now
that we all practice in Arkansas, we have one
thing in common – protecting the sanctity of our
profession.
Long before health care became a hot topic
in our nation based on expense, access, and
health management, this profession was one of
the healing arts. Men and women are drawn to
the elements of protecting life, preserving health,
or advancing treatment methods. Consider the
sacrifices of our professional ancestors, going
all the way back to Hippocrates. The focus on
an individual in order to ascertain a diagnosis
and subsequent treatment based on the current
knowledge and treatment methods of the time
to restore health or limit the damage, is still
the underlying theme. Now, with the evolution
of health care to this point – with the cost
strategies, population management, and access
and scope-of-care issues – what are we to do?
We are to stand up for health care. If you’re
in direct patient care with full office schedules
and call, then take good care of your patients.
Stand up for health care. If you’re involved in
administrative duties, organizational activities,
or management positions, stand up for health
care. If you’re on the Arkansas Medical Society
Board of Trustees and following legislation or in
teaching positions of the university system, stand
up for health care. Two years ago, I joined AMS
after 28 years of practice in a small town. One
reason for joining was because I felt that some
of us need to stand up for health care. We must
do this to keep the profession solid, honorable,
and intact despite the direction of control or the
demands of the “system.” It is and always will
be about the patient.
If it’s a prescription the patient needs, then
fight for it. If it’s a position you hold on a hospital
committee, fight for it. If you teach students,
fight for it. On all ground and all places and all
circumstances, we must fight for our profession.
Delegate others to help you. Inspire the
youth to seek medicine and share why you
went into medicine. Some say the Golden Age of
Medicine is over. I say it is just beginning. Never
before has our art form been needed more than it
is today. So, stand up for health care and fight for
it – not just for the income or for control, but for
the sake of the profession itself. Our ancestors
gave us a noble, honorable profession, so let’s
give the same to our offspring.
David Wroten
Executive Vice President
Penny Henderson
Executive Assistant
Journal Advertising
Nicole Richards
Managing Editor
Jeremy Henderson
Art Director
EDITORIAL BOARD
Appathurai Balamurugan, MD, DrPH, MPH
Family Medicine/Public Health
Tim Paden, MD
Family Medicine
Sandra Johnson, MD
Dermatology
Issam Makhoul, MD
Oncology
Naveen Patil, MD, MHSA, MA, FIDSA
Internal Medicine/Infectious Disease
Benjamin Tharian, MD, MRCP, FACP, FRACP
Gastroenterologist/Hepatologist
Robert Zimmerman, MD
Urology
Tobias Vancil, MD
Internal Medicine
Darrell Over, MD
Family Medicine
EDITOR EMERITUS
Alfred Kahn Jr., MD (1916-2013)
ARKANSAS MEDICAL SOCIETY
2018-2019 OFFICERS
Lee Archer, MD, Little Rock
President
Amy Cahill, MD, Pine Bluff
Immediate Past President
Dennis Yelvington, MD, Stuttgart
President Elect
Chad Rodgers, MD, Little Rock
Vice President
George Conner, MD, Forrest City
Secretary
Stand up for health care and fight for it, not just
for the income or for control but for the sake of
the profession itself.
244 • THE JOURNAL OF THE ARKANSAS MEDICAL SOCIETY
Bradley Bibb, MD, Jonesboro
Treasurer
Danny Wilkerson, MD, Little Rock
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
VOLUME 115