Why physicians should belong to the Saginaw County Medical Society
Raana W. Akbar, MD
(Dr. Raana Akbar delivered this speech to the members and recruits at the October 19, 2004 membership meeting)
I came to Saginaw in 1984, a brand new, proud citizen of the United States of America, fresh out of residency with my husband and two small children, struggling to cope with the challenges of job, home, and assimilation. Participation in organized medicine was at the bottom of my list of priorities. If somebody at that time had suggested that I would be giving this speech today as a part of a recruitment drive on why physicians should belong to the Saginaw County Medical Society, I would have laughed at them. In my very uninformed view at that time, the Saginaw County Medical Society was the repository of old mostly white men who met on their afternoons off when they could not play golf. I had far more important things to do. How little did I know and how sorry I am that it took me so long to get involved.
Organized medicine has persevered in the last two centuries and has played an enormously important role in the development of this nation. Our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, was a freshman congressman when Nathan Davis was trying to round up enough doctors in western New York to literally create a medical profession and make medicine more respectable and reliable. And thanks to Nathan Davis and all those who followed him, America today has the greatest system of medical care the world has ever known. And this is in the way of my tribute and apology to old, mostly white men, who frequently play golf.
The Saginaw County Medical Society is proud that 80 percent of the physicians in Saginaw County belong to this organization, which comprises 450 members. The mission of the Society includes promotion of the science and the art of medicine, improvement of public health, encouragement of a dialog on means to improve our profession and professional lives, and promotion of the highest standards of ethics in the practice of medicine. The ultimate goal of our Medical Society is to enable our members to better serve the community of Saginaw and its outlying districts.
An organization is a reflection of its members and its leaders. The Saginaw County Medical Society can only perform well if it is enthusiastically supported and encouraged by its membership, our colleagues in the Society. I feel very privileged and honored to be a part of the present Board of Directors, whose members have consistently exhibited vision, passion, courage, and wisdom. Under the dynamic leadership of Dr. Conchita Riparip last year and Dr. Su Gudipati this year (both women, I would like to add) a number of projects have given a new meaning to our mission.
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Last year, the Saginaw County Medical Society initiated for the first time a cultural celebration of our diversity, an elaborate program that provided an opportunity to know each other through our different backgrounds. It was an unqualified success with unprecedented levels of attendance.
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Another first was the initiation of a blood drive this September.
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We plan to sponsor and serve at the local soup kitchen on Doctor’s Day, 2005. Please volunteer to spend some time with us.
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We are planning to put on a community health fair in the spring of 2005 as well as repeat the cultural celebration.
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A Healthy Lifestyles subcommittee of the Public Health Committee has been approved as an outreach program with the initial goal of targeting the public health issues of obesity, cigarette smoking, and lack of exercise.
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We are also privileged to provide loans to needy medical students and scholarships to nursing students.
At the Saginaw County Medical Society meetings, we socialize with our colleagues who share our interest and love for the practice of medicine. Our Society provides a venue through which we can lend support or voice our objections through legislative involvement, on matters that involve physicians. A unified voice is presented to our legislature, area hospitals, and insurance companies. The Saginaw County Medical Society provides a source of referrals; the camaraderie of fellow physicians; an opportunity to network and to actively and tangibly give back to the community where we live. Without organized medicine, we would be a ship without a rudder, there is truth in the old saying “United we stand, divided we fall.” We cannot have a strong voice about our future if we do not unite for common goals and objectives.
So it has come to pass that in the year 2004, 20 years after her arrival in Saginaw, a woman physician of uncertain years and hue, not a golfer and yet living on the golf course, stands before you, making a plea for involvement, activism, and perseverance. Let’s share our passion by working together for a common cause that is greater than ourselves and our personal goals – the welfare of this community that we doctors are proud to serve.