Many doctors may not find their place within a large, national medical organization, such as the American Medical Organization due to its sheer size and possibly due to political considerations and industry ties that they may or may not agree with. This is not a good reason to eschew local medical organizations. Smaller, local medical organizations can provide far more intimate and meaningful dialog as well as networking opportunities that can support a doctor throughout their professional career.
1. Advocacy
Some doctors smack up against situations where they are hamstrung by the bureaucracy of Medicare and other governmental medical insurance; major medical insurance agencies and their policies as well as by federal, state, and local healthcare rules. These bureaucratic and governmental institutions all too often provide roadblocks to providing patients with timely and affordable healthcare remediation. Doctors on their own are often too busy with their practices and their own personal lives to get out the bullhorns and advocate on their own behalf as well as for their patients. A local medical organization of practicing physicians, though, can have the means to provide advocacy with lawmakers, healthcare organizations, insurers, and other stakeholders in order to effect real change for patients and the healthcare industry.
2. Networking
Your local medical organization also provides opportunities for doctors to get together in formal and informal settings to work together, learn from one another, provide a sounding board, and affirm their mission.
3. Mentorship Opportunities
Breaking into the medical field as a new physician is much easier with a mentor to help the mentees navigate the shoals of their rookie years. This helps us keep new doctors who may get overwhelmed. Mentorship opportunities also provide the seasoned practitioner with a means of giving back and preparing the way for these rookie doctors who will one day be seasoned professionals when they have retired.
4. Local Employment Opportunities
Your community medical organization of doctors has its finger on the pulse of local employment opportunities that you may be too busy to look for on your own in your “free” time.
5. Continuing Education
Your local medical organization can provide a wealth of knowledge and information that supports your continuing education. Medical organizations provide member doctors with abstracts and journal articles of interest as well as news briefs in order to help you maintain and update your skills and knowledge base. Your local medical organization can also provide you with access to a provider for state-required continuing education credit curriculum.
6. Community Building by Bringing Together All Local Healthcare Stakeholders
Your local organization of doctors can help you work more effectively with other stakeholders to bring the community together around ideas to improve local health. Sometimes, groups of doctors see something that is headed in the wrong direction in their community. That could be an increased incidence of a certain type of drug use; benefit ceilings, floors, and restrictions that limit the community’s access to medical services; avoidable harm in the local environment, or other situations that could be remedied with stakeholder cooperation. A local medical organization can shout through its bullhorn and interact with other local leaders to find solutions that promote community well-being. In these uncertain times, working locally seems at times almost the only solution to truly making a difference.
Even if you have ruled out joining a national organization, consider a local organization of doctors. These professional groups can keep you current in your practice, connected to your community, and able to make a difference in the non-medical aspects of patient care.
