SOAPM and the Power of Community
Would you still be a pediatrician if you were the only one left? For our rural colleagues, this experience is not unusual, but what about those of us who couldn’t throw a stone without hitting another pediatrician? As you read the doom and gloom articles about our workforce changes, how does the thought of being alone in this profession make you feel? And, if any of those feelings are negative, what are you going to do about it?
My answer for you: join SOAPM! For me, the SOAPM community is an integral part of supporting my identity as a pediatrician, even as that identity has morphed over the last several years. Any time a new challenge arises in my practice, my first thought is always to ask SOAPM. From billing and coding to employee concerns, I know that someone on SOAPM has been through the same struggles and will help me find the answer.
As I watch the practice of pediatrics evolve, I believe that SOAPM has the power to evolve along with it. As Chair, I hope to show the larger pediatric community that SOAPM membership has a value beyond the ‘no margin, no mission’ philosophy in supporting pediatricians across our diverse workforce. My goal is to promote our commonalities and to help people feel not alone through resources that support our daily practice and activities that aren’t just lip service.
We would also be incomplete without you, the SOAPM members, who we encourage to join any subcommittee that fits your interests. SOAPM members serve as liaisons to several other AAP committees, councils and sections to ensure that we stay engaged with all aspects of our organization. I hope to engage more with AAP chapters to support members who feel more comfortable working on the local level. I also proudly represent SOAPM in the newly formed Health Care Delivery Alliance.
SOAPM leverages a new Community platform (community.aap.org), which is a powerful tool to keep SOAPM members connected to the AAP and each other. As Chair, I want as many members as possible to lend their voices to the questions and commentary posted here. Our SOAPM family has always been a collection of curmudgeonly uncles, wise aunts and lively cousins, coming together to share the pediatrician experience. I encourage you to share your voice and lend your wisdom to the collective question: what would SOAPM do?
Kimberly Clare, MD MMM, FAAP
kimclare@gmail.com