I shake my head, rub my eyes, and laugh a lot.
Featured Post
Thank You Burtt
As I was building this new site, moving content over from Rebel.MD, I heard about the death of my friend and mentor Dr. Burtt Richardson. He got a kick out of my adventures, many opinions and ambitions, and I am sad not to be able to share this site with him. He would have laughed. I met Burtt and his wife Gladys during my pediatric residency in Maine. Burtt was a rural pediatrician, and my program sent interns out to rural sites for one month rotations. Burtt was entirely committed to my full education on rural pediatrics. My rural month landed in the winter. Winthrop, Maine is only an hour away from Portland, but nearly impossible to drive daily during the winter months. This didn’t deter Burtt, he just gave me his home. During my month, he and Gladys moved out of their home … [Read More…] about Thank You Burtt
Previous Posts
My MOC Victory
Well, I won. Six years after I started down the very slow process to end forced MOC (Maintenance of Certification) in my state, it happened. On December 27, 2018 Michigan governor Rick Snyder signed HB 4134 and 4135 into law. The harm Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) caused me and my patients will never happen…
My MOC Failure
Today one of my favorite families came for a visit. The kids were behind on their check-ups, but this wasn’t too surprising. Their young mom was recently diagnosed with stage 3 cancer and was working her way through surgeries and chemo. The length of time since our last visit made me worry that mom’s health…
Learning from MOC Reform Failures in Tennessee, Florida, & Oklahoma
It’s been a rough few weeks for physicians in this year’s first state battles against forced Maintenance of Certification. The good news is that 13 states now have pending legislation to limit the power of the ABMS over physicians. These bills are coming up in red states and blue states, sponsored by democrats and republicans…
Continue Reading Learning from MOC Reform Failures in Tennessee, Florida, & Oklahoma
Happy National Women Physicians Day
It’s now 10pm and like many working moms, dinner is finished but dishes need to be done, the kids are in bed but I still hear cackles of laughter from my older girls’ room as they are talking before sleep, I’m finally sitting down but I have a lot yet to do. Tomorrow is the…
Who Is Seema Verma?
I opened up Twitter yesterday morning to the best hashtag I’ve seen in a long time: #SeemaVerma. I yelped and jumped out of my seat in excitement. Seema Verma! Seema Verma! I took to the socials and posted my excitement at President-elect Trump nominating her to take over for Andy Slavitt as head of the Centers…
American Board of Pediatrics Directly Markets to Parents
Well, it’s official. The American Board of Pediatrics has officially jumped the shark. Faced with the reality of thousands of pediatricians refusing to buy the American Board of Pediatrics MOC program, they’ve taken a page from Big Pharma: direct-to-patient advertising. When Big Pharma can’t convince doctors to prescribe an expensive or useless product, they create a…
Continue Reading American Board of Pediatrics Directly Markets to Parents
Leaving Medicine Better Than We Found It
Like many of my fellow pediatricians, today I read the three page letter written by American Board of Pediatrics CEO David Nichols. It was a full day seeing patients and it took me nearly three hours to finish it. The letter was so upsetting I couldn’t handle reading it straight through. I’d start reading and…
New AMA Policy Opposes MOC Exams
Shhh. I think this is supposed to be a secret, but this Wednesday at the super-elite AMA House of Delegates meeting in Chicago, where only the mostly highly connected and AMA devoted doctors get to attend, they actually stood up for us. It is now AMA policy that the AMA opposes mandatory ABMS recertification exams. Crazy, right?…
What Happens When You Stop Doing MOC?
The American Board of Medical Specialties says “board certification is a voluntary process, and one that is very different from medical licensure.” This is echoed by my board, the American Board of Pediatrics, who says “Board certification is a voluntary process that goes above and beyond state licensing requirements for practicing medicine.” Over the past…
Oklahoma Bans Forced MOC, Becomes the First “Right to Care” State
On Tuesday, April 12, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed SB 1148 into law and freed every Oklahoma physician from the ABMS MOC. I get chills thinking about how awesome this is and what an incredible model it is for all of us. It’s just beautiful. “Nothing in the Oklahoma Allopathic Medical and Surgical Licensure and…
Continue Reading Oklahoma Bans Forced MOC, Becomes the First “Right to Care” State
You Say You Want a Revolution?
Wow. For those who think MOC isn’t a big deal, my Open Letter to the American Board of Pediatrics just hit 70,000 views. That’s stunning. For those commending my bravery, realize efforts like this are not done in isolation. I am not alone. I have the most amazing partners. I can’t even express how blessed I am…
Open Letter to the American Board of Pediatrics
Dear American Board of Pediatrics: On December 17 2015, at 3:01 in the middle of my busy day seeing patients, I voluntarily gave up my American Board of Pediatrics certification. I thought I should write this letter, hopefully preempting any more threatening emails warning me that I must pay up or lose my certification. This…
Continue Reading Open Letter to the American Board of Pediatrics