We sometimes refer to APMA as though it’s an entity separate from us. In fact, APMA is of, by, and for us. It is our association—our APMA—working for us every day. Many of you are part of that vital work on behalf of your profession. We have 12,500 members and hundreds of volunteers doing everything from representing us to the media to advocating with their legislators. Nearly 200 APMA members serve actively on an APMA committee, and more than 200 sit in the House of Delegates as delegates or alternates.
I’ve been lucky enough to meet with many of you as I’ve traveled the country. I’ve recently been to New York, Ohio, Illinois, and of course Florida for the APMA 2015 Annual Scientific Meeting (The National). It was an outstanding meeting. I extend my sincere gratitude to every APMA member I met along the way. Thanks to your efforts, our APMA is working for all of us.
Our association is working on our behalf in many ways. Along with several other members, including representatives of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine, I have been an active participant in the Play it Safe patient education campaign. I was interviewed 15 times as part of a radio media tour that generated 4.4 million listeners for APMA and its members.
Over the past few months, members have participated in the State Advocacy Forum and Health Policy and Practice meetings. The members who participate in these activities do critically important work, helping to educate our legislators and policymakers about who we are, what we do, and why our role is so vital to our patients. They embody the motto I have borrowed from my home state of North Carolina:
Esse Quam Videri, to be rather than to seem. Their work on behalf of all of us is showing the American health-care system what podiatry really is, rather than what it may seem to be. The member volunteers in the health policy arena are also behind the ongoing effort to educate each member of APMA about the transition to ICD-10 to ensure that each and every one of us is prepared for this significant change. I hope you’ve taken the time to peruse the many tools they have developed, all of which can be accessed at
www.apma.org/icd10.
Finally, the Young Physicians’ Institute was held in Franklin, Tennessee, on September 25 and 26. If you know me or have read my inaugural speech or watched the video of my inaugural interview, you know that young physicians are extremely important to me. Although I have a personal stake in our commitment to young physicians, we should all be aware of the importance of the future generation of podiatric medical leaders. This excellent meeting fosters leadership qualities among our youngest members so that our APMA will continue to work for all of us well into the future.
Thank you for all you do for our APMA.
