HJNO Sep/Oct 2022

48 SEP / OCT 2022 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS MEDICAL SOCIETY COLUMN MEDICAL SOCIETY THE Medical Association of Southeast Louisiana (MASELA), formed by Jeffer- son & Orleans Parish Medical Society in late 2020, is continuing its commitment to physician well-being and professional satisfaction by hosting Michael F. My- ers, MD, a psychiatrist, and physician health expert as our keynote speaker on Thursday, October 6. This meeting is co-sponsored by Jefferson & Orle- ans Parish Medical Societies and will be held at East Jefferson General Hospital. When MASELA was first founded, MASELA’s board of directors adopted the following vision statement: “to create a medical practice environment which supports and encourages physicians’ professional satisfaction and well-being and enables them to provide accessi- ble, equitable, and quality medical care.” We recognize the importance of edu- cation and awareness about the issues that lead to burnout and declining pro- fessional satisfaction, and we are com- mitted to addressing the causes of burn- out. This upcoming educational program will focus on the particular challenges physicians face in the Southeast Louisi- ana region and the resilience required to continue caring for our residents despite recurrent natural disasters and public health and medical practice challeng- es, including socioeconomic, patient compliance, and access to care issues. Myers will facilitate a discussion with several key physicians representing the medical community in Southeast Louisiana. It’s an opportunity to start the dialogue about the rewards and the inherent challenges of practicing in this region. It’s also an opportunity for physicians to share their thoughts about the roles MASELA can play in addressing many of these challenges. Myers will focus first on the importance of self-care. He noted, “Self-care is my mantra in my work with doctors. It must seem odd that physicians, the guardians of life, might need something like that but it’s true. Most physicians put their pa- tients — and other medically related mat- ters like research and teaching — ahead of their personal health. This is altruistic and commendable but too many doc- tors pay a terrible price.” Myers’ work also focuses on reducing or eliminating the stigma of physicians asking for help. We are also committed to helping physicians who do ask for help — who need direct services, including coun- seling, to help them find joy in medi- cine again and remain in clinical care. To this end, MASELA will launch a new service for our members, which will help them in their journey to find personal and professional balance. This new service is a physician counseling program. Using licensed therapists, MASELA will provide several confidential counseling sessions to MASELA members at no cost to them. According to the Physicians Foundation, “Physician burnout has devastating ef- fects on the access, quality and cost of our country’s health care. In The Physician’s Foundation’s 2021 Survey of America’s Physicians, 61% of physicians reported often having feelings of burnout — com- pared to 40% in 2018.” The Physicians Foundation also reports that “Nearly 1 in 4 physicians know a physician who has died by suicide.” Our program is an early intervention program, which seeks to catch physicians prior to their be- coming severely burned out or worse. More details will become available about MASELA’s physician counsel- ing program in the coming weeks. We invite all physicians throughout Southeast Louisiana to join us on October 6 for this exciting programwithMyers and for a heart-to-heart discussion about be- ing a physician in Southeast Louisiana. n Medical Association of Southeast Louisiana to Feature Michael F. Myers, MD, Physician Health Expert, as Keynote Speaker at October Membership Meeting Presentation Coincides with Launch of MASELA’s New Physician Counseling Program