Contents tagged with COVID-19
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Federal public health officials push vaccination efforts at Texas meeting
By Jonathan Nelson
As COVID-19 cases continued to climb to crisis levels across the state, state and public health officials gathered for a roundtable discussion in Austin on August 5. The takeaway message from all parties: We must get as many people vaccinated as possible to get the pandemic under control.
The Biden administration vaccinations coordinator, Bechara Choucair, MD, led the federal delegation as they met with DSHS representatives including commissioner John Hellerstedt, MD, and physician leaders from multiple physician associations including TAFP.
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Mindfulness strategies to declutter your mind
By Dr. Karla Evans and Dr. Veronica Tetterton, co-founders of Anticipate Joy
Spring is finally here! The change in season inspires motivation for a refreshing change in our environments and moods. Spring is often associated with cleaning and re-organization of our homes. But today we would like to encourage thoughtful consideration to setting aside some time to declutter your mind. By getting rid of stress, anxiety, racing thoughts, or negativity that you may be holding on to, you create a refreshing space for peace, joy, and enjoyment to settle in, and we have the perfect strategy to help. This month we would like to feature a couple of mindfulness strategies to help you gain greater perspective and peace of mind.
So what is mindfulness? Mindfulness is an integrative mind-body strategy to help manage your thoughts, feelings, and mental health. Research shows mindfulness helps relieve stress, treat heart disease, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, improve sleep, and improve mental health. Here are a couple of easy ways to tap into mindfulness.
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This year, resolve to reach out when you need help
By Anticipate Joy
There is no doubt you have experienced extreme stressors in 2020, and now is a great time to determine where you want to be in the new year. Discussing New Year’s resolutions can feel somewhat cliche but can absolutely have benefits.
It’s a common practice for physicians to “cope alone.” Your schedules are chaotic, your expectations are near unreachable, and looking forward to retirement is sometimes your only effective strategy for coping with the turmoil.
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Reconnecting to your "why"
By Dr. Karla Evans and Dr. Veronica Tetterton, co-founders of Anticipate Joy
Has your love for your career waned a bit? Are you struggling to connect to your “why”? Indeed, you have been through a lot in the past year. With COVID and the overwhelming demands on you physically, emotionally, and psychologically, it’s not uncommon to lose touch with your purpose and the joy for your career.
We want you to know that you are not alone. You are among others who feel the same. Since we began our partnership with TAFP, one of the common reasons family physicians have sought treatment is due to work overload, stress, and a need to reconnect to the joy of their job and family.
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TAFP calls for all physicians, residents, and medical students be prioritized to receive COVID-19 vaccine
The Texas Academy of Family Physicians echoes the Texas Medical Association and Texas Hospital Association’s call for all physicians, medical students, and residents to be included in the priority group for COVID-19 vaccines.
Our independent, community-based family medicine physicians constitute the foundation of our health care system. These physicians put themselves at risk every day and we depend on them to serve on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19 — screening, testing, and managing the vast majority of patients outside of the hospital. These independent practices and their staff cannot afford to contract COVID-19 and close up shop. People will continue to get sick. Patients with chronic disease still need ongoing care, and many more will seek mental health counseling than ever before as a result of isolation, job loss, and financial insecurities. We cannot afford to lose our primary care workforce.
As more COVID-19 vaccines become available, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that all physicians — including those physicians who are not employed by or affiliated with a hospital or health system — are prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination.
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President's Letter
Blessings, hopes, and new beginnings in difficult times
Inaugural address of the newly installed TAFP PresidentBy Amer Shakil, MD
TAFP PresidentI feel incredibly blessed and honored to be elected as president of Texas Academy of Family Physicians. I recall my first TAFP meeting in the winter of 1998 after I had moved to Dallas and joined the St. Paul Residency Faculty. The following year, I joined the Commission on Academic Affairs and since then, I have hardly missed any TAFP meetings. A year later I also joined the Dallas Chapter of TAFP, where I still serve on the board.
The reason I have been so regular in my attendance to these meetings is none other than the welcoming, supporting, and nurturing environment of TAFP, exemplified by its visionary leadership and staff year after year and meeting after meeting. I was lucky to find great mentors like Linda Siy and Doug Curran, colleagues like Jake Margo and Ashok Kumar, and of course all of our TAFP staff members.
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Finding joy in stressful times
By Anticipate Joy
2020 began with such hope. Many entered the year with an expectation for new vision and focus. We never could have predicted that this year would be marked by a health crisis that would tax our medical personnel and resources to unfathomable proportions.
We are not fully aware of the effects of this pandemic on the wellbeing of the physicians and other medical providers who have sacrificed their own health for that of others. In times such as these, fatigue, depression, stress, and burnout are words commonly used to describe the experiences of our medical heroes. Nevertheless, some doctors manage to find joy and hope in their daily experiences. Why is this important?
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An exciting new partnership for your mental wellness
By Anticipate Joy
Anticipate Joy is an innovative mental health treatment and wellness company that supports healing and personal growth through a HIPAA-compliant online professional counseling platform. Anticipate Joy creates an introduction between the client and the therapist, along with the technology that enables the client to have therapy sessions with a licensed mental health provider within the convenience of your own home.
Your benefits
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The Prospective Payment Primer Show
Texas Family Doc Talk
A podcast by the Texas Academy of Family Physicians
Episode 6 — May 22, 2020
On the sixth episode of TAFP’s podcast, Texas Family Doc Talk, we’re joined by Erica … more
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The COVID-19 Survivor Show
Texas Family Doc Talk
A podcast by the Texas Academy of Family Physicians
Episode 5 — May 6, 2020
Tim Martindale, MD, of the Martindale Family Medicine Clinic in Waco, Texas, became ill … more