Practicing and living your passion as a family physician

Adapted from the acceptance speech of newly inducted TAFP President, Emily Briggs, MD, MPH

By Emily Briggs, MD, MPH

Like many of you, I started out with this great organization as a medical student. My journey began when a fellow medical student was traveling to some meeting and invited me to go. A couple of decades later and here we are. From nearly the beginning, I became impassioned to serve at a leadership level. I moved from leading the medical students and representing them on the board to leading the residents nationally. Eventually I had the opportunity to serve on the AAFP Board as the new physician member — an experience of a lifetime, I'd recommend it to anyone! After that experience, I dabbled in advocacy both in organized medicine and for organized medicine, speaking to legislators on the importance of maternal health and access to care.

I am certainly passionate about family medicine, especially full-scope family medicine as that is my daily life. I enjoy speaking with medical students and residents about my practice setting and the joy I find with my patients. I generally do not care for politics, and that is especially true in today’s hyper-partisan environment where, thanks to social media, rumors are transmitted faster than the speed of light. But due to recent events, I have found a need to engage in the political process on behalf of my patients.

With our U.S. Supreme Court recently rolling back 50 years of federal protections on women’s reproductive health and the Texas Legislature passing a new law creating a private cause of action against a physician for counseling patients on their reproductive choices, I cannot remain silent. I understand this is a deeply personal issue and others may have a different opinion. I appreciate and respect that. But I hope we can agree that we must protect the sanctity of the patient-physician relationship, keep the government out of our exam rooms, and continue helping our patients make medical decisions about what care is best for them.

“I hope we can agree that we must protect the sanctity of the patient-physician relationship, keep the government out of our exam rooms, and continue helping our patients make medical decisions about what care is best for them.”

For that to happen, family physicians must be present and seen at the Capitol. We must speak to the sanctity of the patient-physician relationship. We cannot stand idly by while our patients are further marginalized. Health care for all means for everyone, including those members of society who are marginalized. In helping TMA establish the LGBTQ Health Section, I have helped our Texas house of medicine begin to move the needle back to a better direction. But there is much more work to do, and I will need your help.

Each of us has either a colleague who is burned out or are experiencing burnout ourselves. Rather than “becoming resilient” it is time to fix the system that is constantly beating us down — prior authorizations, administrative burden, unreasonable employment models — I could go on. We tend to do our best work when we spend that needed time with the patient, not on documentation. And while many were taking a break from work in this pandemic, who was not? Family docs.

So, what are we going to do about all of this? What can we do this next year? We stand today fighting medical mistrust brought on by more than this pandemic. We know that primary care means better outcomes. We have the evidence. Over this next year, your TAFP will be reassessing how we serve our members. We will continue to go to the Capitol, speak to legislators on all these issues and more. We will make our stance known and keep moving the needle. Your board of directors will perform strategic planning in this nearly post-COVID world. We are here to assist you in navigating these difficult waters.

I will continue representing family medicine at the house of medicine. I will be at the AMA meeting working to further these issues. I hope to visit many medical schools and residencies during my term as TAFP President, and I'll be able to do so virtually much easier than in the pre-pandemic era. I hope through this next year that you find your passion or continue working in it, that you connect with friends and family, that you take the time to make the difference you promised on your medical school application. You've already done some of that by being a part of this wonderful organization. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve you as president. It's going to be a great year!