We just had our annual South Dakota Family Physician conference this last 3 days. Normally we would have been out in Deadwood, but because of COVID, it was all done virtually this year. So we did this from home! Sarah and I always teach a section of the conference on the first day, which usually encompasses up to 4 hours for the entire afternoon. We have been doing this now for about 13 years. Well, this year we got presented with an award. We taught our section virtually from Carletta’s house, as she is our Executive Director for the South Dakota Academy of Family Physicians. The residency began giving out an award about 3 years ago to a physician recipient who “…exemplifies excellence demonstrated by commitment to community service, academic achievement, rural practice, full-spectrum family medicine, and care of underserved populations locally, nationally, or internationally.” It is called the Dr. Earl Kemp Excellence Award. Dr. Kemp was our residency director back in Sioux Falls when we went through the program. I am not sure how many years he was there before we started, but he just retired within the last 2 years, and we have been out of residency since 1994. He was a great teacher! I think that is the part that attracted us to Family Medicine to start with. In order to be a good Family Physician, you have to listen, but you have to be able to teach as well. Teach students, residents, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and of course…patients…everyday! Normally our conference room would have looked like this.
We usually have around a hundred physicians attend each year. But this year was virtual, and we still had around 90! We always have to learn, and keep up, as medicine changes continuously. Here was Sarah and Carletta with all of the setup for our portion of the conference.
We learned a lot this weekend, and the best part of all of it…we did not have to drive across to the other side of the state! I miss seeing all of our other Family Physician colleagues, though. It is our time to learn from each other, and catch up on how everybody else is doing, and how they are handling everything with this pandemic. Hopefully next year we will be back there.
Teaching is a big part of what we do everyday. Patients need to understand their own health, and what may be involved. We do not have all the answers, but we are giving our opinion on what we think is the issue, and how we may be able to help somebody. Every day is a challenge. We have to keep learning as well. Lifelong learning. There is always something new. There are always new challenges. It was a very special honor to be recognized. Dr. Earl Kemp was the epitome of teachers. We both learned so much from him, as did all of the other hundreds of residents who went through that Sioux Falls Program. I have always said with all of the doctors we have had teaching us when we were in medical school and residency, that we learned something from all of them. We learned what to do in certain situations, and what not to do. We learned how to interact with patients. Some taught me how I wanted to be when I was done, and others taught me exactly how I was not going to be when I was on my own. But, it was all a learning experience. We have had a good time over all these years teaching other students, residents, and colleagues. The underlying principle of Family Physicians entails lifelong learning, and passing that knowledge on to others. Stay healthy everybody, and keep moving!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day of New Streak: # 672
