I was born in 1957, at the end of the post WWII Baby Boom. Yes, I am a Baby Boomer. I grew up in the 1960's. To the Gen-Xer's and the Millennials, that doesn't mean much. To those of you who are my age and older, you understand. I grew up in the days of Segregation, in the Days of Apartheid. I remember when JFK and MLK JR were shot, I remember Nelson Mandella. In my lifetime, I have seen the end of these terrible things. Similarly, as a DO, I have also lived and worked in a Segregated World. Originally, we DOs had our own Medical Schools and our own Residency Programs and our own Hospitals. We stood in the shadow of the Allopathic large training programs in large Tertiary Centers. None of that mattered really, because we supported ourselves. The work we do is excellent. The care we provide is excellent. The ACOS and the AOA made sure that there were always places for us to train and to provide care for our patients. But in the early 1990's, Congress cut Medicare funding and the Dominos fell. Large Tertiary training Programs lost critical funding to support the numbers of Residents that they were used to having. Small Hospitals closed or were converted to Nursing Homes or Free-Standing Emergency Rooms with Clinics. A whole new concept in Healthcare Delivery. Hospitals were swallowed up into Healthcare Systems. Slowly over time, with General and Specialty Surgeons Retiring or leaving Practice and the number of new Residents to replace them dropping, the Surgeon Shortage became apparent. We suddenly became selected as Residents, chosen as Partners. We have become Main Streamed. No more Segregation It's a wonderful thing and it was a struggle to arrive here and I'm glad we made it. We simply held our heads high and kept working.
But there is a But. But, we still need to Support Us. Us as DOs. We are soon to be Celebrating 100 years of the ACOS. I can't wait for that Celebration. Let us not be so assimilated as to forget who we are and where we came from. We are special and our patients know this. They get the Human Touch from us. We are fully present to them, as we are and should be with each other. This year, and especially next year, plan to come to the ACA. I think it's going to be one Celebration not to be missed.
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Lynne McCormick D.O., FACOS
Chase, MI
lynneslace@yahoo.com(231) 920-6625
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