May 2018 President’s Message

Aging is good for wine, but perhaps not for the Medical Society

by Jed Delmore, MD

When our daughters enjoyed the club because they were enthralled by the vocalist, who was usually in a shiny sequined dress accompanied by a pianist.hen our children were little, the Stembridges and Delmores were known to frequent the Candle Club at 13th and Woodlawn. The club, in the 1980s and early ’90s, was known for its dark, smoke-filled bar and for the excellent fried catfish in its dining room (less smoke).

One evening, with the girls sitting on stacks of napkins in lieu of booster seats, we surveyed the room and noted how much we as a group brought the average age in the room down. That would have been true even if we didn’t have our children along.

The Candle Club had become a gathering spot for an older crowd. I mention this because, in some ways, the Medical Society has too – and that’s something I want to change.

An emphasis of my year as president of the Medical Society is to change the focus and location of our meetings in an attempt to encourage greater involvement of younger physicians.

In the not so distant past, a common denominator for practicing physicians involved encounters in meetings, hallway consultations, medical staff duties, or various physician lounges in the hospital of choice. As fewer primary care physicians admit to the hospitals, and more physicians are employed or contracted for services, I believe the collegial aspects of those encounters have suffered.

In addition to representing the interests and practice of medicine and our patients, the Medical Society and its meetings offer the opportunity for that collegial interaction on a professional and personal basis. These interactions can help build both personal friendships and professional connections.

The Medical Society – aided by Drs. Katie Rosell, Braden Foster and Chuck Coffey – will be sponsoring events targeted at young physicians. The first event is a June 19 gathering at Dr. Tom Kryzer’s Third Place Brewing in Old Town. We also will be sponsoring a joint event in early fall with young lawyers of the Wichita Bar Association.

The goal is to engage young physicians through these targeted events, and then work to connect with the larger Medical Society membership through general meetings and by serving on boards and committees.

The future of the Medical Society is linked to the ongoing
participation of its members, and we don’t want the MSSC to be a place only for the older crowd. I hope we can encourage our younger partners and colleagues to become and remain involved.

That would mean more physicians are at the table. And, by the way, our meetings aren’t smoke-filled …