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Dear Oregon ACP Colleagues and Friends -
I am writing this on our noteworthy 2025 concurrent Martin Luther King Jr Day and Inauguration Day, events which mark the deeply meaningful history, traditions, and hopes of our country. Today, we see the peaceful transition of power in Washington D.C. while we also remember the wisdom of Rev. Dr King’s words: “The time is always right to do what is right.”
My newsletter for this winter is intended to deliver a message of hope for the future. I have been reflecting over the past few months on what our work as physicians means to Americans and how our advocacy as a community is a central part of that work. So many seem to have lost heart as they fear their concerns for humanity have been overridden by the self-interest and greed of the mega-wealthy and power-hungry. As we stand firm by our ideals and the best evidence of what works, it’s helpful to call back to mind Dr. King’s ability to sum up our place in any struggle: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” This community stands together in sharing our best understanding, skills, and collective insights on how to correct course and improve health for our communities, for our patients, and for ourselves.
In this time, when the struggle for self-determination and autonomy in healthcare for physicians and patients is boiling over into the public sphere in many ways, I encourage you to hang on to hope, stand firmly by what you believe to be right, and “keep moving forward.” Whether that means fighting against a roll-back of vaccine policy that would harm millions, advocating for measures proven to increase the safety of owning a firearm, protecting a woman’s access to the full spectrum of women’s healthcare services, calling for safe clinical workloads on behalf of physicians and patients alike, protecting the right to excellent care and privacy of health information for diverse members of our patient population, confronting and countering medical disinformation, or any of the many other tough challenges we face, please stand with ACP over the coming years and help us work with our new political leaders to protect public health and good policy.
And if you have been stepping back at home and at work over these past few months to care for yourself and your family, to recharge, and to be ready as I have, don’t forget we must count our many blessings as well. The active practice of gratitude will improve our own wellbeing and provide a bulwark when we turn our eyes towards difficult struggles. Reminding ourselves of the many ways we have succeeded, the many ways we have become stronger, the community we have built, the skills we have gained and the strong focus we have developed, will help us return to this work as we need to do. I have been considering the many reasons I am grateful to this ACP community! (Please see below, in no particular order.)
I wish you all a wonderful return to the light as our days lengthen and we feel called to action again.
Thank you for all you do,
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