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| Deletia Silentia |
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by Bob Blumm, MA, PA-C, DFAAPA - June 4, 2011
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How often do we take the enjoyable things that life has to offer and fail to recognize that they are good fortune or gifts? I observe special things such as the health of my family members, my dwelling, my two cars, the fact that I am healthy and fortunate enough to have employment and that I can choose to operate today, consult tomorrow or care for returning soldiers and marines the following day. There is always food on the table, a place for my head at night, a trusty CPAP machine that make me sound like Darth Vader, a spouse, residual parents and a grandson and another grandchild due in July. Both my son and daughter are employed, him as a psychiatric nurse and her as a chief development officer for Bette Midler and her organization. The world did not end on May 21, 2011, and I have surgical cases next week.
Life is not as peaceful for everyone, as you would discover if you were in a town hit by a tornado in the Midwestern USA or your home was presently being washed away or destroyed by the Mississippi River or if you were living in Japan and were a victim of the earthquake and the Tsunami and now cannot go back to your home or community because of radiation. Some individuals get into their car, drive to work and suddenly are hit by a truck or SUV and awaken in an ICU fighting for their life and paralyzed. Life is always in flux and situations can change from minute to minute and you or a family member can undergo a completely different destiny.
I’ve been a practicing clinician for forty years and have worked closely with my PA and NP as well as with nurses and physicians colleagues and have come to realize that we all do not share the same attitudes or enthusiasm. I am a joiner, a worker, a visionary and I manage to place my thoughts on paper to make a compelling argument. I have served as president of a state chapter and three national organizations and have represented both the AAPA and the ACC to the American College of Surgeons as a Liaison. I have been aghast with the attitudes of some of my colleagues who will not only refuse to join a committee but who fail to join either their state, specialty of national organization. Their attitude reflects a lack of concern for their profession or a self centeredness that chooses to let someone else pay dues and carry them in the direction that WE HOPE TO ATTAIN. This has a damaging effect on our leadership, on our organizations and on our specialties and professions.
Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice! We choose to follow a path that will ultimately lead us to a place of security for both the present and the future. It requires involvement today, not tomorrow. Survivors in combat receive their esteemed title of “survivor” by constant vigilance and awareness of crowds, driving on roads and knowing the signs of IEDs or “booby traps” that have the ability to incapacitate us or totally destroy the intended target. You and I share the responsibility of being vigilant and in keeping informed as to the potential threats or dangers that we are facing from multiple fronts both legislatively and from the medical societies. Knowledge is the key to understanding the issues, and that knowledge cannot be attained by existing in a vacuum. The issues that we face, we face together, and there is no room for bystanders. Looking at the accomplishments that have been made this year, how could they have been acquired without joint effort and desire to improve our situations?
The words, Deletia Silentia, are the inscription on an epitaph of an ancient city. Legend has it that the prince was alarmed without cause and ordered that no evil tidings should ever be brought under penalty of death. Think of the longevity of Mittman or Blumm if the professions leaders enforced that edict, we would be hanging like a dry piece of supersodda in an Italian butcher shop. One day, while a sentry walked the wall, the enemy approached. The sentry focused on self preservation, failed to sound the alarm and escaped from the city. The city was then entered, ravaged, plundered and burned. Its destruction was described as Deletia Silentia---death by silence.
The exact opposite of urgency is apathy. This city is a microcosm of what could be part of the history in the annals of the PA and NP professions if we all chose to be observers’, not join our organizations, fail to gather together at conferences and feel the power and excitement of being members of a intelligent, united front. Membership is an honor, a privilege, an opportunity to gain knowledge and an insurance policy for your role in the future of patient care. When legislative climates are changing ( and they are); when activity is on the increase( and it is), when business people dressed in Armani suits dictate health care policy with their pet congressmen and senators based upon dropping the bottom line and decreasing health care benefits for citizens of the country and their hospitals. When sacred cows like social security become the target of reducing the national debt, then it is time for Americans to stand up and to stand together. We need to become a wall of revolution that says we will not allow this to happen in this country.
So here is the challenge and the big question. How will you demonstrate your decision? Will you close you eyes, ears and mouth like the statues that I saw on a temple in Kyoto, Japan? Will Deletia Silentia become the epitaph of these two great professions who have done so much for patient care? Margaret Meade said, “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” We are that small group of people. We need each other. We need to close ranks and stand together. Are you up for the challenge and willing to become part of the plan for victory? I am!
Robert M. Blumm has received national recognition as a distinguished fellow of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA). He is the past president of the Association of Plastic Surgery Physician Assistants, and was past-president of the American Association of Surgical Physician Assistants, past president of the American College of Clinicians and NYSSPA, as well as Chairman of the Surgical Congress of the AAPA. In addition, Bob received the John Kirklin MD Award for Professional Excellence from the American Association of Surgical Physician Assistants. Along with his associate, Dr. Acker, Bob was the first recipient of the AAPA PAragon Physician-PA Partnership Award. He has been a contributing author of three textbooks, written 150 plus articles and is a sought out conference speaker throughout the United States.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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