History
The origin of the St. Louis Metropolitan Medical Society (SLMMS) dates back to 1836, when a group of concerned physicians gathered to share information about medical cases, public health concerns, and the need for an “organized group.” This year SLMMS celebrates 180 years of operation, with a history that pre-dates both Missouri State Medical Association and the American Medical Association, and is proud to be one of the oldest continuing medical societies in the United States.
In 2013, to continue to chart its course and serve its members with relevance, SLMMS completed a strategic planning process that identified six key areas of focus -advocacy, communications and marketing, education, fiscal responsibility, leadership development and membership enhancement – with tactics necessary for success. SLMMS continues to operationalize this plan today. The world in which our physician members practice is continuously changing. This strategic roadmap helps guarantee that SLMMS will be there to provide support.
Through the process, SLMMS defined a new mission statement, “to support and inspire member physicians to achieve quality medicine through advocacy, communication and education.” The Society also adopted its first-ever vision statement: “Physicians leading health care and building strong physician-patient relationships.”
2016 SLMMS President
Sameer Cabbabe, MD
2015 SLMMS President
Michael Stadnyk, MD
SLMMS leaders are key stakeholders in delivering the mission, vision, and strategic plan. Michael J. Stadnyk, MD, 2015 SLMMS president, reminded members of the saying, “Think globally, act locally,” during his recently-concluded year of service. “There are many issues influencing the world in which we live,” explained Dr. Stadnyk, “and many are much larger than what any local medical society can change. So where can a St. Louis physician make an impact? Right here at home, in your own hospital, in your own office, and in your St. Louis Metropolitan Medical Society.”
“SLMMS is the collective voice for physicians in both regulatory and legislative issues. We provide educational benefits, explore community service opportunities, and keep our members informed of timely issues,” he added.
Physician Leadership Institute
During Dr. Stadnyk’s term as president, SLMMS launched its Physician Leadership Institute, developed in partnership with Anders Health Care Services and Healthcare Management Alternatives, Inc. The five-session program is open to physicians only, and focuses on the business side of medical practice, with the objective of helping physicians develop their leadership and management skills. The 2015 class filled to capacity, with 25 physicians from St. Louis and throughout Missouri completing the program.
The curriculum is rooted in the six domains of the Medical Group Management Association, and was developed with input from the SLMMS CME committee, health care executives, and the partnering consultants. The classes were designed to be interactive and encourage discussion, providing the participants with the presentations and reading materials in advance of the sessions, so that class time is optimized for debate and the exchange of information. The faculty includes experts from the St. Louis area on topics relevant to all practitioners, whether they are independent, hospital-based, or part of a large group.
The six domains are foundations of health care, finance and revenue, practice management, risk and compliance, and leadership skills. SLMMS feels the program is not only filling a need in the physician community, but fulfilling a goal of its strategic plan by developing current and future SLMMS leaders.
Issues Advocacy
SLMMS projects an active voice on key issues impacting the practice of medicine. When UnitedHealthcare began eliminating physicians from its Medicare Advantage physician network, SLMMS spoke out through the news media and grassroots communications, resulting in some doctors being reinstated. More recently, SLMMS has unified opposition to maintenance of certification rules, through proposed MSMA resolutions, educational programs, and in St. Louis Metropolitan Medicine, its bi-monthly journal.
Resident-Fellow and Medical Student Sections
SLMMS has focused on building relationships within the two medical education programs in St. Louis. Over the last 18 to 24 months, SLMMS has formed Resident-Fellow and Medical Student member sections. Resident-Fellows pay significantly reduced annual dues and enjoy full membership benefits; medical student dues are free, and SLMMS amended its bylaws to give students voting representation on its Council, through appointed liaisons from both Saint Louis University and Washington University Schools of Medicine.
SLMMS student members from WUSM volunteering at World Food Day.
“By reaching out to younger members while they are still in training we are able to introduce them to organized medicine and the value of medical society membership,” explained Samer Cabbabe, MD, 2016 SLMMS president. “In addition to involvement with our Council, we include these members in most Society events, providing them with beneficial networking and mentoring opportunities.”
Connecting with the students has also provided SLMMS the opportunity to actively support many of their initiatives, such as the IDEA Labs entrepreneurship incubator at Washington University, and the newer MedLaunch program at Saint Louis University. Both organizations have received grant support from the St. Louis Society for Medical and Scientific Education (SLSMSE), the charitable foundation arm of SLMMS. SLSMSE also supports other physician and community education activities including the annual Hippocrates Society lecture, the Greater St. Louis Science Fair, World Food Day, the Missouri Physicians Health Program, and the SLMMS Alliance.
SLMMS Alliance
The Alliance plays an integral part of fulfilling the SLMMS mission through community health education, charitable projects and legislative advocacy. Their membership includes physician spouses, medical residents and students, and friends of physicians. Alliance members present health education programs in area schools, and their Voices of Excellence program challenges middle school students to improve their public speaking skills. Throughout the year, the Alliance raises funds for non-profit charities such as St. Martha’s Hall, Nurses for Newborns, and others. They also provide scholarships for area medical students, and advance the Society’s legislative agenda through their annual advocacy day at the Missouri State Capitol.
Maintaining Relevance
As a membership driven organization, SLMMS constantly works to remain relevant for its physician members. SLMMS regularly provides e-news updates with news and announcements, and earlier this year, launched Facebook and Twitter social media platforms through the efforts of President Cabbabe.
But ultimately, it all goes back to preserving autonomy and maintaining the physician-patient relationship. SLMMS believes physicians need to remain as the driving force to make that happen.
“Physicians are indispensable members of society,” said Dr. Cabbabe. “Over the course of our 180 years, medicine has prospered under the leadership of physicians, and it’s our responsibility to preserve that role. Organized medicine assists us in accomplishing this task. It is our duty to educate all physicians and non-physicians about what organized medicine has achieved and why it must persist – for our patients and our communities.”