My Last Day.....by David Darrigan

Today I accompanied Dr. Gardner on her day trip to Austin. The Texas Medical Board was discussing rule 164.4, which deals with advertising the term “board certified” in Texas. Advertising involves how a physician identifies himself or herself to peers and hospitals, on the web, in print, and in the media. A hot debate arose from the issue. Many influential leaders testified, including Dr. Gardner. Towards the end of the debate, the board was gracious enough to let me throw my thoughts into the discussion. Being able to see the board in action and speak to them was a quite an experience.

Afterwards we went to tour the Texas Medical Association (TMA) building. The building, staff, and the work that gets accomplished there were impressive. The TMA has developed a new leadership development program, the Texas Medical Association Leadership College. It is designed to train young physicians for future leadership positions.

Next up was visiting the Texas College of Emergency Physicians headquarters. Nancy Davis and Jim Coles showed us a great time. The building has been a wonderful investment, and everyone is hard at work preparing the upcoming TCEP annual meeting this April in Frisco.

What’s next for me? It’s time to go back to being a grunt doc working in the trenches. The lessons I learned on this policy elective will allow me to better understand the big picture in medicine, and it will help me be a more informed practitioner. There are a lot of hard working physicians that work behind the scenes to allow us to do what we do best...taking care of patients. Their job is not easy, and I thank them.

-David Darrigan, DO

Photo: Dr. David Darrigan and Dr. David Mendelson at TCEP Headquarters by Angela Gardner