This regular feature appeared in the September 2014 AMA MedEd Update, a monthly medical education newsletter. It profiles a leader in medical education and the AMA. If you know of an AMA member physician that we should profile, please email us.
Kenneth B. Simons, MD
Specialty: Ophthalmology
Current position and title: Senior associate dean for graduate medical education and accreditation, Medical College of Wisconsin
Current AMA role: Alternate delegate for the AMA Section on Medical Schools
AMA member since: 1997
What compelled you to pursue a leadership role in the AMA?
I recognized that the AMA brought tremendous value to the work I was doing with medical student education. I also realized that if I wanted to do my job well, it required the help of lots of people, including those leaders in medical education who were involved in the AMA Section on Medical Schools (SMS). The AMA-SMS also provided the opportunity to be at the forefront of what was happening in undergraduate medical education, but the true beauty of the AMA-SMS is that all aspects of medical education are represented—undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education.
I initially became active in the AMA-SMS by reviewing reports/resolutions. It allowed me to voice opinions and speak on the issues impacting medical education. I was encouraged by AMA-SMS leaders, including Emory Wilson, MD, a former chair of the section, to stay involved and pursue a leadership role.
I was elected to a position on the AMA-SMS Governing Council in 2005 and subsequently became the AMA-SMS liaison to the Council on Medical Education in 2006. This role afforded me a great opportunity to have input into and insight about the important work of the Council. I also served as AMA-SMS chair in 2010-2011. In short, the AMA-SMS has been a terrific opportunity to get into AMA leadership and work with wonderful colleagues across the country, with the goal of making things better for our students, our residents, our faculty, and, ultimately, our patients.
How has your role helped facilitate your professional development and your involvement in other medical organizations?
So much of what I’ve done in my career can be attributed to my work with the AMA-SMS. For example, I have served on the board of directors of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, providing me an incredible opportunity to influence the direction of graduate medical education (GME) and residency training for thousands of tomorrow’s physicians. Currently, I am on the board of the National Resident Matching Program. Obviously, that organization saw value in the experience I’ve developed over the years—none of which would have been possible without my involvement in the AMA-SMS and the AMA.
What are the most important issues today in medical education?
First of all, making sure there are enough GME positions for the graduates of our medical schools. You can’t graduate these students with significant debt and not have anywhere for them to go. Another issue is the time in medical school and residency training. Can we create efficiencies in the system, and are our future physicians being adequately trained in residency due to duty hour limits? In other words, how do we maximize the educational value during this period? How do we make sure our physician workforce is trained in an efficient and highly appropriate fashion to handle the issues they will be facing as they enter into practice?
Finally, we must ensure that our students and residents have the right professional ethos for assuming the mantle of responsibility that the public expects of them. We in education have an obligation to society to ensure that these individuals have the correct knowledge, skills, and attributes to practice with compassion and professionalism.
If you only had a minute, what advice would you give to a medical student or physician in training?
You need to be involved, and you are part of something that is larger than yourself. You entered freely into this wonderful profession to do good things for people, such that you have a responsibility to stay current in your field, to make our society healthier and safer for everyone, and to always remember that what you do is incredibly important and, while it may not be said to you, your efforts are appreciated. Even the smallest thing you do, that may not seem important to you—to your patients, it may be everything. You touch lives, you make a difference and you make the world a better place.
What advice do you have for aspiring leaders in medicine, and what role can the AMA play in helping one reach that aspiration?
You need to be a role model. It comes back to the Hippocratic Oath: You need to practice your art, with uprightness and honor, so people see you as someone they aspire to be.
If you’re going to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. Don’t expect others to carry the load for you. You have to volunteer for the duties and challenges; you can’t shirk responsibilities. It’s a fine line between work and family, but “no” is a very difficult word to say if you want to be a leader. Once people recognize the value of the work you do, they want you to do more. It’s a win-win, and it enhances your leadership credibility. The AMA provides us with numerous opportunities at any number of levels to get involved in assisting the profession of medicine, colleagues, students and patients. All you need to do is volunteer that most precious gift, your time.
How does volunteering as a leader in medicine help you in your daily work?
All the skills I have acquired over the years have helped me in my relationships with my colleagues, with organizations, and most importantly with my patients. And this has aided my students/residents as well. You learn how to carry yourself, and you learn that everyone’s opinion is important and worthy of respect. I’ve learned about values, and the art of compromise. It’s not just your way; let’s make it our way. In short, it has helped me be a better person.
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