Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine - Achilles Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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Class of 2000 Rite of Passage Speech The George A♦ Sonnebom Memorial Lecture by E. Dalton McGlamry on ApriC 3, 1998 Finally, you are going to do what you came to medical school to do in the first place. You are going to be a medical detective You are going to examine patients. You are going to consult with patients and teach them the meaning of your findings. And you are going to treat patients. That is why you decided to come to medical school, is it not? For the past two years, and even during your undergraduate years before that, you have been studying the basic sciences and basic medical sciences Sometimes you got the idea that each scientist under whom you studied was trying to make you an expert in his or her particular subject And. yet. there was a reason. Because it is only with the basic medical background that you have acquired that you are able to be an effective medical detective As you begin to see some of the more complex cases in the clinic, you will quickly appreciate that few patients will present as textbook cases. Few will have all the symptoms you expect And most will have symptoms and signs that are common to a number of different Ills It is through the application of the background you have acquired that you will be able to reason through the patient's findings and arrive at an appropriate diagnosis and treatment plan. Starting now, if indeed you haven’t already begun, you are going to be a teacher To be a physician of any type involves teaching. Some of you may say. ’but I don't want to teach’. Ah. but you do! You may or may not want to teach in a podiatric medical college But you will be teaching the ciass that comes behind you. And as you become residents, you will teach your junior residents and extems. You will be teaching patients why certain tests are Important. You will be teaching them the meaning of your findings and diagnosis. You will be teaching them the alternatives of treatment and helping them to understand why one treatment is preferable to another Willis Hurst, author of THE HEART, has done a marvelous little monograph entitled THE DOCTOR AS A TEACHER. I would recommend it to you It makes a good case for the fact that ail successful doctors are teachers. Your ability to teach will have a great deal to do with your success as a physician. If you are going to be happy and really fulfilled in podiatric medicine you are going to be a lifetime student Up until now. you've largely had to read assignments and more assignments in every course you've token But from now on. you need to be doing additional reading. Even if you only have 15-30 minutes per day to do so. you need to constantly read other clinician's ideas You don't read other doctors' papers because you will want to copy them Very often you will find the ideas shallow, or outdated, or based on false premises. But that Is not why you read You read to stimulate your own thinking. Often you get excellent information from the papers and texts that you read But always stimulate your own mind and thinking Lawrence Perkins wrote, 'The essence of education is incompletion. A person who has completed his education is no longer educated. A measure of education is the awareness of an increasing number of things that lie ahead of you. Make the time to read something every day Allow yourself to be stimulated Allow your thinking to grow and evolve What you believe to be absolute truth today you may not believe tomorrow John Basmajian. the great medical writer who was at Emory University for a number of years, is a friend of mine. I once noted that he had over 40 books in print at the time I asked. 'John, how In the world do you manage to write so much?' He replied, 'I have to keep writing, because I don't want to be held accountable for what I thought 5 years ago The only defense against that is to be able to point to what I have subsequently written.' There is no greater fulfillment than that which one experiences as he excels in podiatry. Continue to read. Allow your horizon to expand.

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David A. Axler, PhD Associate Dean for Student Affairs TEMPLE UNIVERSITY A Conummwrallh I atvmtty Srkool of Podlttrlr Mrdirmr Eiffel) 41 Rjtr SUM Itiibib-liihia Pmn»)hiiua I9107-2IV, IW (Jl ) F x ;iM6.TMW: D vl A Mkr. Ph t Avtonstr IVjui for Srutlml Affair Dear Class of 2000 On behalf of ihc Student Affairs Staff. I am delighted to congratulate each of you on your graduation from the finest school of podialric medicine in the country This accomplishment is testimony to your efforts and sacrifices in successfully meeting the demands of a very rigorous four-year program At times, the years here must have seemed very long and the goal very far. But those years in looking back, passed very quickly and your dedication and commitment enabled y ou to successfully meet all tlie challenges before you We arc proud of you and arc confident that your success will continue You took much from the Temple University School of Podialric Medicine and gave much. We are all better for having had you with us for four years TUSPM will always be here for you. If there is anything Student Affairs can do for you in the years ahead, please call If not. please call anyway so wc may stay in touch Belter y et. stop by and see us. You arc always welcome Wc w ish you good health, professional and personal happiness and peace of mind. The best to each of you David A. Axler. Ph D. Associate Dean for Student Affairs

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If you ar© going to be happy and really fulfilled in podiatric medicine, you need to come to grips with some basic economics. Some of your professors would argue that this concept is premature. They would say that you have no money to worry about at this time in your life. I would argue that this is the very time you need to accept economic realities, because the roots of financial troubles of the future grow from the soil of medical school deprivation. I know that most of you are living on a shoestring now, and by the time you graduate have tremendous loans that must be repaid. But I want you to be able to outgrow that. And you can. You can become financially independent if you just face reality You probably know that few doctors or lawyers ever become wealthy There is a reason for that. It is directly related to a perceived necessity to keep up a front. The need for the $1000 suits of clothes; the need for the $50,000 to $100,000 automobiles, the need for expensive country clubs; the roots for these needs grow from a feeling that 'I d;d without in medical school, and now I owe it to myself to live the good life' Unfortunotely. living above one’s means produces stress, personal, and family tension, and it guarantees that you will never get ahead. There Is a now-famous study out of National Institutes of Health which found that physicians have the highest alcoholism rate, the highest drug addiction rate, the highest divorce rate, the highest bankruptcy rate, and the highest suicide rate of any of the businesses or professions. If you stop and look at that list, you'll quickly realize that the management of money figured greatly in the progression of such problems. I have two good friends. Each came into practice owing about $100,000. The first friend has been In practice for 18 years and for more than 15 years has been earning over $200,000 per year. But after 18 years, he has yet to pay off the debts that he brought into practice with him. He teeters on the edge of bankruptcy all the time. He has a negative net worth. He is constantly stressed and anxious. He can't afford the nice home he would like. Yet he and his wife buy everything they see He has had 15 expensive new cars in 18 years. He denies himself nothing as long as his credit cards are working. He is living far above his means. The other friend has been in practice 13 years He has paid off all his debts, including his practice loans. He has bought and now paid off a nice, though not lavish home. And he has accumulated just over a million dollars in liquid investments. He has done this in spite of the fact that he earns only $125,000 per year. This second friend is under no real pressure He is able to plan his life so that he can spend time with family and enjoy his profession and friends. He has never felt it necessary to buy expensive cars to impress his friends. You see, it is not how much you earn. The Important thing is that you decide early that you are going to live on less that you earn and that you ore going to regularly Invest some of your earnings where they can grow and compound. That is the simple secret to accumulation of wealth. It also answers why most doctors and lawyers are forever stressed Get a copy of the book THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR, and look at the statistics relating to doctors and lawyers You will get a new perspective on the stress produced when you live beyond your means Finally, let me suggest that you involve your family In your profession Attend state and regional meetings and take your family with you. Let them get to know the colleagues that they hear you talk about Let them get to think of the meetings as 'our meeting' instecd of 'your meeting . When my children were growing up. they always looked forward to attending the APMA annual meeting. They got to know the children of the other podiatrists. As we would leave the meeting each year, they would typically ask. 'Where Is our meeting next summer? It is infinitely easier to grow within your profession or business when you have your family's interest and support rather than their competition. I can tell you in all candor that there would never have been the COMPREHENSIVE TEXTBOOK OF FOOT SURGERY if Becky McGlamry had not been willing to do the tedious time consuming job of the English editing She took each of the author's chapters. many of them in deplorable condition, and placed them in a readable form. Without that help we would never have finished the books. Both of my sons learned photography by helping to photograph material for the book. It pays to involve your family, and it helps to insure their support of your professional endeavors. You are getting a magnificent podiatric medical education And while I do not know the exact direction health care delivery will take. I do know that most people will continue to have two feet. And as long as people continue to be active, they are going to need your services I don't know what you will accomplish as a class or as individuals. But I do know that you will be professionally wealthy if you give serious attention to the subjects I have mentioned. Don't settle for anything less than a lifetime of learning. Anyone can walk on water if you show them where the stepping stones are located. The purpose of education and training is to point out the stepping stones. Learn where those stones are. and enjoy the walk to the fullest I wish you every success for the future. You are in a great profession. We look to you to take what we give you and make it better