To me, it is an honor.

By Dr. Leon Bullard, Medical Director, SC Mission Midlands

Dr. Leon Bullard, SCMA Board Member and Ob-Gyn at Lexington Medical Center talks about what it means to him to serve as the Medical Director for SC Mission Midlands 2013, an event that will serve the needs of hundreds of uninsured and underinsured Midlands patients.

Every year in the Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons there appear articles submitted by Fellows who provide lengthy narratives of their most recent “missions” to one of the many underserved countries in the Caribbean or Central and South America.  These papers, complete with photographs of the smiling recipients and providers, give testimony to the dedication of the physicians and the gratitude of the patients who receive the surgical procedures, corrective plastic surgery operations, ophthalmic procedures, gynecologic surgery (not yet robotics), and so forth.  I have been asked often just why I have not volunteered for one or more of these trips.  Short answer has always been obvious.  There is little reason for me to travel; especially at my personal expense.  I can be of similar service to humanity by staying put and caring for the people in my community.  To me, it is an honor to be able to provide even a small portion of care for the underserved, medically needy people of the Midlands.

We physicians are a blessed group in multiple ways.  Educational opportunities have been provided to and for us since early in our lives.  Most graduates of our traditional medical schools enter the “real world” with the knowledge and skills and the degree that provide them with the tools, license if you will, to be a vital part of the ‘act of medicine’, so eloquently described in the writings of the late Dr. Ed Pellegrino.

The modern paradigm of the practice of medicine is changing from the traditional, some say paternalistic, provision of care by one physician to one patient to a broader concept of a team-based group of healthcare providers offering a patient-centered (family oriented) medical home.  The providers may be physicians, advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, dietitians, physical or occupational therapists and so forth.  Each provider practices within their scope of practice with supervision.  The team leader, at present, remains the physician.

Mission 2013 for the Midlands will offer an opportunity for clinicians and providers from all segments of the healthcare team to work together for the benefit of the uninsured, often underserved people of our local communities.  Early detection of potential chronic illnesses just might prevent long-term bad outcomes if the patients can be offered a medical home other than the local emergency departments.  I look forward to a successful venture on August 2^nd and 3^rd, 2013.