From cutting-edge CME and robust discussion to the installation of new association leadership and policymaking, this year’s annual meeting in Dallas was filled with excitement as more than 1,200 physicians, residents, and medical students successfully fulfilled the three missions of TexMed 2024: advocate, educate, and innovate.
The number reflects a milestone for the Texas Medical Association: Attendance has not reached such a level since prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and included 479 members attending their first TexMed this year at the Omni Dallas May 2-4.
That includes Ruby Holloway, MD, of Scurry. Although 35 years of TMA membership elapsed before attending her first TexMed in person, she was glad she came to this one.
“It’s fantastic. seeing other physicians, going to the sessions. I love it,” she said while walking into the conference’s Friday afternoon block party.
If not working or learning, physicians also had a unique opportunity this year at TexMed to resolve the fingerprinting requirement many face for license renewal. Nearly 200 physicians scheduled appointments with the on-site vendor Idemia.
Meeting members’ needs
After years of juggling schedules for multiple activities – leaving physicians to choose between business, learning, or networking – the revamped 2024 schedule optimized how attendees could spend their time. With simple timing changes, such as moving the conference’s opening session to 8 am alongside the House of Delegates, this year’s TexMed brought together physicians from all different backgrounds even more so.
The improved schedule included revamped networking events like Friday’s Welcome Reception, sponsored by Texas Medical Liability Trust, which hosted nearly 500 TexMed attendees. Following a trend initially introduced last year, the reception incorporated the Presidents’ Toast, letting association and TMA Alliance members meet their incoming presidents, Ray Callas, MD, and Jenny Shepherd, respectively.
Tapping into members’ needs and interests, the meeting’s opening and closing sessions packed the ballroom. The conference opened with a presentation on artificial intelligence in health care by Harvey Castro, MD, a Flower Mound emergency physician and strategic advisor on health care for ChatGPT. And after days of intensive work and discussion, attendees unwound and learned with comedy and lessons on advocacy from Will Flanary, MD, also known on social media as Dr. Glaucomflecken.
The conference hosted more than 30 hours of eligible education, with some sessions standing-room only.
Among those opportunities was the poster session, where more than 50 posters were submitted and vetted through TMA’s Committee on Continuing Education, covering a wide range of topics. Those included the “People’s Choice” award-winning “Lean On Me: Emotional Peer Support Initiative to Improve Workforce Wellbeing” from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
Advocacy, leadership
TMA’s highest award, meanwhile, went to a long-time champion of TMA advocacy, kicking off TexMed with a time-honored tradition. In recognition of his nearly 50-year career spanning obstetrics-gynecology practice in Lake Dallas and 11 terms in Congress, TMA honored U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, MD (R-Lewisville), with its 2024 Distinguished Service Award.
“This is a wonderful award, and I am really so appreciative of it, but none of this would have happened without the TMA,” he told a packed audience. “The TMA was there for me.”
And TMA’ s highest leaders took the stage to open a new chapter of the association’s now 170-plus year history.
In his last address to the House of Delegates and the association, Dallas cardiologist Rick Snyder, MD, TMA’s 158th president, recalled the many visits he shared with physicians, medical students, and county medical society members, listening to concerns about economic challenges plaguing health care today.
Above all, Dr. Snyder’s presidency aimed to impress upon both clinicians and legislators that “we are physicians and not providers,” a belief he shared to a standing ovation on May 3. “Discussing how important the role advocacy plays in the empowerment of physicians … is truly an honor and a privilege as TMA president.”
Dr. Snyder closed his year of service by administering the oath of office for Dr. Callas, a Beaumont anesthesiologist. As challenges mount for Texas physicians, like consolidation, workforce shortages, and the ever-present threat of Medicare payment cuts, Dr. Callas intends to bolster TMA membership to fight back.
“[TMA] cannot become complacent with our size or position as experts in our field. Make no mistake: physicians are under attack,” he said in a video presentation. “We will stand up for the future of Texas. Every physician deserves the right to have a relationship with their patient.”
His installation was accompanied by another video, this one from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who congratulated Dr. Callas and emphasized the importance of the association’s work for the health of all Texans.
Dr. Callas is the first graduate of TMA’s Leadership College to chair the Board of Trustees and now, to serve as president of the association. Nearly 15 years and more than 250 alumni later, the college graduated a class of 16 physicians this TexMed.
“To the great House of Medicine: I’m going to lead, lead, lead,” he promised. “It’s all about us taking back medicine. You deserve to be leaders; your patients deserve to have your voice.”
Don’t miss the next of TMA’s valuable in-person meetings, including the Business of Medicine Conference scheduled for October. Read Texas Medicine Today for upcoming details and announcements.