President's Message
President's Message
A front
By Deb Moss
"Upstream Efforts"
I am working on a lecture for the medical students next month about the issue of gun violence as a public health issue. And I've been thinking about whether to start off with what's become known as the 'public health parable'.
Some of you may know how it goes--
A man is out fishing in a river one day when he hears a cry for help. He sees a person in the rapid waters, flailing, trying to stay afloat, and immediately jumps in to rescue the person. As soon as he gets the person safely to shore, the fisherman hears another cry for help. Again he sees someone nearly drowning, jumps in, and -- struggling against the current-brings this individual to shore. But just then, he hears another cry for help, and another and another and before too long, there are so many people coming towards him drowning in the river that he is unable to keep up. In his exhaustion, he starts to wonder why all these people are falling into the river in the first place. So he starts walking upstream to see what is happening and notices a bridge over the river with a broken area where people are falling through. He quickly gets to work repairing the bridge.
This story -or versions of it -- is often used to underscore the importance of getting to the source of a problem and what is meant by primary prevention. By illustrating the difference between primary prevention (fixing the bridge), secondary prevention (rescuing those fallen in), and tertiary prevention (getting the near drowning victims to high quality emergency care quickly), this story also reminds us of the many roles we pediatricians play along the prevention spectrum. I think of us as prevention specialists in the ways we protect and treat our patients every day. So in that way, this tale is both educational and inspiring.
While I've heard (and told) this story many times, what strikes me most about it at this moment is how critical the WHY question is - why are all these people drowning? Why are all people being injured from gun violence? Why am I seeing so much more anxiety in my patients? Why are my teen patients developing vaping-related lung disease? (I plan to address the vaping issue in next month's newsletter.)
This story is reminding me to ask WHY and take action when possible.
What are you noticing or called to do that is stimulating your curiosity for WHY? As always, Annette (Amyarick@paaap.org) and I (Deborah.moss@chp.edu) are interested in hearing your ideas or questions.
Thank you,
Deborah Moss, MD, MPH, FAAP
President 2018-2020
A front
By Deb Moss
"Upstream Efforts"
I am working on a lecture for the medical students next month about the issue of gun violence as a public health issue. And I've been thinking about whether to start off with what's become known as the 'public health parable'.
Some of you may know how it goes--
A man is out fishing in a river one day when he hears a cry for help. He sees a person in the rapid waters, flailing, trying to stay afloat, and immediately jumps in to rescue the person. As soon as he gets the person safely to shore, the fisherman hears another cry for help. Again he sees someone nearly drowning, jumps in, and -- struggling against the current-brings this individual to shore. But just then, he hears another cry for help, and another and another and before too long, there are so many people coming towards him drowning in the river that he is unable to keep up. In his exhaustion, he starts to wonder why all these people are falling into the river in the first place. So he starts walking upstream to see what is happening and notices a bridge over the river with a broken area where people are falling through. He quickly gets to work repairing the bridge.
This story -or versions of it -- is often used to underscore the importance of getting to the source of a problem and what is meant by primary prevention. By illustrating the difference between primary prevention (fixing the bridge), secondary prevention (rescuing those fallen in), and tertiary prevention (getting the near drowning victims to high quality emergency care quickly), this story also reminds us of the many roles we pediatricians play along the prevention spectrum. I think of us as prevention specialists in the ways we protect and treat our patients every day. So in that way, this tale is both educational and inspiring.
While I've heard (and told) this story many times, what strikes me most about it at this moment is how critical the WHY question is - why are all these people drowning? Why are all people being injured from gun violence? Why am I seeing so much more anxiety in my patients? Why are my teen patients developing vaping-related lung disease? (I plan to address the vaping issue in next month's newsletter.)
This story is reminding me to ask WHY and take action when possible.
What are you noticing or called to do that is stimulating your curiosity for WHY? As always, Annette (Amyarick@paaap.org) and I (Deborah.moss@chp.edu) are interested in hearing your ideas or questions.
Thank you,
Deborah Moss, MD, MPH, FAAP
President 2018-2020