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Outgoing ACG president optimistic despite attacks on colonoscopy, concerns over burnout, ACA
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SAN DIEGO – Widespread media attacks on colonoscopy, unachievable demands for perfection and the unknown future represented by the Affordable Care Act present significant challenges going forward, but the American College of Gastroenterology is well situated to address those challenges, outgoing President Ronald J. Vender, MD, said during his President’s Address at the ACG annual meeting.
“Gastroenterologists are among the hardest working, dedicated and respected physicians in America,” Vender said. “We must not allow our reputations to be questioned, and we cannot tolerate unwarranted attacks.”
The reports have appeared most recently in the form of a series of “misleading and misguided” articles on colonoscopy that appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today, Vender said. The “seemingly orchestrated attacks … were misleading, factually incorrect and potentially harmful to the health of our patients,” he said.
However, the reports also helped strengthen bonds between the ACG and its sister societies, which jointly responded to the articles by launching a public awareness campaign and reaching out to members of Congress to set the record straight.
Questions such as these about the work gastroenterologists perform also contribute to the continuing issue of burnout in the field, Vender said.
“Doctors report less job satisfaction, personal fulfillment and happiness,” he said. “The rates of burnout and depression among our colleagues are intolerably high … we witness stress, anxiety, disruptive behavior and various forms of impairment on a regular basis.”
But ACG is working to address these issues through programs including heightened awareness of the problem along with a college-led initiative to address the personal, emotional, psychological and spiritual needs of members, including resources to diagnose burnout and depression, Vender said.
One potential cause of some uncertainty is the Affordable Care Act, Vender noted, which is “threatening the very future of private practice.”
Despite some positives, he said, the law is generally perceived negatively by the public.
“Should we simply wait it out? I believe the answer is ‘no,’ ” he said.
Despite these concerns, however, Vender remains positive about the future of the field.
“I have confidence and faith in the membership of the ACG,” he said.