Page 4 - WCMS2Q22

What to Look For in This Issue of the Bulletin
TBy Richard E. Burney, MD
his quarter’s Bulletin offers a comprehensive wrap- up of the 2022 MSMS House of Delegates meeting with a reporter’s point of view, a student perspective,
and a summary of actions taken. The meeting, unlike the recent Mackinac Policy Conference, was held with appro- priate precautions and did not become a super spreader event for Omicron. I offer a debriefing of the events at the HOD, written immediately afterwards, along with some commentary. Charlotte Kreger, an M-1 who also served on a reference committee, offers a student perspective on Michigan medical politics. She was appropriately surprised by the apparent political conflict she saw between physi- cians and allied health professionals who must work co- operatively to provide good health care.
President Hopper in his cleverly titled message delivers an important warning regarding the dangers of vaping among teens and its association with other forms of sub- stance abuse.
Public HeaIth Department director, Juan Marquez, pro- vides the latest information on COVID-19, Influenza, and a
primer on Monkeypox, which is in a supplement to his column.
I review a remarkable new
book by University of Michigan
medical historian Howard
Markel in which he tells in ex-
citing detail the fascinating and previously untold story behind the story of the discovery of the structure of DNA, the “secret of life.” This discovery was the result of an un- planned, unexpected mix of competitors and pieces of information falling into place for Watson and Crick who were not even supposed to be working on the question but were seeking the fame that they know the discovery would bring. Kudos to Dr. Markel for his painstaking research. And writing. This book should go on your summer reading list.
Finally, in Chapter 4 of The Cottage, more family vacation foolishness, this time related to dock and boats, those expensive, high-maintenance items that are sources of stress as much as pleasure. •
4 Washtenaw County Medical Society BULLETIN SUMMER 2022