Budd's Encomium

Budd's Encomium

Usually, Budd's Blog is for droll stories illuminative of the human condition, analysis of health care policy, trenchant political insights, and analogies involving sports. And predictions, of course, predicated on establishing the subsequent right to exclaim, “I told you so!”

But today is different. Today, I am posting an encomium I received from the Chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Administration and Practice Management (the hallowed SOAPM), along with some other comments from SOAPM members. Paraphrasing Erica Jong, I have to say I have been well and truly honored. As they say, my father would be so proud, and my mother would believe it. And adding to that, my brother Bob said that if the encomium had been declared publicly at the award ceremony rather than posted on the listserve, he would have been compelled to have asked for equal time for a rebuttal. That's what brothers are for, no?

So, here it is:

Hi All

Yesterday, at the NCE here in Chicago, the SOAPM Executive Committee was pleased to recognize Budd N. Shenkin, MD, FAAP with the Charles “Buzzy” Vanchiere award.   The Vanchiere Award, presented annually since 2001, is SOAPM’s highest honor.  It recognizes outstanding contributions in the education of pediatricians in administrative pediatrics, practice management, and payment.    Nominations are submitted annually in the spring by SOAPM members and then selected by the SOAPM executive committee.    

Budd is a native of Philadelphia but has lived and practiced in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past 40 years.  Even in the population of SOAPM overachievers, his credentials and achievements are impressive.  A third-generation physician, he attended Harvard University for undergraduate and medical school.  His postgraduate education includes residencies and certifications in both pediatrics and preventive medicine, a Master of Arts in Public Administration from UC Berkeley, a position as visiting researcher at Sweden’s Stockholm School of Economics, and a Robert Wood Johnson fellowship at UCSF.  In 1979, he founded Bayside Medical Group as a solo practitioner.  Over the next 33 years, he grew his practice to become the largest privately held primary care pediatrics group in the Bay Area, with 10 offices, 35 clinicians, and 150 staff. 

Budd has served the Academy in a variety of roles.  He was on the Committee on Child Health Financing (COCHF) for six years, and recently completed an important role on the Task Force for Pediatric Practice Change, a diverse group of AAP leaders with experience in practice change.

Budd is a deep thinker and an articulate, thoughtful writer and speaker.  He’s authored textbooks and textbook chapters, served on the editorial board of no fewer than five peer-reviewed journals, and gave Congressional testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee in 2009 about health insurance reform.   His style blends medicine, history, management, philosophy, economics, wit, and wisdom, calling on both his impressive academic background as well as his practical life experience in primary care pediatrics.   He is both prophetic and visionary. He advocated for patients taking ownership of their medical records in the New England Journal of Medicine as early as 1973. and wrote an article on the importance of fathers being equal parents in 1992.    He’s sustained that prolific pace of writing. editing, and blogging at <http://buddshenkin.blogspot.com>, more recently as the lead author on the AAP’s policy statement on high deductible health plans. 

Budd completed his six year term on the SOAPM EC last year.  He represented our Section well up to the AAP executive board, inward to SOAPM members, and outward to pediatricians everywhere.  His remarks yesterday at the award presentation reflected his vision for SOAPM taking a deeper and broader role in the AAP.  You can find him this weekend in the SOAPM booth, enthusiastically and energetically encouraging others to join SOAPM, and, of course, every day here on the listserv.

Please join me in congratulating Dr Budd Shenkin, the 2017 recipient of the Vanchiere award!

--

Christoph Diasio MD FAAP

SOAPM Chair

Suzanne Berman

Hear, hear!

I had forgotten how much stuff Budd has done.

I will add personally that Budd has inspired me in terms of policy writing:

Shortly after I joined COCHF (Committee on Child Health Financing), I offered to write a paper on alternate payment models.  At 5 pages, I thought I had a pretty good summary.  Budd pushed me and stretched me and added little query boxes like "What about this [good idea] or this other [policy consideration]?"

At first I was getting a little irritated with Budd about how much "extra work" he was generating for me.  But at the end of the day, after his last suggestion for clarity or word choice or Daniel Kahnemann reference was satisfied, I had a much better paper.

Thank you, Budd, for kicking my butt towards excellence.

SKB

Suzanne Berman, MD, FAAP
Plateau Pediatrics
Crossville, TN 

 

Brandy McCray

Besides all the fantastic qualities mentioned about Budd above, I would like to mention one of my favorite qualities of Budd - his generosity.

He is generous in his time - offering his thoughts and experiences to anyone that will ask (see Suzanne's example above).

He is generous in spirit - offering his emotional support and examples of his life experiences for those in need.

He is generous in friendship - hosting many for dinner and drinks in his hometown.

And, he is generous as a pediatrician and mentor - sharing many ideas, templates, patient handouts, etc, with anyone that asks.

I am grateful for the opportunity to know him and SOAPM is blessed to have him,

Hear's to Budd!

Brandy McCray, MD

San Antonio, TX

S.F. Khan, MD, FAAP

I have had the most privileged position of being the SOAPMite who lives closest to Budd and have access to tap his wealth of knowledge & expertise amytime, all year round.  And I have exploited that opportunity more than once.

Budd introduced me to a colleague at UCSF with whom I subsequently crafted the series workshop program I am currently teaching there, to an elite (in my opinion) group of residents dedicated to pediatric leadership in underserved services and who could not be more custom designed to eat advocacy for breakfast, lunch & dinner.  That colleague has since become a dear friend.  

Thank you, Budd, for thinking of her and me in the same thought and immediately acting on it.  You are a genuine sage.

Sonia