AMDA, Futures Brings Peace of Mind to Physician in Mid-Career Change

Rebecca King-Tucker, MD, CMD, sleeps well at night…partly thanks to AMDA. “Practitioners can’t be as independent as we used to be. We have to band together to have a voice. I am confident that AMDA is advocating for me and the future of post-acute-long-term care medicine, which gives me peace of mind so I can focus on caring for my patients – and I feel good when I go to sleep at night,” she said.

Dr. King-Tucker came to AMDA through a winding path that included participation in the AMDA Foundation Futures program. However, she actually found AMDA first. “I left family medicine practice after 17 years and pursued a geriatrics fellowship. In 2011, I went to my first AMDA conference, and I completed the Core Curriculum and became a CMD in 2012,” she recalled.

Yet she heard the call of the Futures program. “In rural Montana [where she lived at the time], it was hard to find mentors. So I was really excited about participating in the Futures program and connecting with people—other fellows and CMDs—there.” She wasn’t disappointed. “I was impressed with the incredible amount of thought that goes into the Futures program. They bring together a top-notch group of experts to provide an incredible snapshot of post-acute and long-term care.” She also established relationships with program chairs Cari Levy, MD, CMD, and Heidi White, MD, CMD, who have given her advice, answered questions, and remain a phone call away for guidance.

While Dr. King-Tucker was grateful for the one-year AMDA membership that came with her Futures participation, she admits that she wasn’t sure at first if she would continue to be a member over time. But she quickly discovered AMDA’s value. “Questions would arise at my facility, and I was able to get evidence-based, proven answers and information from AMDA.” She added that she is still struggling with issues such as care transitions and bundled payments and is pleased that “AMDA has been out ahead on these issues and has related tools and information.” Now, Dr. King-Tucker said, “AMDA is my group. It is more important than any other organization I belong to.”

While big-ticket items such as free webinars, clinical practice guidelines, and the Know-It-All series are all valuable, Dr. King-Tucker added that sometimes the little things have a huge impact. For example, personality tests at the Core Curriculum and the Futures program helped her understand how she thinks and works and how she can best communicate with her team and others. Additionally, the wisdom of various program speakers resonates over time. For example, she said, “At one session, Dr. Morley asked his audience how many people had fallen in the last year. About 75 percent said that they had. He observed that everyone falls at some time later in life. I’ve used this analogy many times with my team members.”

Dr. King-Tucker made many sacrifices and overcame many barriers to make her mid-career job change. However, she wouldn’t have it any other way. “For 17 years, I was ruled by the clock and the need to fit everything into 15-minute appointments. It was killing me. I started spending about 25 percent of my time in nursing homes, and I eventually realized that my time there was what made me excited to get out of bed in the morning. I could set my own pace and level of care. I felt that I had the opportunity to affect the delivery of care and work on improving transitions from the hospital to the nursing home and to the community. To me, this was exciting.”