MOEMA    From the President . . .

Fellow MOEMA Members:

With springtime in the air, it is a sure sign that the AOHC is just around the corner.  I hope to see
many familiar faces in Orlando with a strong representation from MOEMA.  If you haven’t registered, it
isn’t too late to escape for a long weekend to the sunshine and warmth of Florida.  The AOHC
educational program seems to be as diverse and pertinent to our practices as ever.  

Be sure to attend your ACOEM special interest group meetings and represent our component in that
setting as well.  MOEMA is sending a full delegation to the ACOEM House of Delegates (HOD) with
two delegates.  MOEMA continues to maintain its independence as one of the largest single-state
components in ACOEM.  We hope to continue to fight the trend toward consolidation into regional
components societies; however, we need the help of our membership.  Our numbers have declined
along with the national trends.  It is important that occupational medicine physicians in Michigan
maintain our voice nationally.  Our goal should be to regain the third delegate to the HOD that our
numbers supported in the past.  We can do this by maintaining our MOEMA membership and
encouraging our colleagues to retain their memberships.  

Also, there is a significant number of physicians practicing in occupational medicine who have always
remained outside of the fraternity of ACOEM and MOEMA.  By remaining on the fringe, they are not
maintaining or enhancing their skills through participation in the educational programs of our
organization.  But as important, they also miss the opportunity to interact and share the combined
experiences and knowledge of their colleagues.  I ask every member of MOEMA to speak to your
colleagues not currently members, and encourage them to join.  This will help maintain and fortify
MOEMA’s position within ACOEM.  It also will serve our patients and workforce by enhancing the
knowledge and caliber of physicians providing their medical care.

Looking ahead to the autumn, we have an exciting Annual Scientific Meeting planned for MOEMA on
October 1 and 2, with a wide variety of topics being addressed.  This year, we are introducing the
Michigan Occupational Health Conference (MOHC).  The MOHC is uniting in one venue the annual
conferences of MOEMA as well as the Michigan Association of Occupational Health Nurses (MAOHN)
and the Michigan Industrial Hygiene Society (MIHS).  All three organizations represent professionals
who work together on a daily basis in promoting and maintaining the health and safety of our
workers.  It is appropriate that we meet together, share educational programs, and interact socially in
an exchange of ideas.  

The MOEMA Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) will transpire on Friday and Saturday, October 1 and 2,
2010, with two full days of lectures.  ASM 2010 will take place in Port Huron, Michigan, at the Thomas
Edison Inn located at the mouth of the St. Clair River at the base of Lake Huron.  The Inn is at the
edge of the St. Clair River and under the Bluewater Bridge spanning overhead and linking us to our
neighbors in Ontario, Canada.  The sight of the turbulent waters articulate better than words the
massive power and quantity of water emptying the upper Great Lakes through this single waterway.  

This year’s educational program provides a diversity of educational topics pertinent to our practices in
occupational and environmental medicine.  We consider a number of orthopedic topics, EPA and
environmental issues, determination of causation, fitness for duty, medical marijuana, blood-borne
pathogens, neurotoxins, and the clinical significance of medical imaging, among other topics.  Be sure
not to miss the 2010 ASM.  

This year’s ASM will provide up to 18 Category I CME credits for both MD’s and DO’s.  We are
finalizing approval for Category I CME under the ACCME and Category IA CME under the AOA.  Also,
the educational program is being approved for MOC (Maintenance of Certification) credits applicable
to both the ABPM and the AOBPM.  The CME credits are also applicable to nursing CEU’s for state
licensing with the MAOHN seeking CEU’s that apply toward occupational nursing credits.  

This year, MOEMA is moving the Carey Pratt McCord (CPM) educational program to the Annual
Scientific Meeting (ASM).  Over the years, MOEMA has presented this program with the support of
MAOHN and MIHS, inviting all of our membership to come together for an evening, traditionally at the
MSMS ASM.  This year, in recognition of the confluence of our educational programs and in
deference to the long tradition of the CPM program representing all three disciplines, the CPM has
been moved to the Annual Scientific Meeting.  The MOEMA board has decided to allow the CPM to
vary in its timing and location.  We look to the membership to provide alternate settings at which we
may assemble for this educational program presented in honor of a Michigan pioneer in occupational
medicine, Dr. Carey Pratt McCord.  

We would also like to ask our members about any other programs that you would like to see
presented by MOEMA.  Perhaps, these may include local or regional programs consisting of
traditional lectures, workshops, or journal club.  The Carey Pratt McCord program may be
incorporated into one of these programs.  Additionally, we may take advantage of today’s technology
and cyberspace community to assemble for journal club or other interactive educational seminars
over the Internet.  We ask our members to give us your thoughts and recommendations.  Call your
board members, or better yet, volunteer to serve on one of several MOEMA committees including
Education, Annual Scientific Meeting, Finance, Governance, and Communications.  

Also, the MOEMA nominating committee is in the process of assembling the ballot of candidates for
open board positions for our annual elections.  If you are interested in serving on a committee or in
being considered for a board position, please speak up by contacting one of the three MOEMA
Immediate Past Presidents or myself.  

Finally, please look through the entire Spring issue of the MOEMA UPDATE for information on all of
our upcoming educational programs.  Save the dates, register for the conferences, and make your
hotel reservations early.  I hope to see you at AOHC and at MOEMA’s Annual Scientific Meeting on
October 1 and 2, as well as at the MOEMA Educational Seminar at the Michigan State Medical Society
Annual Scientific Meeting on October 20.

Sincerely,

Peter E. Metropoulos, DO, MPH, FACOEM
MOEMA President
Spring 2010

Peter E. Metropoulos, DO, MPH, FACOEM
MOEMA President