Donald Niño, MD, has a copy of the August/September 2024 issue of Texas Medicine on his desk.
The Channelview family medicine physician earmarked the issue for its story on school-based health centers, which resonated with him.
“I helped start a school-based clinic in the Galena Park school district,” Dr. Niño said. “Then the Channelview school district next to us had one, but they closed it when they rebuilt the school. I talked to the superintendent – I said ‘I’m going to bring you an article about a school-based clinic. We need to open one up again.’”
Texas Medical Association members can connect to current news tailored to their profession about the business and practice of medicine by thumbing through the pages of the association’s magazine as a benefit of their membership, as Dr. Niño does.
Members also can read Texas Medicine Today, the association’s daily e-newsletter delivered to their inboxes each weekday at 6:45 am, for even more timely stories like payment and regulatory updates, public health issues, state and federal advocacy developments, and action alerts that serve as a digital megaphone to bolster organized medicine’s voice.
Other quick-hit avenues for staying apprised of news and TMA’s advocacy activities are the association’s social media platforms. Members can follow TMA on X, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
“TMA’s communication goal is to be Texas physicians’ go-to trusted source for news and association developments they can’t get anywhere else,” said Pam Udall, TMA vice president of marketing and communications. The association also connects with local and national media to ensure TMA’s voice is heard on important health topics impacting the public.
The forum, sounding board, and news TMA provides for members is a resource that Dr. Niño appreciates and why the August/September issue remains on his desk.
“That’s one of the things I have a passion for – to take care of kids and bring the service to them,” he said. “The article mentioned the benefits of having local [school-] based centers there for the kids. And it helps the parents, too. So hopefully that article’s going to help us get something done.”
He also views TMA’s various communication channels as a way to connect with and learn from peers about challenges he experiences in his own Houston practice, faced with population growth and physician attrition, just as physicians are in other parts of the state.
“TMA has more of a wide web, and they might be able to see what’s the pulse of Texas physicians,” Dr. Niño said, adding he wants to know: “What’s their insight?”
Jessica Ridge
Reporter, Division of Communications and Marketing
(512) 370-1395