Friday, September 11, 2009

A fresh pair of socks

Did everyone see that the American Trial Lawyers Association recently changed its name? It's now known as the American Association for Justice. Nice upgrade, agreed? I mean, who in this country is opposed to "justice"? Anyone? It's a no brainer. The word "trial lawyer" doesn't seem to evoke the same warm, fuzzy feelings does it? I wonder why? The lawyers I know are such endearing, charming individuals.

It got me thinking. Given the demonization of physicians and the medical profession we've seen in the media over the past 6 months (read Ezra Klein and all the other wonks--- we're greedy and incompetent), perhaps we ought to consider changing the names of our representative organizations. Take the American Medical Association. Do we really need the word "medical" in there? I mean that just conjures up images of unnecessary tonsillectomies and $40,000 amputations and missed diagnoses and the like. How about if we rename it something like the Society of Professionals for American Wellness and Immortality (SPAWI). People love that word "wellness". Even Oprah would want to book the president of SPAWI as a guest. And immortality. Doesn't mean we guarantee eternal life. It just conveys the notion that we sort of vaguely support the concept.

Other possibilities:
American College of Surgeons---- American Collection of Mostly Male Unscary Mask Wearers (ACMMUMW)
American College of Emergency Physicians---- Federal Institute of Individuals Who Will See You at 4am on a Wednesday (FIWWSY@4W)
American College of Cardiology------- Healers for Hearts (H4H), of course

It gets a little tougher for a specialty like dermatology (exorbitant incomes, skin cancer, et al) so just to be safe, they might be better served by going with something like the American Society of Epidermal Patriots (ASEP).

3 comments:

nemsova said...

dr buckeye--sweet--the irony and the acronyms

Anonymous said...

Sort of like the Bariatric Society changing its name to the the ASMBS (American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery). "Lap gastric bypasses for diabetics with a BMI of 25". I've never been an appologist for trial lawyers, but we're all to blame.

Attorney Andy said...

I used to be a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. When the group decided to change its name, I got a letter in the mail explaining the reasons. I sent a letter back, canceling my membership. I don't care what Karl Rove or the Buckeye Surgeon says, I'm proud to be a trial lawyer. Instead of changing its name to deflect public perceptions and negative connotations, ATLA should have worked on changing the behavior of some of its members who were giving attorneys a bad name.