Michelle Fletcher, MD
Jackson Memorial Hospital
Executive Vice President
Being an “open shop” chapter down in Florida, our membership truly reflects our strength. Since becoming an active member my intern year, I have seen how powerful a strong CIR leadership can be. We have had many financial wins – negotiating competitive raises and increases in educational stipends. However, more importantly, have been our non-monetary gains such as building a partnership and establishing a wellness committee with our hospital administration, and obtaining a commitment to help our residents with child-care needs. Our resident involvement has increased across the board. We have rising resident leaders becoming involved in community outreach, advocacy, wellness, and QI initiatives within their departments and hospital-wide, which are directly impacting training and patient care. This year we had the opportunity to represent our chapter at the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. and undergo training in building community partnerships. This was one of the more educational and motivating experiences of my life.
Over the years, my work with CIR has provided me with leadership skills and has taught me so much about negotiation, bargaining, working hand in hand with administration, as well as about networking, health policy, and advocacy work. All of the skills I have obtained have made me a stronger and well-rounded physician.
CIR has different needs at the local and national level as each chapter varies greatly within itself. My goals for this upcoming year are to continue developing and growing my chapter in South Florida. At the national level I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues from across the country to learn and fight for improved training, education, and patient care. I think in order to continue to expand our influence and build a stronger presence for CIR, we should continue to work towards partnering with other well-known physician organizations whose ideals and goals align with ours. In that way, we enhance our access and communication with more training programs, giving us the opportunity to reach out to more residents.
