Welcome from the NCSAM Chapter President
In 1989, I was a seventh grader at Ben Franklin Junior High, in the middle of Pennsylvania’s Rust Belt. Our local newspaper asked for my 13-year-old thoughts about whether there was a drug problem at my school. I said:
“…If the situation progresses, I do believe immediate actions should be taken. Pupils should be tested and asked if they know of any drug users. Positive actions like these will slowly but surely help in the war against drugs.”
*Holy bleeping cow*
I have a lot of emotions about that quote. I am embarrassed that I said those things, and angry that I once believed them. They do not, AT ALL, align with how I practice medicine today.
I certainly could spend the rest of this letter dissecting who I was then and why I thought that way. However, the most important thing for me to share is that I need to be honest: the quote accurately reflected my thoughts at the time, and the person I am today can is focused on finding compassion for that seventh grader. Compassion and gratitude. Compassion that the tools and experience that she (me) had then do not look like the tools and experience that she (me) has now. Gratitude that she (me) has continued to evolve: learn, grow, and expand understanding of people, substance use, and substance use disorders, and that that road has rarely been linear and has never been perfect.
That lesson remains important to me: that the more I learn, the more I understand how much I still need to learn. Learning must be centered in curiosity and must be partnered with an active commitment to remain connected to the people doing the work and the people most affected by it.
That is the value and philosophy I will bring to the next two years of leadership for our state chapter of ASAM.
We will continue building on the strong foundation Michael has established. We will remain anchored in the knowledge, skills, and responsibilities of our individual professional roles while recognizing that none of us can do this work alone. Interprofessional inclusion, partnership, and collaboration are essential to effective addiction medicine care.
During my term, I will ask each of us to show up and take an honest assessment of where we have been and where we are going—as addiction medicine professionals, programs, and teams.
For ourselves.
For one another.
For the people we serve.
It is not only about where we have been. It is about where we are willing to go next. Let’s keep moving forward, together.
Mel Ramage, MSN, FNP-BC, CARN-AP, LCASPresident, North Carolina Society of Addiction Medicine
