Contributors to This Issue

J. Bianca Roberts, MD
Unrealistic patient expectations and a customer service mentality aren't just putting stress on physicians, Dr. Roberts says, they're escalating into verbal attacks and even violence. It's time for a reset.
Aileen Wetzel
Aileen recently visited Bhutan, where happiness is an essential part of the national culture. That raised a question: Why aren't we encouraging happiness rather than trying to avoid dissatisfaction?
Caroline Giroux, MD
Dr. Giroux recently found a new house during turbulent times. Or maybe the house found her. She tells us what drew her to la maison des Enchantements, or the House of Enchantments.
To email an author with comments, click on their picture.
Ken Smith, Managing Editor
Physicians have been stalked, shouted at, even shot. In most cases, there are few consequences for a patient's bad behavior. SSVMS says it's time for a zero tolerance policy.
Ankita Dharmendran, MS IV
Ankita recounts the first time, as a medical student, she witnessed death: a stillborn baby. It raised emotions, questions, and, ultimately led to an understanding of what it takes to cope in a profession where death is part of the job.
Serena Ly, MPH, MS II
Serena explains how community health care centers, such as the Paul Hom Asian Clinic, can be an important source of care even among those with insurance. She discusses how community care can reshape health care for the better.
Glennah Trochet, MD.
Newsmaking mass shootings constitute just a fraction of firearm deaths. Dr. Trochet, SSVMS Public and Environmental Health Committee chair, explains how physicians can be active in finding common sense solutions to gun violence.
Ann Gerhardt, MD
Dr. Gerhardt's mental red pencil is silently correcting our grammar, incorrect word usage, and general laziness in how we speak. She explains what gets her attention as a “grammar snob.”
David F. Dozier, Jr., MD
Dr. Dozier comes from a long line of Sacramento physicians. He offers us a fun little poem that emphatically answers a common question as we age: Is my body outliving my brain?
All articles are copyrighted for publication in this magazine and on the Society’s website. Contact the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society for permission to reprint.
Editorial Committee
Megan Babb, DO
Sean Deane, MD
Caroline Giroux, MD
Manoj Kesarwani, MD
Robert LaPerriere, MD
Karen Poirier-Brode, MD
Gerald Rogan, MD
Leslie Tamura, DO
Glennah Trochet, MD
Lee Welter, MD
Eric Williams, MD
Medical Student Representatives

Aileen Wetzel, Executive Director
Ken Smith, Managing Editor
Cover photo: Prayer flags and colorful clay stupas, called tsa tsa in local dialect, mark the entrance to Burning Lake, one of Bhutan’s most important pilgrimage sites. Tsa tsa are memorials to the dead, molded by monks using ash collected from funereal cremation pyres. Photo by Aileen Wetzel.
Sierra Sacramento Valley Medicine, the official journal of the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society, is a forum for discussion and debate of news, official policy and diverse opinions about professional practice issues and ideas, as well as information about members’ personal interests.
Advertising rates and information sent upon request. Acceptance of advertising in Sierra Sacramento Valley Medicine in no way constitutes approval or endorsement by the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society of products or services advertised. Sierra Sacramento Valley Medicine and the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society reserve the right to reject any advertising.
Opinions expressed by authors are their own, and not necessarily those of Sierra Sacramento Valley Medicine or the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society. Sierra Sacramento Valley Medicine reserves the right to edit all contributions for clarity and length, as well as to reject any material submitted. Not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. ©2023 Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society
Sierra Sacramento Valley Medicine (ISSN 0886 2826) is published bimonthly by the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society, 5380 Elvas Ave., Sacramento, CA 95819. Subscriptions are $26.00 per year. Periodicals postage paid at Sacramento, CA and additional mailing offices. Correspondence should be addressed to Sierra Sacramento Valley Medicine, 5380 Elvas Ave., Sacramento, CA 95819-2396. Telephone (916) 452-2671.
2023 Officers & Board of Directors
J. Bianca Roberts, MD, President
Vanessa Walker, DO, President-Elect
Paul Reynolds, MD, Immediate Past President
District 1
Lisa Guirguis, MD
District 2
Janine Bera, MD
Adam Dougherty, MD
Raminder Gill, MD
Susan Murin, MD
District 3
Ravinder Khaira, MD
District 4
Shideh Chinichian, MD
District 5
Christina Bilyeu, MD
John Coburn, MD
Farzam Gorouhi, MD
Roderick Vitangcol, MD
District 6
Karen Hopp, MD
Volume 74/Number 4
Official publication of the
Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society
5380 Elvas Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95819
916.452.2671
916.452.2690 fax
info@ssvms.org