Contributors to This Issue

J. Bianca Roberts, MD
Dr. Roberts was stunned to discover how uninformed some of the leaders who decide health care policy are about what we do as physicians. Doctors, she says, must fill that vacuum through advocacy.
Aileen Wetzel
SSVMS recently honored two physicians who have provided exemplary service to our community. But we also said goodbye to a legendary one who it seemed would be a fixture in the Delta forever.
Caroline Giroux, MD
Dr. Giroux inherited a punctuality gene from her father, but sometimes life is just too hectic to keep up. With the EMR police on her tail, she wonders if this is really what medicine should be about.

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Sharmila Amolik, MD
International medical graduates from countries such as India, the UK and Germany often enter residency with little or no debt. Dr. Amolik looks at why Americans are so burdened with debt and how that affects the shortage of physicians.
Andrew Hudnut, MD
In his poem “Melissa,” Dr. Hudnut tells of a patient feeling an unusual emptiness and the loss of something familiar that had been her companion. But it's not what you might think, and it sets her on a path to unexpected peace.
P.K.
The woman above isn't the author of our story about Iran's Morality Police but she shares her contempt for them. P.K., a local medical student, explains why her round head was a constant source of concern and her aversion to the color green.
Christian L. Serdahl, MD
Longtime Sacramento ophthalmologist Christian Serdahl, a past president of SSVMS, recently spent a day on the slopes helping blind and adaptive skiers enjoy the day and shares the adventure.
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
Ann Gerhardt, 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: Entertainment hit new heights with a performance by Rebel Aerial at the 2023 SSVMS Honors Medicine gala. Photo by Lindsay Coate.
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.
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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 3
Official publication of the
Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society
5380 Elvas Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95819
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