DISTINGUISHED DOCTORS: In Honor of Dr. Michael Sexton

Irina deFischer, MD, and Peter Bretan, MD

Note: Dr. Michael Sexton, a past president of both the Marin Medical Society (MMS) and the California Medical Association (CMA), recently retired after nearly 40 years as an emergency physician at Kaiser San Rafael. Both MMS President Dr. Irina deFischer and Past President Dr. Peter Bretan submitted articles honoring Dr. Sexton’s distinguished career.

Dr. Irina deFischer

I sat down with Dr. Michael Sexton on Feb. 18 to reflect on his career.

After graduating from the University of Iowa Medical School, Michael came to San Francisco for a rotating internship, initially intending to pursue a career in cardiothoracic surgery. Instead he took a position in the fledgling 5-bed emergency department at the old Kaiser San Rafael hospital. He became board certified through the practice pathway a few years later.

When Dr. Donald Trunkey published his report criticizing the outcomes of trauma care in community emergency departments in the early 1980s, Michael joined a committee formed of ER physicians and surgeons from all four Marin hospitals to review trauma deaths in the county. They were able to refute Trunkey’s findings. This collaboration led Michael to serve on the MMS board of directors, where he headed the Violence Prevention Committee, working with other county agencies.

Michael’s work with paramedics in his capacity as medical director of the San Rafael Fire Department led him to promote the pre-hospital DNR form, which was adopted statewide. He served as MMS president from 1993 to 1994 and represented Marin County as a delegate to the CMA House of Delegates until his election to the CMA board of directors in 1995. He served as president of CMA from 2005 to 2006.

During his time at CMA, Michael was able to bring his perspective as a group-practice physician to the discussion on HMOs, and he worked to create a culture in CMA where physicians could overcome their differences and work together to advance the medical profession. He believes that CMA’s most outstanding accomplishment during his career was its successful prosecution of the RICO lawsuit, ensuring that physicians were paid fairly, on time, and according to the terms of their contracts.

As a member of the CMA leadership team, Michael began attending AMA meetings and joined the AMA’s Group Practice Advisory Committee and the Organized Medical Staff Section. He became an AMA delegate in 2005 and was appointed to the AMA Council on Legislation the following year.

Michael has two grown children. Ryan, a paramedic, lives in Nashville with his wife, a doctoral candidate in biomedical research. Tessa is a first-year osteopathic medical student at Michigan State. Michael is looking forward to joining her in a medical mission in the Peruvian Amazon next August.

Asked for words of advice for his colleagues, Michael recommends focusing on what an honor it is for us as physicians to have patients put their lives in our hands, and to have fun practicing medicine.

Dr. Peter Bretan

Dr. Michael Sexton is not just a fellow Marin physician, but also a fellow Novatan. I met him during my first rotation as an MMS board member in 2000. I remember he returned as an emeritus guest at a contentious board meeting. The designation of a higher-level trauma center for Marin General Hospital was under discussion, and there were debates between Marin General and Kaiser board members. I vividly recall that Michael stayed neutral and helped guide us through a fair discussion. Since then I have always looked to him as leader and mentor.

As president of CMA from 2005 to 2006, Michael worked tirelessly and spent almost 40% of the year traveling to Washington, DC, to represent the interests of both the medical profession and their patients. Despite his busy schedule, he was elected as District X’s AMA delegate, a position he continues to hold. I later became an alternate delegate to the AMA and have benefited greatly from Michael’s example and guidance during the semi-annual AMA meetings. He has always been a respected voice in both the California caucus and nationally.

While Michael and I don’t agree on all issues, we have always agreed that physicians must find a united voice in order to have any chance of being heard by our legislators in determining healthcare policies. I am grateful for his tutelage and mentorship in organized medicine, and for his work ethic. I congratulate him on an incredible career as a physician leader, but most importantly I thank him for his friendship.

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Dr. deFischer is president of MMS, and Dr. Bretan is the immediate past president.

 

Emails: irinadefischer@gmail.com, bretanp@msn.com