Local podiatrist appointed as liaison to national board
Mitchell Boatman @IoniaSS_Mitch
HOLLAND — A local podiatrist will be representing young physicians throughout the country as a liaison to a national board.
Rebecca Sundling, a podiatrist at Northwood Foot and Ankle, was appointed as the Young Physician Liaison to the American Podiatric Medical Association Board of Trustees in late February.
"It was kind of out of left field," Sundling said of her appointment. "It wasn't something I applied for. My name was brought up in conversations, and they called and asked if I would be interested.
"I felt very honored. Part of it was that my name even came up, let alone being the one they chose."
Sundling said she has big shoes to fill in the position.
"My role is to be the voice of young physicians," she said. "It's a huge honor knowing they're leaving that responsibility to me.
"It's also a lot of pressure. The person before me held the position for four years and he did a wonderful job."
As the Young Physician Liaison, Sundling will participate in APMA board meetings — she'll gain voting privileges after a year — and head the Young Physician's Leadership Panel. Her role will be to represent to the board the feelings of young doctors.
"Supporting young doctors is a huge focus," Sundling said. "The things I have to say and my opinions are taken into consideration.
"I want to be educated on the issues facing young doctors and communicating those ideas to people that control the organization."
One of Sundling's main goals is to provide better education to young doctors about why joining the AMPA is important.
"My goal is to educate the population on why they should be members," she said. "I hate it when people join just because they think they're supposed to.
"I want them to understand the benefits, and why it's good for them to join."
She added being effective in educating is an important cause. Sundling wants to figure out the most effective way to convey information to young doctors and will be starting a series of podcasts geared toward them.
Sundling will also be in charge of putting together the Young Physicians' Institute, an annual conference event held in October.
"That's a weekend long held event in October," she said. "I'm in charge of putting that together and creating an agenda with topics that people would benefit from, like leadership, learning to deal with student debt and things that support our group."
In her first few months in her new role, Sundling said she's learned a lot about the inner workings of the organization.
"There is so much I didn't realize that goes on behind the scenes," she said. "To be in the middle of it, you see what all the people do and how many committees and functioning sectors there are.
"It's easy to pay dues every year and say 'Oh they are helping my profession,' but to really see all the intricacies of it is pretty amazing."
Sundling's appointment is for two years. Once the term is up, she can continue to serve if there is mutual interest from her and the board.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelMitch.