Welcome to the 2025 CMA Annual Educational Conference “Tradition, Ever Ancient and Ever New.”

As the conference chair, I was tasked with selecting the theme, which I chose for several reasons. I have noticed over the 23 years I have been a practicing surgeon that we have strayed farther away from what constitutes the doctor-patient relationship. More barriers have been erected between physicians and patients. As an example, electronic medical records, government regulations/mandates and third-party payers were instituted with the promise of delivering better care, but I would argue that in many ways the opposite has occurred.

Over the past several years, society has lost sight of the most fundamental view of the human person as we have forgotten what it means to be male and female. We are now treading into the dangerous world of artificial intelligence (AI) that has the potential to further erode the doctor-patient relationship. Finally, society has forgotten how to care for those at the end of life with dignity and compassion. Assisted suicide is now legal in 11 states and Washington, DC with many more states on the verge of legalizing this horrifying practice. We are treating those at the end of life as animals/pets rather than human beings made in the image and likeness of God.

It is my hope that the conference will help us recapture what it means to practice good medicine, focusing on the doctor-patient relationship, medical education, gender dysphoria and end of life care. Several plenary and breakout presentations will be addressing these issues as well as many other important topics.

I promise that the 2025 Annual Educational Conference will enrich both the personal and professional lives of all who attend.

AMDG!

Anthony S. Oliva, M.D.
2025 Conference Chair