drbrianstork.com

@BJUIjournal Started a new hashtag this morning to help connect the global urology community via poetry. I invite you to share the things you love most about our profession, our patients, our families, and life itself through the use of creative writing and poetry. In the short time the hashtag has been active, topics ranging from research to prolapse have been posted in the form of limericks, essays, song lyrics, poems and haiku. Early tweets and submissions also appear to be breaking down barriers between specialists and patients, and provide another way to bring together the global urology community.

In this episode of the “Urology Care Podcast”, Dr. Stork discusses priapism with interviewer Casey Callanan of the Urology Care Foundation. Another type is called non-ischemic priapism, or high-flow priapism, caused by trauma to the pelvis that can cause disruptions in natural blood flow. With a non-ischemic, there is blood flow going into the penis continuously, usually as the result of some type of injury to the pelvis. The Urology Care Foundation podcast features top health care experts and urology patients from all walks of life to keep people in touch with crucial facts on urology and healthy living.

I reached out to my friend John Sytsema, funeral director of the Sytsema Funeral and Cremation Services, for his words of wisdom for coping with the rising number of deaths from the opioid crisis. We had grief and sorrow, but not the deep grief families are experiencing now, suffering with death by overdose. A woman desperate for answers to her sister’s death went to the local police detective. We have seen parents who have spent all their savings for their children’s drug rehabilitation, and the only resource then, is the Michigan Department of Human Service (DHS).

Earlier this year, I had the honor and privilege of joining the Board of the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS). As a result of feedback from physicians and patients, the Michigan State Medical Society hosted its first tweet chat with the hashtag BeRxSafe. In addition, new bipartisan opioid legislation was just passed with sweeping majorities in the House and Senate – the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act. This recent tweet chat was just one of many examples of the value of being a member of the Michigan State Medical Society and the many diverse partners it has in our state.