Truman Medical Centers Physician Named President of the Mo State Medical Association

May 3, 2011 - PRLog -- JEFFERSON CITY, MO --- P. Gary Pettett, MD, a board-certified Pediatrician and sub-board certified Neonatologist from Kansas City, Missouri, will serve as President of the Missouri State Medical Association in 2011-2012.  He was formally installed in Kansas City during the MSMA’s 153rd Annual Convention held recently.

Dr. Pettett earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.  He received his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis in 1971.  During his third and fourth years of medical school, Dr. Pettett participated in the U.S. Army Early Commissioning and Senior Medical programs.  He completed his post-graduate internship and residency in Pediatrics and a fellowship in Neonatal Medicine at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Denver.  Subsequent assignments took Dr. Pettett to Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco, Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, and finally to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Uniformed Service University of the Health Sciences in Washington, DC.  Dr. Pettett retired from military service in the rank of Colonel in 1993.

Following his military retirement, Dr. Pettett continued his career in academic medicine joining the faculty at Children’s Mercy Hospital in the Neonatal Medicine Section and at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine (UMKC-SOM).  In addition to his clinical practice at both Children’s Mercy Hospital and Truman Medical Center, Dr. Pettett teaches medical students in the care of premature and critically-ill infants, and in medical bioethics and the history of medicine.  From 2002-2003, he served as the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at the medical school, and he currently holds a joint appointed as Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Humanities there.  He is a Fellow at the Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City where his primary interests are research ethics and professionalism.  

Dr. Pettett has been a member of the American Medical Association for nearly 25 years, a member of the Missouri State Medical Association, and an active member of the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Medical Society of Greater Kansas City (MMSGKC) since moving to Kansas City in 1993.  For much of that time he has been either a vice-councilor or councilor to the MSMA from District VII.  From 2001-2003, Dr. Pettett served as the UMKC-SOM delegate to the AMA’s Section on Medical Schools.  In 2006 he served as MMSGKC President, and from 2009-2010 he served as the Chair of MSMA’s Council.

In addition to his professional activities, Dr. Pettett has been active in several community and not-for-profit organizations.  He is currently on the Board of Directors for MetroCare, a non-profit organization which helps low-income, uninsured patients gain access to needed primary and specialty medical care in metropolitan Kansas City.  He is also the current President of the Edgar Snow Memorial Fund, a non-profit volunteer organization which promotes academic, business, and cultural exchanges with China.  As a result Dr. Pettett has had numerous opportunities to travel throughout China.

Dr. Pettett’s wife of 45 years, Virginia, is a retired foreign language teacher, career councilor, and genealogist.  They have two grown children, and one grandson.  

His goals MSMA during his tenure as President are:
•   To steer MSMA through the complexities of the emerging health system reform in a fashion that ensures the continuity of high-quality care and maintains the physician-patient relationship as its guiding principle.
•   To expand the constituency of MSMA reflecting the changing trends in the physician workforce.
•   To ensure that all Missourians have access to high-quality health care that reflects their individual values and priorities.

MSMA, the state's largest medical organization, is the voice of physicians, residents and medical students, who strongly support the need for organized medicine and who strive to protect the future of health care in Missouri.

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TMC is a not-for profit health system in Kansas City. TMC includes TMC Hospital Hill, TMC Lakewood, TMC Behavioral Health, the Jackson Co. Health Department. TMC is the primary teaching hospital for the UMKC School of Medicine.