John F. Roatch Global Lecture Series
on Social Policy and Practice

The John F. Roatch Global Lecture Series on Social Policy and Practice is an annual event that hosts an internationally known scholar to lecture on a topic of global reach and social significance to the Arizona community. The John F. and Mary Roatch Endowment supports the global lecture series and, in conjunction with other partners, occasionally sponsors additional events. The lectures are free to the public and a copy of previous lectures can be viewed through this Web site or at the ASU Hayden Library.

Driving Directions and Parking

John F. Roatch

Mary Roatch

The Donors

The John F. Roatch Endowment was created by gifts made to the university by John and Mary Roatch. The endowment provides support for the Global Lecture Series on Social Policy and Practice. The endowment activities are organized through the office of Emilia E. Martinez-Brawley, the John F. Roatch Distinguished Professor at the College of Public Programs. We thank John for his vision, Mary for her continued support, and their son, David, for his enthusiastic participation in the endowment’s activities.

The implications of marginality in the medical profession: The case of alternative medicine

Dr. Mike Saks
Professor of Health and Community Studies
Provost and Chief Executive
University Campus Suffolk, UK

2:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Friday, February 22, 2013

University Club of Phoenix
36 E. MonteVista, Phoenix

View PDF outline of Dr. Mike Saks' Lecture

View Photo Gallery of Lecture

Respondent Charles C. Daschbach
View PDF Outline of Daschbach Response

Respondent Anita Martinez
View PDF Outline of Martinez Response

The New Year is now well on its way. In 2012, we witnessed economic and political challenges all over the world. In the U.S., we have been able to overcome many trials but many challenges still confront us as we forge ahead. Among those challenges is the need to make sense of our health care practices, which regardless of improvements have remained inaccessible to many and extremely costly for most of us. When we compare the U.S. with other industrial countries, we wonder why we cannot achieve similar results in access and affordability. We continue to search for alternative models and solutions. Today's lecture will help us in our search. Professor Michael Saks, who has published extensively on professions, comparative healthcare and health research, will be discussing "The implications of marginality in the medical profession: The case of alternative medicine," a topic that will resonate with most of us.

We often speak glibly about alternatives to traditional and often costly medical services but just as frequently are not clear as to what we are including or what we are leaving out of the discussion, let alone the sociological and thus economic implications of those alternatives. What do we mean by alternative medicine? Alternative to what? Have alternatives remained the same through the decades? When do alternative approaches become conventional and why? Are alternative practices the same throughout the world? What can we learn from other countries and what can we offer them? Dr. Saks will be addressing many of these topics as he draws comparisons between the medical profession in the U.K., the U.S. and other countries in Europe and Asia.

As has always been the case, two respondents from the Arizona community, Dr. Charles Daschbach, Director of Academic Affairs and Continuing Medical Education at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix and Anita Martinez, RN, MS, CNM, Certified Nurse Midwife in the Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center will follow Dr. Sacks and offer their perspectives on the implications of "alternative" practices in the U.S. and the state of Arizona.

The Roatch Global Lectures have had a long history of providing an exciting forum for the discussion of timely topics and events. Once again, the topic of alternative medicine has been the object of a recent interesting article in the Arizona Republic (Alltucker, (1.4.2013). Furthermore, there has continued to be great interest in the training offered by Dr. Andrew Weil at the University of Arizona. The Roatch Lecture on February 22nd will give us a chance to further clarify our own perspectives and gather important information from the lecturer, the respondents and the audience. The Roatch Family and I look forward to your participation.

– Emilia E. Martinez-Brawley, EdD, MSS, ACSW
John F. Roatch Distinguished Professor and
Professor of Social Work, College of Public Programs

Professor Mike Saks is Provost and Chief Executive of University Campus Suffolk (UCS), whose partners include the University of Essex and the University of East Anglia which are collaborating in the development of UCS. He studied at the University of Lancaster, University of Kent and the London School of Economics - at the latter of which he obtained a PhD in Sociology - and is a current Fellow of the Institute of Directors. He was formerly Senior Pro Vice Chancellor and Deputy to the Vice Chancellor at the University of Lincoln from 2002 to 2010, which enjoyed a steep rise in profile in this period. Before that he was Dean of the Faculty of Health and Community Studies at De Montfort University, where he was responsible for the education of a growing range of health and social care professions. He achieved a high internationally-rated profile in Politics and International Studies and Social Work and Social Policy & Administration in the 2001 and 2008 national Research Assessment Exercises respectively. He holds Visiting Chairs at the University of Essex and the University of Lincoln.

Professor Saks has published extensively on professions, comparative healthcare and health research. He has also given many keynote presentations and papers at prestigious national/international conferences - as well as organised a number of these. In addition to numerous journal articles and book chapters, his books include: Alternative Medicine in Britain (1992), Professions and the Public Interest (1995), Health Professions and the State in Europe (1995), Professions, Identity and Order in Comparative Perspective (1998), Professional Identities in Transition (1999), Developing Research in Primary Care (2000), Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Challenge and Change (2000), Regulating the Health Professions (2002), Orthodox and Alternative Medicine: Professionalization, Politics and Health Care (2003), Researching Health; Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods (2007 first edition), and Rethinking Professional Governance: International Directions in Healthcare (2008). His latest books with Sage and Routledge respectively are: Researching Health; Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods (2012 second edition) and The Professions, State and the Market: A Comparative Analysis of Healthcare in Britain, the United States and Russia (2014).

Professor Saks has been a member/chair of many NHS committees at all levels - covering areas from the changing healthcare workforce to research and development in primary care. He is currently a member of the Board of Suffolk NHS Primary Care Trust, having previously served on Committees of the East Midlands Strategic Health Authority and as the long term Chair of the East Midlands University Association Health and Social Care Group: He has also acted as an adviser to the NHS at national level. In 2000 he led the team that produced a commissioned report on health support workers for the UK Departments of Health and has subsequently advised the Department of Health and professional bodies such as the General Medical Council and the General Social Care Council on the regulation of health and social care professions. He is the previous Chair of the UK Human Tissue Bank and the Research Council for Complementary Medicine.

Internationally, he has been involved in a number of funded research projects. He was a central participant in an INTAS-funded study of the changing attitudes of physicians in collaboration with the Russian Academy of Sciences - which surveyed some 600 Russian physicians. He recently collaborated with the University of Toronto on projects on care in the community, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In addition, he is the current President and Chair of the Board of the International Sociological Association Research Committee on Professional Groups. He is also a member of the Board of the European Sociological Association Research Network on Professions and various International Advisory Boards of health and social science journals - as well as being an Editorial Board member for the Portuguese Journal of Social Science, Sociopedia and Current Sociology monographs.

Charles C. Daschbach is Director of Academic Affairs and Continuing Medical Education at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. Dr. Daschbach received his Medical Degree from the University of Arizona College of Medicine in 1980 and completed an Internal Medicine Residency at St. Joseph's Hospital.

He then became a Flinn Foundation Fellow in Medical Economics for two years, receiving his Masters in Public Health at Harvard University in Boston. In 1997 he was named a Harvard Macy Scholar and in 1998 and 2000 joined the voluntary faculty of the Harvard Macy Institute for Medical Education Research. Dr. Daschbach has been active in medical education, medical ethics and medical economics in national and local organizations.

He is a member of the AAMC GRA Steering Committee, serving as Chair for 2004-2005. Dr. Daschbach is also a past member and Chair of the ACCME and the AHA Committee on the Health Professions. He has been an AHME member since 1987 and has presented both plenary and workshop sessions.

Office of the John F. Roatch Distinguished Community Service Professor www.asu.edu/distinguishedprofessor/

This is a university-wide appointment administered by the College of Public Programs at the Downtown Phoenix campus. The senior faculty member holding this position is responsible for supporting community-oriented programs and scholarship, putting faculty skills and talents in service to the community.

Dr. Emilia Martinez-Brawley can be reached at (602) 496-1562