Published: March 29, 2016

Great slate of candidates

In this issue of the Bulletin, our future leaders get the chance to tell us about themselves. Each candidate is competing against colleagues and friends. Many have worked together on Academy projects. I remember agonizing about what to write for my statement.


Sujana S. Chandrasekhar, MD AAO-HNS/F Past PresidentSujana S. Chandrasekhar, MD
AAO-HNS/F Past President
In this issue of the Bulletin, our future leaders get the chance to tell us about themselves. Each candidate is competing against colleagues and friends. Many have worked together on Academy projects. I remember agonizing about what to write for my statement. Do I throw all humility to the wind and crow on about how incredibly awesome I am? Or do I speak in my real voice and say that I want to serve, and you should think about voting for me, but the other candidates are fantastic too? The Nominating Committee reviewed a large number of terrific applications and held thoughtful, confidential discussions about who would be able to carry our mission forward. The ensuing slate of nominations reflects the serious nature of those deliberations, and presents our membership with several great choices. When Jennifer Derebery, MD, and Nancy L. Snyderman, MD, ran for president, they famously said that they wished it could have been a co-presidency, so that both could serve.

The first time I lost an Academy election, I was struck by the comforting tone of that phone call from the past president, urging me to keep at it. Although it’s nice to win (really, it is!), it is really nice that those who do not win this time continue to contribute time, energy, and knowledge to the Academy/Foundation and continue to participate at all levels. Please read the statements knowing that each nominee’s experience reflects a portfolio of service, accomplishment, and dedication. And then don’t forget to vote when the balloting opens on May 6. The election cycle was shortened in order to encourage more Members to vote and allows the new president elect a few months of ramp-up time before the Annual Meeting. Voting will close on June 8. Don’t miss the opportunity to let your voice be heard.

At the AAO-HNS/F Leadership Forum & BOG Spring Meeting in Alexandria, VA, in March, we had a jam-packed weekend of activities highlighting specialty unity, the socioeconomic and grassroots work of our Members in the Board of Governors, presentations by the candidates for president-elect, and events pertaining to the Section for Residents and Fellows, the Young Physicians Section, and the Women in Otolaryngology Section. I encourage you to sign up for the e-newsletters from these important components of our Academy, and/or to join ongoing conversations on ENTConnect. It is the fastest way to keep up with changes in MOC, PQRS, MU, GME, and all of the rest of the alphabet soup that affects our lives. And keep checking the Academy’s website for updates on our very own clinical data registry (CDR), RegentSM.

Specialty Unity. What does that mean? The Academy serves all otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons, both generalists and specialists. It provides educational resources for primary and continuing medical education and materials for us to share with non-otolaryngologists: referring physicians, allied health professionals, our patients, their families, and the public. The Academy provides our collective voice to legislators and regulators, participates in salient coalitions to advance healthcare topics, and is the go-to ENT authority for the media. It is the only group that can develop and manage a specialty-wide clinical data registry, including all areas within the scope of otolaryngology practice, so that we working docs can participate in the new healthcare delivery system. The specialty societies’ missions are to advance and share specialty knowledge. They participate at the Academy via the Specialty Society Advisory Council (SSAC), which has members from the Academy, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy (AAOA), the American Broncho-Esophagological Association (ABEA), the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS), the American Laryngological Association (ALA), the American Neurotology Society (ANS), the American Otological Society (AOS), the American Rhinologic Society (ARS), the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ASPO), and The Triological Society. The productive Specialty Summit in March served to strategize ways that the Academy and specialty societies can work together to improve otolaryngology overall.

April has some interesting days of note, starting with April Fool’s day on the first, Major League Baseball Opening Day on the fourth, and Earth Day on the 22nd. As otolaryngologists, we commemorate Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week (OHANCAW) April 10-16, and World Voice Day on April 16.

The entire month of May, Better Hearing and Speech Month, “speaks” volumes to many of us and our patients. What a great way to highlight otolaryngology’s team approach to hearing and language.

For all these special awareness days, there are materials to help you educate your patients and colleagues on these important public health ENT issues, both here in this edition of the Bulletin and on the website at www.entnet.org. Enjoy!

 

 


More from April 2016 - Vol. 35, No. 03