Published: May 1, 2019

Section Spotlight: YPS continues to expand

It is hard to believe that the Young Physician’s Section (YPS) of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) is only five years old. We transitioned from a committee of fewer than 20 people to a section that now has more than 2,000 members.


Christina Baldassari, MD

It is hard to believe that the Young Physician’s Section (YPS) of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) is only five years old. We transitioned from a committee of fewer than 20 people to a section that now has more than 2,000 members. All AAO-HNS members who are younger than 40 years old and/or have fewer than eight years of experience outside of training are section members. Initially, we were primarily concerned with the nuts and bolts of getting our section up and running, including developing our bylaws and governance structure. Now that our section has matured, we are excited to focus on new initiatives.

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To ensure that we are connecting with all of our young physicians, we have established a YPS Communications Work Group. Our Communications Work Group has been focused on reaching out to young physicians on ENTConnect and our YPS Facebook page. Our posts cover a variety of subjects of interest to young physicians, ranging from new technologies applicable to otolaryngology to tips for avoiding burnout. We encourage young physicians to follow our discussions on these forums so that they can stay current with section activities.

The results of a recent member survey by the AAO-HNS showed that young physicians want more resources for practice management. Thus, our governing council assembled a YPS Practice Management Work Group to address this gap. The first YPS Practice Management Tool Kit will be published on our website in the upcoming months. This tool kit will list a variety of resources on practice management topics ranging from contract negotiation to billing and coding to debt management. Among other features, it will include a rating scale of each resource and a description of which providers the resources are geared toward (i.e., resident physicians versus physicians in the first year of practice). Our working group is also developing a series of five 20-minute podcasts on practice management topics that should be available for download within the next year. These undertakings will be invaluable for young physicians starting out in practice.

Our recently convened Engagement Work Group has been working to increase the visibility of our section and engage young physicians. Last year, we introduced the YPS Model Mentor Award. Young physicians submitted nominations for otolaryngology mentors who had profoundly impacted their careers. We recognized five outstanding mentors during the AAO-HNSF 2018 Annual Meeting & OTO Experience YPS General Assembly in Atlanta, Georgia. This year, we plan to award the first YPS Member Impact Award to a young physician who has excelled in leadership and/or teaching. The AAO-HNS is offering 10 $500 travel grants to support young physicians attending the Annual Meeting in 2019. We will also raffle off several $100 gift cards at our general assembly that can be used for purchasing AAO-HNSF education products, such as AcademyQ®.

All young physicians should plan to attend the AAO-HNSF 2019 Annual Meeting’s YPS General Assembly on Monday, September 16, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

We encourage young physicians to get more involved in the section. Numerous opportunities exist, including participating in one of our working groups or serving as a YPS representative to groups such as ABOHNS or AMA. We are looking for individuals from diverse practice types in all regions of the country. Visit our updated YPS website at https://www.entnet.org/content/young-physicians-section for more information.

 

 


More from May 2019 – Vol. 38, No. 4