April Showers, May Flowers

Gene G. Brown, MD, RPh
AAO-HNS/F PresidentSpring has always been my favorite season. As the days grow longer and I can finally watch the sun set after arriving home, I notice something shift in the air, in my step, and honestly in my mood. Green grass returning to the fairways is a reliable signal that better days are ahead, both on and off the golf course. As we step into this season of renewal, I find myself reflecting on the remarkable blooms that have already appeared across our specialty and the talented people responsible for them. 

The start of the year brought a fervent “First 50” campaign, led by Matthew D. Scarlett, MD, Chair of the ENT PAC Board of Advisors, and fueled by nearly every corner of Academy leadership. The all-in approach to advocacy was infectious and serves as a reminder that when we are unified in purpose, our voice carries. Advocacy is not just a program at the Academy; it is increasingly the culture, and watching that culture take hold has been one of the first and most gratifying blooms of this season. 

Left to right: Dr. Brown with Dr. Scarlett and Dole P. Baker, Jr., MD, standing outside the office of Senator Lindsey Graham, representing their home state of South Carolina.March brought more than 40 otolaryngologists to Capitol Hill, representing practices from across the country. Our talking points this cycle centered on newborn CMV screening, bone-anchored hearing aid coverage for pediatric patients, and cost-of-living adjustments to Medicare reimbursement tied to the Medical Economic Index. Our advocacy-centered Board of Governors deserves special recognition for spearheading, organizing, and energizing this effort.

If you have never participated in a Hill Day, I want to personally invite you to consider it, as we will be doing it again in spring 2027. The logistics are handled for you, talking points are provided, and the visits are thoughtfully coordinated so that you are meeting with your elected representatives from your own home states. It is different from anything else we do as a specialty, and experiencing it in person profoundly clarifies why it matters that physicians show up this way. 

The third annual AAO-HNS/F OTO Forum convened in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 20–21, and the growth of this meeting continues to impress. More than 200 attendees, representing more than a 30% increase over the prior year, gathered as the business of medicine and patient care took center stage. The Otolaryngology Private Practice Section (OPPS) leadership team curated a diverse and substantive agenda that served attendees from every corner of the specialty and at every stage of their careers.

What struck me most was the expanding academic participation. The business of medicine is no longer something that only resonates with those in private practice. Our colleagues in academic and employed settings are recognizing that these skill sets matter everywhere. It has been a specific priority of my presidency to elevate the business of medicine education, because I believe that gaps in this literacy have accelerated the commoditization and corporatization of our profession. Watching OTO Forum grow is, for me, deeply personal.

And then there were the guests.

Left to right: Dr. Scott, Dr. Brown, and Dr. Mukkamala at the podium at the AAO-HNS/F 2026 OTO Forum. AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, MD, and AMA Immediate Past President Bruce Scott, MD, both joined us in Louisville, and having the two most recent occupants of that office in the same room, on our stage, speaking to our community was genuinely extraordinary. Their words were generous and affirming of what otolaryngology represents within organized medicine. But what stood out was something simpler: both were among the first to arrive and the last to leave. They were genuinely present throughout the meeting, in conversation with attendees, and engaged with the ideas on the floor.

Their presence in Louisville was not incidental. It reflects something we have been deliberately building—the idea that otolaryngology does not exist in isolation, but as part of a broader medical community that is stronger when we show up for one another. That spirit is very much at the heart of the One Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery initiative. One Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery is our effort to bridge the divides within our own specialty and across practice settings, subspecialties, and career stages to speak with a more unified voice and act with a more coordinated purpose. Having two AMA presidents in the room, both otolaryngologists and both deeply supportive of that vision, was a reminder that the specialty capable of leading within medicine has first learned to lead itself.

We are fortunate to have individuals of their caliber in our ranks. A special note: Bobby will deliver the John Conley, MD Lecture on Medical Ethics at the AAO-HNSF 2026 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO during the Opening Ceremony in Los Angeles, California. Registration opens in early June. You will not want to miss it.

One of the later blooms in any spring is the Academy’s election season, and this year’s slate of candidates is genuinely impressive. Reading candidate statements and hearing new ideas are among the more energizing parts of this role. The annual retooling of leadership is essential to any organization’s health, and it is equally the responsibility of current leaders to cultivate the next generation.

I want to recognize the Nominating Committee for assembling such a qualified and thoughtful group of candidates. The leaders we elect this cycle will carry One Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery forward, and the future of that initiative depends on the quality and commitment of those who step up. To the candidates: good luck. To the rest of us, please take a moment and vote. 

The Academy and its members are engaged in an extraordinary range of vital work. What we do collectively for the specialty, for our physicians, and for our patients is what makes this organization matter. I wanted to pause this month and name just a few of those spring flowers, and to offer my sincere gratitude to each of you for the selfless contributions you make to the greater good of otolaryngology.

The season ahead is full of promise. Enjoy the summer and the people you get to spend it with.