The Voice for Organized Neurosurgery Discussing the Expanding Role of the AANS. For more than 35 years, the AANS has borne the responsibility of being the “spokesorganization” for organized neurosurgery-representing neurosurgeons at the local and national level. I would like to take this opportunity to outline the evolution of this role, the systems that we have put in place to ensure neurosurgical representation in every arena of concern and the implications of this activity to our membership.
Prior to 1965, there were five national neurosurgical organizations that provided educational fora for their members, as well as an opportunity for social discourse. There was no need for “representation” outside of participation in allied medical organizations such as the American Medical Association and American College of Surgeons, freely available to most members of each organization. However, the advent of Medicare in 1965 mandated that a single agency be identified to interact with Federal agencies in the development of neurosurgical components under the Medicare program.
Consequently, the Mayfield proclamation was issued in which the Harvey Cushing Society changed its name to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), and thus became the voice of neurosurgery in this country. The “Cushing Society” was the logical base for this development since, by 1965, it represented the broadest spectrum of Board-certified neurosurgeons. A Mission and Structure Committee and a Bylaws Committee were formed with liaison representation from the American Board of Neurological Surgery (ABNS) and each of the other societies to develop the bylaws for this new organization. The AANS, which derived its authority as “spokesorganization” from its members’ participation in each of the five national neurosurgical organizations, has since served as a resource for governmental, private sector, educational and allied professional organization neurosurgical interactions.
Evolving to Serve You Better
The AANS has undergone a number of administrative reorganizations to better represent the varied needs of its membership. At its inception, the AANS Board of Directors was comprised of the officers of the Association and representatives from the other national societies. Over time, however, it was recognized that representation of the broad interests of neurosurgeons throughout the U.S. required restructuring of the Board constituency. Consequently, specific “societal” representation on the Board was abolished, and Board membership was restructured to represent all of neurosurgery.
We have continued to expand this representative base, which now includes Regional Directors from the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies, Section-nominated Directors, the Editor of NEUROSURGERY: //ON-CALL®, and the Chair of the Young Neurosurgeons Committee, in addition to our Directors-At-Large. We are all gratified by this new organizational structure and believe that the decisions of our Board will adequately reflect the diverse interests and needs of our membership.
Expanding and Enhancing the Role of Young Neurosurgeons
The AANS recognizes the important role young neurosurgeons play within the Association and, as such, has reorganized its Membership Committee to include young neurosurgeons in leadership positions.
One of the missions of the committee is to define a system that ensures membership is representative and open to qualified neurosurgeons at every level of their professional careers. Active membership in the AANS remains limited to neurosurgeons certified by their respective Boards in the United States, Canada and the Republic of Mexico. However, the opportunity to become a Provisional member for those in training or pursuing Board certification has been expanded, with a simplified conversion process from Provisional status to Active status once Board certification is achieved. Given this, we eagerly seeek to embrace residents and recent graduates not yet certified to participate in these options, which will provide input to the leadership, as well as inroduce young neurosurgeons to a multitude of AANS membership benefits.
We, at the AANS Board, view young neurosurgeon representation as a critical element in our continued evolution as a representative organization. We recognize that we have the unique capacity to blend the enthusiasm and energy represented in our large cadre of younger members with the extensive practice experience, ABNS service and research and educational mentoring of our senior Board members. This combination assures that our future is bright as an association and a discipline.
Martin H. Weiss, MD, is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Southern California’s School of Medicine