A year is a very short time. A mere 365 days after I became president of the AANS in April, I will have to determine whether or not I made a difference for the organization and for you as members. In other words, I can neither waste time, nor can I sit back in complacency and wait for someone else to lead the debate regarding the medical, philosophical, and financial issues that we as neurosurgeons and citizens face everyday. For this reason I have titled the theme of my presidency “Speaking Out,” and I expect everyone to join the dialogue.
Speaking Out
A number of contemporary issues are worth speaking out about:
- the future of stem cell research,
- genetic material patents,
- handgun-related violence,
- professional misconduct, and
- neurosurgical reimbursement, to name a few.
These issues are fraught with moral, ethical, religious, and emotional fireworks which make them explosive to discuss and impossible to agree upon, but we must reach a consensus about them and, what is more, we must speak out about them. Neurosurgeons can and should lead the medical community by developing strong position statements, some of which may be controversial, and then stand ready to lead national debates.
Sparking Debate
I was recently reminded of just how charged these issues can be when I was selecting the cover art for the 2002 AANS Annual Meeting program. My wish was to select a cover design that would reflect my desire to initiate an organizational debate regarding the use of handguns, but when I showed my art selection (which included two handguns) to some colleagues, a very emotional and heated discussion ensued. Some supported handgun legislation; some opposed it. Some were offended that a handgun was juxtaposed with a brain. Some thought that such issues had no place at an annual scientific meeting.
I realized that if the selection of a piece of art could cause such commotion, I should be prepared for an outright conflagration over stem cell research.
The use of stem cells, and their potential banned use, are issues that profoundly affect neurosurgeons every day. The future of our profession and our patients will be greatly influenced by scientific progress not only in this field, but also in the fields of genetic research and molecular biology. The fact that stem cell research has been so closely linked with abortion sells the issue short and prevents the public from fully understanding the benefits derived from the use of fetal tissue. Though it will be an arduous task for us to develop a consensus on the issue, we should not shrink away from it-it is far too important.
The Path to Consensus
You already know that consensus is not reached overnight, and it is not done in the presence of only one opinion. It requires that all of us speak up individually in order for us to find our voice organizationally; it requires that you become actively involved in the process of shaping the future of neurosurgery and of the larger society. Join me in this effort to bring meaning to the words of Henry Longfellow, who wrote:
Look not mournfully into the Past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the Present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy Future, without fear, and with a [manly] heart.
In other words, there is no time like the present to speak out.
Stan Pelofsy, MD, is president of Neuroscience Specialists, Chief of Neurosurgery at St. Anthony’s Hospital and Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Oklahoma Memorial Hospital in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.