Stewart Ben Dunsker, MD, was recently elected President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS). An active member of the AANS since 1973, he has served as a member of the Board of Directors (1992-1999), as Treasurer (1996-1998), as Vice President (1998-1999) and as Chairman of the Bylaws Committee (1986).
Dr. Dunsker has been a practicing neurosurgeon at The Mayfield Clinic since 1970, and also is Professor of Clinical Neurosurgery, Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery, and Director of the Division of Spine Surgery at the University of Cincinnati. In addition, he serves as Director of the Department of Neurosurgery at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati.
After completing his bachelor’s degree from Harvard College, cum laude, in 1956, Dr. Dunsker went on to earn his medical degree from the College of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati. He completed an internship at the University of Illinois, one year of residency in internal medicine at the University of Cincinnati, and a tour of duty in Germany, where he served in an ARMY artillery battalion. He then joined the neurosurgery program at Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri) for his residency and became Board certified in 1972.
Dr. Dunsker has served as President of The Ohio State Medical Association, The Ohio State Neurosurgical Society, and The Society of University Neurosurgeons. He also has served as Vice Chair of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, Vice President of the American Academy of Neurosurgery, Co-founder and Chairman of the Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves, and as a Delegate to the American Medical Association.
An author of numerous publications, Dr. Dunsker has served on the editorial boards of Neurosurgery, Spine and the Journal of Spinal Disorders. Dr. Dunsker and his wife, Ellen, are the parents of Shiela Yessenow, a Business Development Officer at Fifth-Third Bank in Indiana. Following are some brief comments from Dr. Dunsker as he embarks upon his year as President of the AANS:
What is the role of the AANS? The role for the AANS is to speak for neurosurgery about neurosurgeons. The AANS should work for the betterment of patients, as well as AANS members. The AANS will continue to advocate for its members in Washington D.C., bring them more educational programs and represent them in the house of medicine.
What is the role for the AANS in relating to neurosurgeons?
One of the core missions of the AANS is to provide our members with continuing medical education. To help members in this area, the AANS is developing courses in different regions of the country and creating new books and publications to meet our members’ growing needs.
The AANS also is reaching out to educate the public, media and third-party payers that neurosurgeons do more than just brain surgery. One example of this was the recent AANS supplement, Neurosurgery Today, published in USA Today.
What would you like to accomplish during your presidency?
I would like to bring better balance between the needs/desires of our members and the resources of the AANS. There are ever-increasing needs and services that would benefit the members; however, delivering those services is costly. Presently, AANS dues make up only 16 percent of revenues – one of the lowest percentages in the association industry. We have been able to generate revenue from other areas to benefit our members, but would like to do more.
What is one message you would like to convey to AANS members? The AANS has a long and proud tradition in medicine and we must continue to fight for our patients so that insurance companies or government bureaucracy does not exploit them. With education and the same determination that enabled us to become physicians and neurosurgeons, we can win this fight.
Where do you see the AANS in 5-10 years? The AANS is, and will continue to be, at the forefront of North American neurossurgery. Although the primary focus of the AANS has centered on neurosurgery and politics in the U.S., there will be an increasing emphasis on international relations and affiliations. The neurosurgical world is becoming smaller and we need to enhance our international communication.
What are some key issues facing neurosurgery? First, insurance companies are focused on generating profits at the expense of good health care. These fiscal restraints imposed by insurance companies are popular and pass all the tests of cash flow. The AANS must work to help preserve the quality of medicine and health care.
Second, the government underpaid physicians by $3 billion last year and does not intend to reimburse them. The AANS has joined with other medical specialty groups in filing a suit on this matter and must continue to fight for appropriate reimbursement.