As my year as president of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) concludes, it seems appropriate to engage in some introspection and review the progress made in the priorities that were set for the year, as outlined in my first President’s Message last summer.
Unification: No. 1 Priority
The first priority I listed was the unification of organized neurosurgery, specifically of our two national organizations, the AANS and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS). With some sadness, I must admit that we have not been able to achieve this goal. However, you should know that both organizations engaged in an intense, good faith effort to achieve unification. Leadership from the AANS and the CNS with our respective counsels and a negotiator met several times in St. Louis to discuss different paradigms of unification that would be acceptable to both organizations. Ultimately, the CNS rejected the AANS’ offer: a full merger with a single infrastructure, maintenance of the two annual meetings and the two journals, and a governance structure with equal participation from both organizations. The CNS proposal was to develop a separate entity, jointly owned and governed, which could perform many of the functions and services that now are performed jointly or independently. The AANS and CNS each would maintain a downsized infrastructure for performing those functions that are unique and distinctive of each. The AANS rejected this proposal, as it would result in three, rather than the current two, infrastructures and supporting staff. While disappointed that unification was not achieved, I am proud to report that these discussions were not wasted since they resulted in a major improvement in the relationship between the AANS and the CNS and a commitment to redouble our efforts to work together, jointly at times, independently at others, but always cordially and cooperatively for the benefit of our specialty.
Strengthening the AANS
My second priority was to continue to strengthen the AANS, building upon the solid foundation firmly established by my predecessors and by so many committed volunteers and staff. Today our financial situation is robust and healthy, although we would not mind a bit of help from the market with our investments! We have developed and will continue to develop new sources of revenue toward the ultimate goal of reducing our dues while enhancing the range of services to our membership. We have developed an intensive effort to enhance our educational offerings and to make our continuing medical education crediting and tracking process more relevant to the expected demands for maintenance of professional competence; these initiatives were extensively discussed in the Winter 2002 issue of the AANS Bulletin.
Our annual meeting has been significantly “re-engineered” to make it even more attractive and relevant to the current needs of our membership. Our Professional Conduct Committee is more active than ever and I am pleased to report that its activities earned for the AANS the honor of being named to the 2002 Associations Advance America Honor Roll in a national awards competition sponsored by the American Society of Association Executives.
My greatest source of pride, however, is the phenomenal improvement in the quality, stability and morale of our staff at the AANS Executive Office. One of the most delightful times of my presidency was a recent visit to Chicago where I was able to see and feel firsthand the commitment, loyalty and efficiency of our wonderful staff under the superb leadership of our executive director, Thomas A. Marshall. I wish every one of you could visit them and be uplifted, as I was, by their enthusiasm; I hope you know that you will always be welcome if you have an opportunity to visit our headquarters for whatever reason or for no reason at all other than to say hello … and perhaps thanks!
External Challenges
Finally, we have made modest progress, often working hand-in-hand with the CNS, iin meeting the formidable external challenges faced by our specialty. We contributed more than our share to the recent victory on Medicare reimbursement. Some relief has been gained with respect to the on-call requirements of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. We are cautiously optimistic about some imminent relief in the professional liability insurance crisis; however, a major concerted effort not only by our national organizations but, importantly, by each neurosurgeon personally will be necessary to ensure ultimate victory in this crucial battle. It has been a good year. I have enjoyed it thoroughly and I will be forever grateful for the honor of having presided over this wonderful organization.
Roberto C. Heros, MD, is the 2002-2003 AANS president. He is professor, co-chairman and program director of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Miami.