The AANS Key to Success

January 1, 2003

180

Committees Deliver Programs, Link AANS and Members

Committees serve a key function for the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Not only do they develop and deliver effective products and programs for the benefit of members, they also serve as a link to member attitudes and values.

For the individual member, service on a committee is an opportunity to represent and serve colleagues. Specific efforts have been made in recent years to diversify committee membership by seeking members from private practice, residents or young neurosurgeons, and on several committees, nurses and physician assistants. Geographic and subspecialty diversification also is desired.

From December through mid-February every year, the AANS goes through the committee appointment process. The incoming president reviews the AANS committees and determines which chair and member position terms are expiring. Committee members are appointed or reappointed as necessary.

All AANS committee appointments begin or end in conjunction with the AANS Annual Meeting, during which the new president and members of the Board of Directors officially take office. Most committee members and chairs serve a three-year term, with the expiration dates staggered to provide consistency for the committee, while also ensuring some turnover within the committee’s membership.

A recent change in the management of committees was introduced in April 2003 as a result of the AANS’ strategic planning process. All committees, led by the chair working with a staff liaison, now organize their work and align it with the committee budget using the Committee Work Plan. The plan features the committee’s “charges,” that is, its function and responsibilities, which in turn are aligned with the objectives of the AANS Strategic Plan.

The Committee Work Plan is divided into three parts: major activities of the past year; activities for the current year with action steps, timelines and responsible parties identified; and a listing of and time frame for major activities planned for the upcoming year. In this way, the committee’s continuity is assured even when there is turnover on the committee. Furthermore, a review process ensures that AANS goals are being met.

A complete list of AANS committees is available online at https://www.AANS.org/about/membership/aans_c.asp. The committee list also is included on the 2003-04 AANS Membership Directory CD-ROM. Those interested in service on a specific committee, or wishing to indicate an interest in committee participation in general, can contact Susan M. Eget via e-mail at [email protected].

Another way to indicate interest is to update one’s census record at www. MyAANS.org. The census provides a space where specific committee interest can be indicated, and that information is provided to the president-elect annually during the appointment process.

The AANS offers many opportunities for committee service. However, because most committee positions are multiyear terms, only a limited number of positions on a particular committee become available each year.

Susan M. Eget is AANS associate executive director-governance.

For More Information

AANS Committees:
www.AANS.org/about/membership/aans_c.asp
AANS Strategic Plan:
www.AANS.org/Library/Article.aspx?ArticleId=18651

Notice of Suspensions

L. David Rutberg, MD On Nov. 21 the AANS Board of Directors suspended the membership of L. David Rutberg, MD, for one year for unprofessional conduct arising from ccertain statements contained in a sworn Medical Opinion Declaration and in his later deposition testimony.
Dr. Rutberg had very limited training or experience in the treatment of discitis and had not done any independent research into the treatment of lumbar discitis, yet he testified that if antibiotic treatment had been started 10 days earlier, a chronic low back pain syndrome following a second lumbar discectomy would with reasonable medical probability have been averted. The lawsuit was settled for a nominal amount when the plaintiff attorney could find no other neurosurgical experts and no infectious disease experts who would support Dr. Rutberg’s statements. The plaintiff attorney in a subsequent letter to his own client stated that “the case does not have legal merit.”
Gerald Freifeld, MD On Nov. 21 the AANS Board of Directors suspended the membership of Gerald Freifeld, MD, for one year for unprofessional conduct consisting of certain statements made in a medical opinion letter supporting a medical malpractice lawsuit.
In his medical opinion letter Dr. Freifeld stated that “the disengagement of the instrumentation can only [emphasis added] be blamed upon the inefficient surgical application and the inappropriate placement of this instrumentation” in an unstable L1 compression fracture in which there was an instrumentation failure after initial good reduction and in which a subsequent reoperation was needed for a good surgical result. Dr. Freifeld provided no evidence or reasoning to support his conclusion. In addition, Dr. Freifeld had reportedly never performed thoracolumbar instrumented fusion-a report that he did not dispute.

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