Dean E. Schraufnagel, M.D.: “I will focus next year on members and how we can help them do their job to carry out the ATS mission.”
When Dean E. Schraufnagel, M.D., assumed his position as ATS president on May 18, he went back in time to the third grade as he moved forward as the leader of a large medical society, setting the tone he wants to follow in the next year.
He may now be a respected leader in medicine, but he still retains the energy of when he was a third grader in tiny Mason, Wisconsin, working hard to learn more about chemistry and experiencing the scientific shock Americans felt when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first satellite in space.
In his first address as ATS president during the ATS Membership Meeting, Dr. Schraufnagel talked about his growth from that third grader to a young researcher who became involved in the ATS, and how he wants others to also become involved to help the ATS grow stronger.
“I want to turn some of these things around and show you how they might affect us this next year,” he said. “First of all, I’m very proud of the ATS. Pride begets involvement and commitment and loyalty, and we have a lot to be proud of.”
“Part of my pride stems from ATS members,” Dr. Schraufnagel continued. “Members are our strongest asset and I will focus next year on members and how we can help them do their job to carry out the ATS mission.”
Another goal during his term in office is to involve as many people as possible in enhancing the ATS by expanding networking opportunities. Areas that are “fruitful” for involvement are the chapters, the assembly and the Web site, he said.
Because clinicians are 80 percent of ATS membership, a clinician will be appointed to the Board of Directors and every committee, and the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine will have more clinical information.
Dr. Schraufnagel also said that the ATS is home to some of the best researchers in the world, so he wants to use them to build the ATS Foundation and the Society’s Research Program. A part of that is the publication of Breathing in America: Diseases, Progress and Hope, a new book that is available online at www.thoracic.org. Each chapter features a case story. A print edition will be available this summer, with proceeds supporting the Foundation of the ATS.
Internationally, the ATS should work with its sister societies to improve lung health, he said, calling for the establishment of an ATS international council to better serve members who live outside of the United States.
And with that, Dr. Schraufnagel again showed some of the energy of that third grader by telling members, “I want to have good chemistry and fun. I believe the next year is going to be fun.”