An Interview with Dean E. Schraufnagel, M.D., ATS President-Elect
Q. You will officially succeed J. Randall Curtis, M.D., M.P.H., as ATS President this afternoon. Can you tell us about your plans for the next year?
A. From the time of accepting the nomination as an ATS officer, my main objective has been to make the Society better serve its members.
We have great meetings and journals, but we can make improvements to all of our products. I look to see how we can improve the professional lives of our diverse membership. I would also like to increase opportunities for our members’ to be involved, for example, through networking.
Q. How would you enhance networking?
A. One way to do this would be to expand the number and visibility of reunions at our annual meeting. In addition to alumni of fellowship programs, state chapters, individual countries, research groups or working groups might be interested in doing this.
I would also like the ATS to develop more activities that assist our young members in launching careers in whatever field they choose—research, clinical practice or industry. The programs should address the unique career questions for our international and non-doctoral members.
Q. You mentioned involvement. How do you plan to increase involvement of ATS members?
A. We’ve already made a good start at ATS 2010. This year’s meeting has significantly more poster facilitators, which will not only provide more thoughtful feedback to those presenting research, it will involve more members. I’d like to institute a way for all members to volunteer to be facilitators. For the clinical-case posters, we could enlist master clinicians as facilitators. We could ask our chapters to seek out volunteers to become involved. And our advocacy efforts almost always need individuals with special expertise.
Q. What would you do for clinician members?
A. Clinicians make up a majority of members. By that fact alone, they require vigorous programs to look after their needs. I will be working with the Council of Chapter Representatives to improve the chapters and have them provide greater input into the ATS governance and planning by strengthening their representation within the Society. My presidential appointee to the ATS Board of Directors will be the chair of the Clinicians Advisory Committee, Mike Green, M.D., a physician in private practice. I have asked the Members in Transition and Training (MITT) Committee to pay particular attention to practitioners in transition. And our premier clinical journal, the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, will be devoting more space and attention to clinical medicine.
Q. Do you have any plans to help ATS members who are researchers?
A. Yes. I believe that research is what makes the ATS great. Our new book, Breathing in America: Diseases, Progress and Hope, is designed to increase research awareness and advocacy. It details respiratory disease in America and explains what research has done and what is needed to cure or eliminate respiratory conditions. We plan to give copies to legislators as part of our advocacy efforts. For members to receive printed copies of the book, we will ask for donations to the ATS Foundation to raise money for research. I am very committed to building our Foundation and the Foundation’s Research Program. We intend to enhance the Division Directors Forum that meets at the ATS International Conference annually. David H. Ingbar, M.D., set up this forum during his presidency and I have asked Nick Hill, M.D., who will succeed me as ATS president, to continue to develop it.
Q. What about international members?
A. International members make up 25 percent of our membership and nearly half of our International Conference attendees. ATS President Randy Curtis, M.D., M.P.H., put into place a new pricing structure designed to make benefits of ATS membership more affordable to international members. We will initiate a program that will allow U.S. members to identify opportunities to work abroad for a limited time. This could be helpful not only for individuals choosing a sabbatical, but also for those seeking any international experience. We will initiate an International Council, which will be a forum for international members to discuss their issues and how the ATS relates to their needs.
Q. Do you have plans for in-training and junior members?
A. Junior members can benefit most from belonging to the ATS. The Society can facilitate their learning process and networking and can give them the recognition they need. I have tried to put junior members on committees whenever possible. To do this, I had to limit committee terms to two or three years. I have also reduced the number of individuals who sit on multiple committees to allow more junior members to participate in the Society’s governance. I would also like to initiate a Quality Improvement Poster Symposium, which like the clinical case symposia, would mostly involve fellows.
Q. This seems like a lot of work. What would members get out of serving?
A. It is a lot of work, especially since I am emphasizing the importance of accountability, particularly the importance of reporting back to groups that members represent or to other relevant groups within the Society involved in its governance.
The main reward would be the satisfaction of helping a great organization that benefits its members, our profession and, ultimately, world lung health.