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Everybody needs a plan.
At the end of January, 2002, the AAOA leadership met for the Academy’s
Annual Strategic Planning Retreat. Initiated by Past President Steve
Chadwick and our Executive Director, Jami Lucas, and supported by
a generous grant from GlaxoSmithKline, this event features a professional
facilitator (Cindy Zook) who has worked with us for the past four
years. We begin by looking at last year’s plan, and frankly
listing our successes and failures.
Then it’s time to identify the three or four principal areas
upon which to focus our efforts in the coming year, as well as map-ping
out broad strategy for the following years. Small groups brainstorm
these ideas, and then share them with everyone, where they are further
refined. After that, it’s time to assign specific time lines
and responsible persons for the execution of the plan. We come away
from these meetings energized for the tasks that confront us, and
filled with a closer appreciation of and sense of camaraderie with
the people with whom we work in doing the Academy’s business.
Our broad goals for this next year are to demonstrate the superiority
of our quantitative techniques, to assure free access of our members
to patients with appropriate reimbursement for their services, and
to exert our utmost efforts toward mak-ing every practicing otolaryngologist
competent in allergy. These are very similar to the goals we set
last year, and we have significantly moved forward on each of these
fronts. A pilot research study is in place which will address the
first goal, and hopefully lead to further publishable studies that
validate our techniques. We continue our efforts to reach carriers
with the message that Fellowship in the AAOA indicates significant
train-ing and expertise in the management of otolaryngic allergy.
The Resident Review Commission has emphasized training in “otolaryngic
allergy” (not just “allergy”) by residency programs,
and we have joined this effort by offering a Resident Weekend Retreat
and an Academic Weekend Retreat at which one resident or one faculty
member from each academic program in the US is introduced to otolaryngic
allergy and the AAOA.
I have simply painted with broad brush strokes some of the work
which your Academy continues to do. I cannot overem-phasize how
important your involvement is. If you’re not a Fellow, begin
working toward that goal now. If you have any influence on insurers
in your region, educate them about what we do and how we are trained.
If you are associated with an academic program, lobby the chairman
to make otolaryngic allergy a part of the training offered. The
Academy can provide resources and information for you in each of
these areas.
We have a plan. I urge you to be a part of it.
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Local Carrier Outreach Initiative