This blog post is coming right off the heels of the December 6th ACMS Board of Directors meeting; the final board meeting of 2022. It’s hard to believe that 2022 is already ending, but when I reflect back to March of this year, when I started my role as Executive Director, I am in awe of how much we have accomplished in just a few short months.
I’ll briefly hit the high notes of 2022. I say “briefly” because the team at ACMS is already preparing to hit the ground running to move forward into 2023. But without a doubt, we accomplished quite a bit in 2022. The ACMS has adjusted, shifted, added, removed, replaced, reorganized, and realigned in so many ways. With the hard work of the ACMS Board of Directors, and the diligence and support of the Executive Committee, ACMS is ready for a transformational 2023. We took 2022 to “get our house in order”. We are fully staffed. We have reinvigorated the work of our managed specialty groups. We have realigned with community partners. The ACMS Foundation issued over $200k in grants to local organizations. We launched new programming. And, as you will see in the election report included in the December edition of the bulletin, the membership elected a diverse and energetic board for 2023. With all that reorganizing work behind us, we look forward of moving into 2023 with the intention and focus.
After we reminisced about 2022, we spent the bulk of our board meeting talking about where we will go in 2023. Your board set three primary goals for the next year. They will focus on membership, including benefits, value, education, and connection. They will focus on local advocacy, with the continuation of the Local Physician Advocacy ad-hoc committee that was launched in Q4 of 2022. And they will establish one additional ad-hoc committee that will focus on the future direction of the ACMS Bulletin.
Outside of the work that will happen at the board level, the team at ACMS looks forward to a few key initiatives. Early in 2023, we’ll launch our newly redesigned website. We’ll be working to establish a women physicians networking group. We’ll add additional CME options for those wishing to take part in local, in-person training. We will work alongside newly elected state representative, and ACMS member, Dr. Arvind Venkat, on advocating for issues that matter the most to physicians. We will provide opportunities to get ACMS members in front of local and state legislators. We will combat medical misinformation by getting ACMS members in the press to talk about the medical issues facing our community. We will continue to tweak and update member benefits for all our membership types, including residents and retired members. And we’ll continue the important work of the ACMS Foundation.
We are excited about the opportunities that are ahead in 2023. In the January edition of the Bulletin, you will hear from the 2023 leaders of ACMS. As of January 1, we will welcome Dr. Matthew Straka as the 2023 ACMS Board President. Dr. Peter Ellis, immediate past president, will become the Chair of the Board of Directors for 2023. We encourage members to reach out to Dr. Straka, Dr. Ellis, or anyone on the ACMS team with feedback, questions, comments, and concerns. We want to hear from you!
I wish the best to you and your families this holiday season. Thank you for allowing me to be part of such a tremendous organization. I am inspired every day by the work of our members, and I look forward to all that we will accomplish together in 2023.
