Legacy of Excellence Digital Flipbook

LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE

breakthroughs in research. To that end, our meeting is a ‘big tent’ where you can exchange views, information, and opinions, with attendees from all over, from Idaho to India, Kansas to Korea, and Minnesota to Mexico… and beyond.” In July 2011, Dr. Thomas alerted members to a new and improved online Bulletin with an updated landing page that featured all current issues. With each online issue, members could access a feature focus, such as highlights from the AAO-HNS/F Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO, as well as the magazine’s usual sections—Academy News, Legislative and Political Advocacy, Regulatory Advocacy, and more. The updated site also allowed members to share content via their favorite social media outlet, including Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Dr. Thomas recognized—then and now—that advances in technology can have a tremendous, positive impact not only on the practice and delivery of medicine but also on how physicians communicate and interact with their patients. “And the Academy needs to be the leader in keeping the rest of us informed of that new technology,” he said when interviewed, “allowing us to interact with the people who are developing that [new technology] and the individuals who are using it.” In his final Bulletin column, Dr. Thomas reminded members that one of his first goals as President was to support diversity within the specialty and, specifically, Women in Otolaryngology (WIO). “The WIO has grown from a committee to a Section, earning it a general assembly with unlimited membership and a dedicated governance structure,” he wrote. “This change also earns WIO a seat on the Board, and a powerful voice within this organization. We are already seeing the ripple effect of WIO throughout the organization. If you refer to the June 2011 issue of the Bulletin , you will see that out of 20 candidates for Leadership, nine of them were women.” Reflecting on his career and his time with the AAO HNS/F, Dr. Thomas said that he was “truly proud and appreciative of what the Academy’s done for me. There is no question that my career and activities would have been different without the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head Neck Surgery, and I’m very pleased to be able to brag about that.” Dr. Thomas is currently a professor of facial plastic surgery at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine and is presently the president of the Illinois State Medical Society.

“[I’m] truly proud and appreciative of what the

After serving on several AAO-HNS/F committees and the Boards of Directors, Dr. Thomas was named Vice President under the Academy’s first female President, M. Jennifer Derebery, MD (2003 – 2004). “She and I have [joked] that after my year of being Vice President, the Academy did away with that position,” he remarked when interviewed. “We don’t have Vice Presidents [anymore].” However, Dr. Thomas was elected to serve as President himself beginning in 2010. In his January 2011 Bulletin column he wrote, “At the beginning of my tenure as President of the Academy, I named a number of endeavors in my goals for the organization. These included enhanced support of diversity within the specialty and active support of the role of women in otolaryngology; recognition of the importance of our role at the international level through strengthening our ties with our international otolaryngology colleagues; and encouraging individual member commitment to advocacy support. Equal in importance is the goal of enhancing and strengthening subspecialty unity within otolaryngology-head and neck surgery through the Academy. Continued active unification of our specialty, our subspecialty organizations, and our membership make all of those endeavors a stronger reality.” Dr. Thomas also made the International Advisory Committee one of his top priorities during his time in office. Writing in the May 2011 Bulletin he said, “Globalization is accelerating at a rapid pace, and it’s vital to stay aware of new trends in clinical and surgical techniques, currents in practice management, and without the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head Neck Surgery, and I’m very pleased to be able to brag about that.” Academy’s done for me. There is no question that my career and activities would have been different

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