Legacy of Excellence Digital Flipbook

LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE

“The interviews were held in Las Vegas during COSM, and I was so late to apply I wasn’t able to get a room onsite. As it turned out, I ended up being selected. I was excited about the opportunity, and I prepared and understood how the organization functioned, including how to get things done as a byproduct of my 12 years on the BOD [Board of Directors] between 1998-2014. The first two Presidents, Drs. Woodson and Chandrasekhar, were on the Search Committee and very receptive of the plan I presented. This allowed the first two years to move forward rapidly and facilitate the transition. The chance to actually combine the opportunity and the resources to institute the plan was quite appealing to me.” His prior experience in the Academy and as both an academician and private practitioner positioned him to assume the role as the next EVP/CEO. He came into the EVP/CEO position both well informed and well engaged. Couple that with his innovative, visionary, and collaborative leadership style, he was able to hit the ground running to further the mission and goals of the Academy and, as he put it when asked what he hoped he’d accomplish, “enhance the trajectory of the specialty.” To ensure a smooth and positive transition, Dr. Nielsen and Dr. Denneny worked closely with the Boards and staff through the end of 2014. “He has my unbridled enthusiasm and support as he septs into this new role,” Dr. Nielsen commented in the September 2014 Bulletin selection announcement. One of the critical tools left in place by Dr. Nielsen was the AAO-HNS/F Strategic Plan. “Dr. Nielsen initiating the strategic planning process was a huge benefit to the organization. Being able to follow through with that and modify it as needed has been beneficial.” With sleeves rolled up and Strategic Plan in hand, Dr. Denneny stepped into the role taking a bird’s eye view of the specialty, the house of medicine, and the healthcare climate in the United States and around the globe. And being so closely connected to the strategic direction of the AAO-HNS/F for decades, he quickly acclimated to address the trends most impacting the membership and their patients. “There was a lot—the members were under a lot of pressure in the number of ways that made practicing not as fun and not as rewarding. This worsening trend necessitated additional focus to address the root issues contributing to the situation…and acting on these causes in collaboration with other medical societies and other stakeholders, particularly the physician burnout issue was starting to rear its head.”

Initially I had not considered applying for the position due

It was a sequence of serendipitous events that led to this point. During a trip with his son to Wyoming to see Old Faithful, the famous geyser in Yellowstone National Park in 2012, Dr. Denneny received a call just as the geyser was erupting asking him to serve as Coordinator for Socioeconomic Affairs again. “I had essentially moved to Missouri where my farm is and was going to retire after I completed a teaching term at the University of Missouri, but the Search Committee called and asked if I would do the coordinator-ship another time, which would be my third time. I decided to accept the offer because I truly enjoy that area and was interested in helping to frame healthcare reform. I did so with the caveat that we develop young participants in the process who can carry on our expertise for the future. A year later when it became clear that Dr. Nielsen was going to retire [at the end of 2014], a Search Committee was formed.” “Initially I had not considered applying for the position due to age and no additional ‘business degree,’ but in speaking to several colleagues and describing what I thought the future should look like, they encouraged me to apply.” That and conversations he had with the co-chairs of the Search Committee led him to apply right before the deadline. “As much as I liked caring for patients, I felt I could do more to shape the future of both the specialty and healthcare in general as EVP rather than seeing 100+ patients weekly. As part of the application, I submitted a 10-year plan for what the organization needed to do to meet the needs of the specialty and flourish no matter who was selected.” Specifically, this document outlined, from his perspective, the crucial tasks that the next EVP/CEO should focus on to provide members the tools they would need five and 10 years in the future to provide the best patient care. to age and no additional ‘business degree,’ but in speaking to several colleagues and describing what I thought the future should look like, they encouraged me to apply.”

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