Legacy of Excellence Digital Flipbook

LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE

witness the amazing dedication of all these non-paid otolaryngologists, who were giving up their time traveling back and forth to Washington, to try to forward the needs and the goals of our Academy.” Toward the end of his term, Dr. Netterville was approached by colleagues who wanted to nominate him for President of the Academy. “At first, I declined, I really didn’t think I was qualified to lead the Academy, but after multiple discussions with several of the doctors, I submitted my name and then one of the greatest, most humbling honors of my life, I was elected as President of the Academy.” Dr. Netterville described that some presidents come into the role with their own set of goals and expectations to accomplish during their 12 months of service. At that time, the AAO-HNS/F had begun to develop thoughtful strategic plans for the coming five to 10 years. At the beginning of his presidency, Dr. Netterville led the development of a comprehensive Strategic Plan that aimed to respond to the current and future impact of the radical healthcare reform underway while at the same time continue to provide value to members for their practice and patient care. One way Dr. Netterville sought to address the imminent effects of this change on the house of medicine with the transition away from the traditional fee-for-service model of payment was his creation of the Ad Hoc Payment Workgroup. This group, which served as a subgroup of the Physician Payment Policy Workgroup (3P), was created to review current and future payment trends in otolaryngology and other specialties with recommendations to the Executive Committee and Board for AAO-HNS/F action.

Additionally, Dr. Netterville was also proud that global education was beginning to take greater strides during this time of his presidency. He moved to add more global education opportunities at the Annual Meeting while encouraging physicians from around the world to attend, particularly those in low- to middle-resource countries. Joining Choosing Wisely® in 2013 was another critical initiative for the AAO-HNS/F in the area of research and quality that was led by Dr. Netterville and David R. Nielsen, MD, Executive Vice President and CEO, and the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Committee. This effort demonstrated the Academy’s ongoing and growing commitment to distributing evidence-based clinical practice to the public. Another emphasis during his presidency was specialty unity and how the Academy could represent otolaryngology and all subspecialties so that “We could all realize we were pulling this wagon together and not going different directions.” This resulted in the continued efforts of the Specialty Society Advisory Council, which made some changes to their governance structure in 2013 to enhance effectiveness and provide consistency in strategy. Dr. Netterville’s humble, inclusive leadership style and impeccable clinical skills were major factors in his success as president. In his last President’s column in the September 2013 Bulletin , Dr. Netterville noted, “So I came in a believer, and I go out a believer—I believe in our ‘Community of Otolaryngology.’…Aside from our particular expertise and unique medical skills, we share a vision and a mission for this community. We consistently demonstrate commitment to patient care, improving world health, and supporting the whole medical community. We challenge each other to be our best, to move forward, to improve and grow as a group, and as individuals.”

So I came in a believer, and I go out a believer—I believe in our ‘Community of Otolaryngology.’…Aside from our particular expertise and unique medical skills, we share a vision and a mission for this community. We consistently demonstrate commitment to patient care, improving world health, and supporting the whole medical community. We challenge each other to be our best, to move forward, to improve and grow as a group, and as individuals.”

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