Legacy of Excellence Digital Flipbook

Chapter 2: 2002 – 2006

Working Life and Getting Involved

In 1984, after completing his fellowship, Dr. Nielsen opened a solo otology practice in Phoenix, Arizona. He maintained that practice until joining the Mayo Clinic as a senior consultant at the newly built Mayo Clinic campus in Scottsdale. While in private practice, Neil O. Ward, MD, MALS, then president of the Arizona Medical Association and later becoming President of the AAO-HNS in 1997, contacted him as well as other young physicians about starting a young physician section for the Arizona Medical Association. “He invited 30 or 40 young doctors and six of us showed up,” Dr. Nielsen said. “The new section had six officer positions, so every one of us got one.” Dr. Nielsen became the delegate to the American Medical Association (AMA). This introduction to organized medicine would enhance Dr. Nielsen’s visibility and his understanding of issues in the profession. It also gave him valuable insight into inter-specialty relations and dynamics that would help him formulate a collaborative mindset for his future in the Academy. “I’d listen to Dr. Ward talk about health policy and legislation and government affairs and think, ‘Oh man, how does he know so much?’” Dr. Nielsen said. “He told me that the only school for learning is to get involved and participate.” In tandem with his AMA experience, Dr. Nielsen joined the Academy’s Board of Governors, offering significant contributions to their work, and by the early 1990s his leadership skills not only grew but had strengthened to the point he was in the leadership group on his way to becoming Chair of the BOG. Speaking Up: Secondhand Smoke Campaign and Children In 1994, the Academy launched a new public service campaign that sprang from its Environmental Protection Campaign’s new focus on specific forms of air pollution. (Previously, in its highly successful Threw With Chew campaign of the late 1980s, the Academy empowered the Board of Governors to support and distribute community information through the Public Relations Committee). The BOG appointed Dr. Nielsen as National Campaign Chair of an initiative to educate the public about the effects of secondhand smoke on children.

The campaign generated some high-profile recognition. A kick-off press event took place at the Washington, DC, Stevens Elementary School featuring U.S. Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders, MD; Joan Lunden, campaign spokesperson and host of “Good Morning America;” Nancy L. Snyderman, MD, Academy member and medical correspondent for “Good Morning America;” AAO-HNS then EVP, Jerome C. Goldstein, MD, and Dr. Nielsen. A video, “Poisoning Our Children, the Perils of Secondhand Smoke,” produced by Dr. Snyderman was a key element of the campaign’s material and later won “Best in Category” at the competitive International Health and Medical Film Festival. The work of the campaign expanded when 18 societies as well as health departments and community organizations nationwide joined, making use of the campaign materials, and echoing its message. With this success and continued excellence in service, in 1997 Dr. Nielsen was elected Chair of the AAO-HNS Board of Governors, which gave him a seat on the Academy’s Board of Directors. Finding a Platform “After years of working my way up the ‘ladder’ in the Board of Governors, several of my colleagues in the BOG suggested to me that I might someday serve in a leadership role outside of the BOG. But seriously considering applying for the position of EVP was a spur-of-the-moment decision after phone calls from America;” Jerome C. Goldstein, MD, then AAO-HNS/F EVP; David R. Nielsen, MD, Academy member and National Campaign Chair; and Nancy L. Snyderman, MD, Academy member and medical correspondent for “Good Morning America.” (Left to Right): U.S. Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders, MD; Joan Lunden, campaign spokesperson and host of “Good Morning

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