The President Reports

When we celebrated Women’s History Month in March, Drs. Carolyn D’Ambrosio, Aneesa Das, and I discussed our experiences as women in chest medicine and why connecting is so important. We touched on the critical role of mentors. This conversation prompted me to dedicate this President’s column to the value of mentorship. The conversation is available on the CHEST YouTube for viewing.

Pursuing a career in medicine is not something you do on your own, and I have been fortunate to have had a strong support system. I think many of us who have been successful and fulfilled in our careers can say we were blessed by having great mentors along the way.

I have been blessed in having mentors who were both within my institution and outside, but one of the most important places that I found mentors was through my involvement with CHEST. It is critically important to find a mentor or mentors who can guide you through the initial phases of your career. It is also very important to allow yourself time to be a mentor to those who need you.

To the junior faculty or trainees who have yet to connect with someone to provide guidance, I cannot stress enough the importance of getting involved in an organization like CHEST.

The best way to begin is to attend the annual meeting. Know that you are invited to approach any member of CHEST leadership, introduce yourself, and tell us that you want to get involved. (Conveniently, registration for CHEST 2023 in Hawaii just opened.)

I genuinely believe our community would say yes to anyone looking for guidance.

To my colleagues who are established in their careers, I am issuing a personal request (and a bit of a challenge). Before the upcoming annual meeting, consider who among your newer colleagues could benefit from having a mentor.

Take the time to tell them that you are there to support their development. Making that connection could mean re-establishing a relationship that got off track and that you want to re-engage.

Show how the commitment to mentorship matters by sharing a post (with a picture, if possible) on social media. Tag your post using the hashtags #CHESTMentee and #CHEST2023 to introduce them to your network. This type of exposure and support can have a lasting impact.

While attending CHEST 2023 – ideally with your mentee – be sure to add the mentoring ribbons to your badge. We will be heavily socializing these ribbons, sharing that anyone wearing the “I’m a mentor” ribbon is either open to accepting new mentees or will help facilitate a conversation that may lead to mentorship.

Beyond its incredible education opportunities, the CHEST Annual Meeting is well-known for being a welcoming environment. It’s up to us to take the extra steps to help earlier-career clinicians succeed by providing the best possible education and guidance for years to come.



Until next time,

Doreen J. Addrizzo- Harris, MD, FCCP

When we celebrated Women’s History Month in March, Drs. Carolyn D’Ambrosio, Aneesa Das, and I discussed our experiences as women in chest medicine and why connecting is so important. We touched on the critical role of mentors. This conversation prompted me to dedicate this President’s column to the value of mentorship. The conversation is available on the CHEST YouTube for viewing.

Pursuing a career in medicine is not something you do on your own, and I have been fortunate to have had a strong support system. I think many of us who have been successful and fulfilled in our careers can say we were blessed by having great mentors along the way.

I have been blessed in having mentors who were both within my institution and outside, but one of the most important places that I found mentors was through my involvement with CHEST. It is critically important to find a mentor or mentors who can guide you through the initial phases of your career. It is also very important to allow yourself time to be a mentor to those who need you.

To the junior faculty or trainees who have yet to connect with someone to provide guidance, I cannot stress enough the importance of getting involved in an organization like CHEST.

The best way to begin is to attend the annual meeting. Know that you are invited to approach any member of CHEST leadership, introduce yourself, and tell us that you want to get involved. (Conveniently, registration for CHEST 2023 in Hawaii just opened.)

I genuinely believe our community would say yes to anyone looking for guidance.

To my colleagues who are established in their careers, I am issuing a personal request (and a bit of a challenge). Before the upcoming annual meeting, consider who among your newer colleagues could benefit from having a mentor.

Take the time to tell them that you are there to support their development. Making that connection could mean re-establishing a relationship that got off track and that you want to re-engage.

Show how the commitment to mentorship matters by sharing a post (with a picture, if possible) on social media. Tag your post using the hashtags #CHESTMentee and #CHEST2023 to introduce them to your network. This type of exposure and support can have a lasting impact.

While attending CHEST 2023 – ideally with your mentee – be sure to add the mentoring ribbons to your badge. We will be heavily socializing these ribbons, sharing that anyone wearing the “I’m a mentor” ribbon is either open to accepting new mentees or will help facilitate a conversation that may lead to mentorship.

Beyond its incredible education opportunities, the CHEST Annual Meeting is well-known for being a welcoming environment. It’s up to us to take the extra steps to help earlier-career clinicians succeed by providing the best possible education and guidance for years to come.



Until next time,

Doreen J. Addrizzo- Harris, MD, FCCP

When we celebrated Women’s History Month in March, Drs. Carolyn D’Ambrosio, Aneesa Das, and I discussed our experiences as women in chest medicine and why connecting is so important. We touched on the critical role of mentors. This conversation prompted me to dedicate this President’s column to the value of mentorship. The conversation is available on the CHEST YouTube for viewing.

Pursuing a career in medicine is not something you do on your own, and I have been fortunate to have had a strong support system. I think many of us who have been successful and fulfilled in our careers can say we were blessed by having great mentors along the way.

I have been blessed in having mentors who were both within my institution and outside, but one of the most important places that I found mentors was through my involvement with CHEST. It is critically important to find a mentor or mentors who can guide you through the initial phases of your career. It is also very important to allow yourself time to be a mentor to those who need you.

To the junior faculty or trainees who have yet to connect with someone to provide guidance, I cannot stress enough the importance of getting involved in an organization like CHEST.

The best way to begin is to attend the annual meeting. Know that you are invited to approach any member of CHEST leadership, introduce yourself, and tell us that you want to get involved. (Conveniently, registration for CHEST 2023 in Hawaii just opened.)

I genuinely believe our community would say yes to anyone looking for guidance.

To my colleagues who are established in their careers, I am issuing a personal request (and a bit of a challenge). Before the upcoming annual meeting, consider who among your newer colleagues could benefit from having a mentor.

Take the time to tell them that you are there to support their development. Making that connection could mean re-establishing a relationship that got off track and that you want to re-engage.

Show how the commitment to mentorship matters by sharing a post (with a picture, if possible) on social media. Tag your post using the hashtags #CHESTMentee and #CHEST2023 to introduce them to your network. This type of exposure and support can have a lasting impact.

While attending CHEST 2023 – ideally with your mentee – be sure to add the mentoring ribbons to your badge. We will be heavily socializing these ribbons, sharing that anyone wearing the “I’m a mentor” ribbon is either open to accepting new mentees or will help facilitate a conversation that may lead to mentorship.

Beyond its incredible education opportunities, the CHEST Annual Meeting is well-known for being a welcoming environment. It’s up to us to take the extra steps to help earlier-career clinicians succeed by providing the best possible education and guidance for years to come.



Until next time,

Doreen J. Addrizzo- Harris, MD, FCCP

As you may have seen in the February issue, in my year serving as President of the American College of Chest Physicians, I will be periodically contributing to CHEST Physician with the latest updates and to serve as a touchpoint for what we are currently working on.

For this contribution, I want to share and reflect upon the recent Nurse Work Environment study published by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). Deployed in 2021, the now-published study concluded that there is serious need for “bold, intentional, and relentless” efforts to create and sustain healthy work environments that foster excellence in patient care and optimal outcomes for patients, nurses, and other members of the health care team.

CHEST

To achieve this, AACN recommends adhering to the Healthy Work Environments (HWE) Standards created in 2005 but that are more pertinent than ever in 2023.

As close partners of the AACN through the Critical Care Societies Collaborative, the CHEST organization applauds and vehemently supports the need for increased efforts to support nurses and other members of the care team.

In a previous article for CHEST Physician, I spoke about my goals for 2023 and one of those goals was to focus on increasing the membership of a variety of providers who help care for patients, including advanced practice providers, respiratory therapists, registered nurses, and others. CHEST is already an inclusive organization to a variety of health care providers, but we can do more, and this is a great time to reemphasize the importance of the care team by showing our support of the AACN and the working conditions of nurses.

Beyond supporting other organizations, the CHEST Board of Regents will focus on new ways to make the organization a valuable resource to every member at every level of their career and with every designation.

The (HWE) Standards that I encourage all CHEST members to support include:

• Skilled communication and true collaboration between doctors, nurses and other clinicians.
• Effective decision-making that includes nurses in the process for input and expertise.
• Appropriate staffing that ensures an effective match between patient needs and the skills of the nurse.
• Meaningful recognition by rewarding and appreciating the value that everyone brings to the team.
• Authentic leadership that embraces a healthy work environment and is supportive of every member of the care team.

Let’s all make a dedicated effort to be intentional in our support of our care team colleagues to improve the working environment and overall patient care.

Think of one thing you can do at your own institution or in your practice to improve the work environment for all those on your team. And then make it happen!

Please reach out with ideas or questions.

As you may have seen in the February issue, in my year serving as President of the American College of Chest Physicians, I will be periodically contributing to CHEST Physician with the latest updates and to serve as a touchpoint for what we are currently working on.

For this contribution, I want to share and reflect upon the recent Nurse Work Environment study published by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). Deployed in 2021, the now-published study concluded that there is serious need for “bold, intentional, and relentless” efforts to create and sustain healthy work environments that foster excellence in patient care and optimal outcomes for patients, nurses, and other members of the health care team.

CHEST

To achieve this, AACN recommends adhering to the Healthy Work Environments (HWE) Standards created in 2005 but that are more pertinent than ever in 2023.

As close partners of the AACN through the Critical Care Societies Collaborative, the CHEST organization applauds and vehemently supports the need for increased efforts to support nurses and other members of the care team.

In a previous article for CHEST Physician, I spoke about my goals for 2023 and one of those goals was to focus on increasing the membership of a variety of providers who help care for patients, including advanced practice providers, respiratory therapists, registered nurses, and others. CHEST is already an inclusive organization to a variety of health care providers, but we can do more, and this is a great time to reemphasize the importance of the care team by showing our support of the AACN and the working conditions of nurses.

Beyond supporting other organizations, the CHEST Board of Regents will focus on new ways to make the organization a valuable resource to every member at every level of their career and with every designation.

The (HWE) Standards that I encourage all CHEST members to support include:

• Skilled communication and true collaboration between doctors, nurses and other clinicians.
• Effective decision-making that includes nurses in the process for input and expertise.
• Appropriate staffing that ensures an effective match between patient needs and the skills of the nurse.
• Meaningful recognition by rewarding and appreciating the value that everyone brings to the team.
• Authentic leadership that embraces a healthy work environment and is supportive of every member of the care team.

Let’s all make a dedicated effort to be intentional in our support of our care team colleagues to improve the working environment and overall patient care.

Think of one thing you can do at your own institution or in your practice to improve the work environment for all those on your team. And then make it happen!

Please reach out with ideas or questions.

As you may have seen in the February issue, in my year serving as President of the American College of Chest Physicians, I will be periodically contributing to CHEST Physician with the latest updates and to serve as a touchpoint for what we are currently working on.

For this contribution, I want to share and reflect upon the recent Nurse Work Environment study published by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). Deployed in 2021, the now-published study concluded that there is serious need for “bold, intentional, and relentless” efforts to create and sustain healthy work environments that foster excellence in patient care and optimal outcomes for patients, nurses, and other members of the health care team.

CHEST

To achieve this, AACN recommends adhering to the Healthy Work Environments (HWE) Standards created in 2005 but that are more pertinent than ever in 2023.

As close partners of the AACN through the Critical Care Societies Collaborative, the CHEST organization applauds and vehemently supports the need for increased efforts to support nurses and other members of the care team.

In a previous article for CHEST Physician, I spoke about my goals for 2023 and one of those goals was to focus on increasing the membership of a variety of providers who help care for patients, including advanced practice providers, respiratory therapists, registered nurses, and others. CHEST is already an inclusive organization to a variety of health care providers, but we can do more, and this is a great time to reemphasize the importance of the care team by showing our support of the AACN and the working conditions of nurses.

Beyond supporting other organizations, the CHEST Board of Regents will focus on new ways to make the organization a valuable resource to every member at every level of their career and with every designation.

The (HWE) Standards that I encourage all CHEST members to support include:

• Skilled communication and true collaboration between doctors, nurses and other clinicians.
• Effective decision-making that includes nurses in the process for input and expertise.
• Appropriate staffing that ensures an effective match between patient needs and the skills of the nurse.
• Meaningful recognition by rewarding and appreciating the value that everyone brings to the team.
• Authentic leadership that embraces a healthy work environment and is supportive of every member of the care team.

Let’s all make a dedicated effort to be intentional in our support of our care team colleagues to improve the working environment and overall patient care.

Think of one thing you can do at your own institution or in your practice to improve the work environment for all those on your team. And then make it happen!

Please reach out with ideas or questions.

This is an odd column for me to write. First, because of the nature of print publication, this writing for the November issue is being crafted just before the annual meeting is to be held in Nashville. Therefore, while I have a pretty good sense of what is in store for CHEST 2022, I have yet to see the final product, or the audience’s reaction to it. However, I will make some bold predictions as to what occurred therein:

• Even in the context of 3 years of separation, thousands CHEST members gathered in droves to rekindle friendships and to experience the best education in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine that the world has to offer, leading to our second-biggest meeting ever.
• Neil Pasricha’s presentation helped attendees rekindle the “Art of Happiness.”
• Hundreds of attendees participated in, and successfully solved, our newest escape room, “Starship Relics.”
• Our valued CHEST members were able to successfully thwart Dr. Didactic and save the future of educational innovation.
• “CHEST After Hours” trended on social media and will become a normal and highly-anticipated part of the CHEST meeting moving forward.
• The most uncomfortable moment of the meeting centered on mayonnaise; for those of you who know what I am referencing, I am a little sorry…but only a little.
• Despite my best efforts, we were not able to recruit Neil Patrick Harris to participate.

Predicting the future of medical meetings is something we’ve spent a lot of time trying to do over the last year as we developed plans for CHEST 2022. But given the talented individuals involved in that planning, foreseeing the meeting’s success did not require any time travel; it was hardly a difficult task at all. Program Chair Subani Chandra and Vice-Chair Aneesa Das were exactly the people we needed at the helm for this all-important return to in-person meetings, and I cannot thank them enough for their creativity, effort, and leadership in bringing CHEST 2022 to fruition. And while I expect to have been seven-for-seven in my predictions above, I do hope I got that NPH one wrong.

The other reason that this column was a challenge to craft is because it represents my final formal presidential missive in these esteemed pages. And as I planned this final walk of the path, I gave careful consideration to the message with which I wanted to conclude my year. And as I put together my predictions for the future, my mind also turned to the past, considering things I wish I had known (or spent more time considering) as I started this journey. Some of this information may prove useful to the next generation of CHEST leaders, and some may be already well engrained for those of you with leadership experience. Here, in no particular order, are some thoughts for those of you in the audience who are considering future leadership opportunities at CHEST (or elsewhere in life; I suspect some of this advice is applicable to other venues). That said, the recommendations also come from yours truly, so take them with an appropriately large grain of salt, as your mileage may vary, and reasonable people could take issue here or there.

• The most important conversations should happen in person. The past 3 years have shown us the amazing things that modern technology can accomplish, but when it comes to providing important information, asking for input on a crucial issue, or providing feedback on a sensitive matter, there is no adequate substitute for a discussion in which all parties are in the same room.
• You are going to get things wrong sometimes; sometimes, this is because there wasn’t a way to get a right answer, and sometimes it will be because you tried something that didn’t work. You will learn far more from one of these experiences than from a dozen things that went as well as (or better than) expected.
• It is profoundly difficult to change someone’s mind if you aren’t interacting with them. I believe there is no gap so large that warrants breakdown of communication. Going that extra mile to talk to people who have a drastically different opinion than your own is the only way that you might be able to change someone’s mind and is a great way to ensure that your own opinion withstands pushback. With the growth of social media over the last decade, we’ve gotten very good at blocking people on social media; while this can sometimes be good (or even necessary) for emotional well-being, there can be value to interacting with such folks in a real-world environment.
• You do not have to bring everything to the table. The best leaders surround themselves with other really smart folks who, in aggregate, will provide support in areas in which you are deficient. That said, you need to know where these gaps in your knowledge and experience are, and when it is the right time to listen to those trusted advisors.
• When it comes time to identify folks for your “cabinet,” make sure to choose people who think differently than you and who may disagree with you on some fundamental things. Surrounding yourself with friends and close colleagues can lead to groupthink and poor decision making. The best results often stem from challenging and difficult decision-making processes.
• As a corollary to the above, every leader will bring their own sensibility and personality to the role. Make sure to bring yours, even if it involves silly jokes about holding a medical meeting in a former President’s basement or getting another former President to eat a big spoonful of the aforementioned condiment.
• Fun is important. Fun builds relationships, and teams, and trust. Make sure you are having it, as much as you possibly can, throughout your leadership tenure.

On that note, I will sign off for good, at least in these pages. I’ll still be bumbling around, proposing new educational experiences, hosting Pardon the Interruption, and serving as a sounding board for anyone who wants to chat. But I cannot wait to see what the next 3 years bring for our organization, under the leadership of Drs. Addrizzo-Harris, Buckley, and Howington. And for those of you who are just taking your first steps in leadership, and who will be following in their footsteps years down the road, I hope that you get just as much enjoyment from and fulfilment in the role of President as I have. #SchulmanOut

This is an odd column for me to write. First, because of the nature of print publication, this writing for the November issue is being crafted just before the annual meeting is to be held in Nashville. Therefore, while I have a pretty good sense of what is in store for CHEST 2022, I have yet to see the final product, or the audience’s reaction to it. However, I will make some bold predictions as to what occurred therein:

• Even in the context of 3 years of separation, thousands CHEST members gathered in droves to rekindle friendships and to experience the best education in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine that the world has to offer, leading to our second-biggest meeting ever.
• Neil Pasricha’s presentation helped attendees rekindle the “Art of Happiness.”
• Hundreds of attendees participated in, and successfully solved, our newest escape room, “Starship Relics.”
• Our valued CHEST members were able to successfully thwart Dr. Didactic and save the future of educational innovation.
• “CHEST After Hours” trended on social media and will become a normal and highly-anticipated part of the CHEST meeting moving forward.
• The most uncomfortable moment of the meeting centered on mayonnaise; for those of you who know what I am referencing, I am a little sorry…but only a little.
• Despite my best efforts, we were not able to recruit Neil Patrick Harris to participate.

Predicting the future of medical meetings is something we’ve spent a lot of time trying to do over the last year as we developed plans for CHEST 2022. But given the talented individuals involved in that planning, foreseeing the meeting’s success did not require any time travel; it was hardly a difficult task at all. Program Chair Subani Chandra and Vice-Chair Aneesa Das were exactly the people we needed at the helm for this all-important return to in-person meetings, and I cannot thank them enough for their creativity, effort, and leadership in bringing CHEST 2022 to fruition. And while I expect to have been seven-for-seven in my predictions above, I do hope I got that NPH one wrong.

The other reason that this column was a challenge to craft is because it represents my final formal presidential missive in these esteemed pages. And as I planned this final walk of the path, I gave careful consideration to the message with which I wanted to conclude my year. And as I put together my predictions for the future, my mind also turned to the past, considering things I wish I had known (or spent more time considering) as I started this journey. Some of this information may prove useful to the next generation of CHEST leaders, and some may be already well engrained for those of you with leadership experience. Here, in no particular order, are some thoughts for those of you in the audience who are considering future leadership opportunities at CHEST (or elsewhere in life; I suspect some of this advice is applicable to other venues). That said, the recommendations also come from yours truly, so take them with an appropriately large grain of salt, as your mileage may vary, and reasonable people could take issue here or there.

• The most important conversations should happen in person. The past 3 years have shown us the amazing things that modern technology can accomplish, but when it comes to providing important information, asking for input on a crucial issue, or providing feedback on a sensitive matter, there is no adequate substitute for a discussion in which all parties are in the same room.
• You are going to get things wrong sometimes; sometimes, this is because there wasn’t a way to get a right answer, and sometimes it will be because you tried something that didn’t work. You will learn far more from one of these experiences than from a dozen things that went as well as (or better than) expected.
• It is profoundly difficult to change someone’s mind if you aren’t interacting with them. I believe there is no gap so large that warrants breakdown of communication. Going that extra mile to talk to people who have a drastically different opinion than your own is the only way that you might be able to change someone’s mind and is a great way to ensure that your own opinion withstands pushback. With the growth of social media over the last decade, we’ve gotten very good at blocking people on social media; while this can sometimes be good (or even necessary) for emotional well-being, there can be value to interacting with such folks in a real-world environment.
• You do not have to bring everything to the table. The best leaders surround themselves with other really smart folks who, in aggregate, will provide support in areas in which you are deficient. That said, you need to know where these gaps in your knowledge and experience are, and when it is the right time to listen to those trusted advisors.
• When it comes time to identify folks for your “cabinet,” make sure to choose people who think differently than you and who may disagree with you on some fundamental things. Surrounding yourself with friends and close colleagues can lead to groupthink and poor decision making. The best results often stem from challenging and difficult decision-making processes.
• As a corollary to the above, every leader will bring their own sensibility and personality to the role. Make sure to bring yours, even if it involves silly jokes about holding a medical meeting in a former President’s basement or getting another former President to eat a big spoonful of the aforementioned condiment.
• Fun is important. Fun builds relationships, and teams, and trust. Make sure you are having it, as much as you possibly can, throughout your leadership tenure.

On that note, I will sign off for good, at least in these pages. I’ll still be bumbling around, proposing new educational experiences, hosting Pardon the Interruption, and serving as a sounding board for anyone who wants to chat. But I cannot wait to see what the next 3 years bring for our organization, under the leadership of Drs. Addrizzo-Harris, Buckley, and Howington. And for those of you who are just taking your first steps in leadership, and who will be following in their footsteps years down the road, I hope that you get just as much enjoyment from and fulfilment in the role of President as I have. #SchulmanOut

This is an odd column for me to write. First, because of the nature of print publication, this writing for the November issue is being crafted just before the annual meeting is to be held in Nashville. Therefore, while I have a pretty good sense of what is in store for CHEST 2022, I have yet to see the final product, or the audience’s reaction to it. However, I will make some bold predictions as to what occurred therein:

• Even in the context of 3 years of separation, thousands CHEST members gathered in droves to rekindle friendships and to experience the best education in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine that the world has to offer, leading to our second-biggest meeting ever.
• Neil Pasricha’s presentation helped attendees rekindle the “Art of Happiness.”
• Hundreds of attendees participated in, and successfully solved, our newest escape room, “Starship Relics.”
• Our valued CHEST members were able to successfully thwart Dr. Didactic and save the future of educational innovation.
• “CHEST After Hours” trended on social media and will become a normal and highly-anticipated part of the CHEST meeting moving forward.
• The most uncomfortable moment of the meeting centered on mayonnaise; for those of you who know what I am referencing, I am a little sorry…but only a little.
• Despite my best efforts, we were not able to recruit Neil Patrick Harris to participate.

Predicting the future of medical meetings is something we’ve spent a lot of time trying to do over the last year as we developed plans for CHEST 2022. But given the talented individuals involved in that planning, foreseeing the meeting’s success did not require any time travel; it was hardly a difficult task at all. Program Chair Subani Chandra and Vice-Chair Aneesa Das were exactly the people we needed at the helm for this all-important return to in-person meetings, and I cannot thank them enough for their creativity, effort, and leadership in bringing CHEST 2022 to fruition. And while I expect to have been seven-for-seven in my predictions above, I do hope I got that NPH one wrong.

The other reason that this column was a challenge to craft is because it represents my final formal presidential missive in these esteemed pages. And as I planned this final walk of the path, I gave careful consideration to the message with which I wanted to conclude my year. And as I put together my predictions for the future, my mind also turned to the past, considering things I wish I had known (or spent more time considering) as I started this journey. Some of this information may prove useful to the next generation of CHEST leaders, and some may be already well engrained for those of you with leadership experience. Here, in no particular order, are some thoughts for those of you in the audience who are considering future leadership opportunities at CHEST (or elsewhere in life; I suspect some of this advice is applicable to other venues). That said, the recommendations also come from yours truly, so take them with an appropriately large grain of salt, as your mileage may vary, and reasonable people could take issue here or there.

• The most important conversations should happen in person. The past 3 years have shown us the amazing things that modern technology can accomplish, but when it comes to providing important information, asking for input on a crucial issue, or providing feedback on a sensitive matter, there is no adequate substitute for a discussion in which all parties are in the same room.
• You are going to get things wrong sometimes; sometimes, this is because there wasn’t a way to get a right answer, and sometimes it will be because you tried something that didn’t work. You will learn far more from one of these experiences than from a dozen things that went as well as (or better than) expected.
• It is profoundly difficult to change someone’s mind if you aren’t interacting with them. I believe there is no gap so large that warrants breakdown of communication. Going that extra mile to talk to people who have a drastically different opinion than your own is the only way that you might be able to change someone’s mind and is a great way to ensure that your own opinion withstands pushback. With the growth of social media over the last decade, we’ve gotten very good at blocking people on social media; while this can sometimes be good (or even necessary) for emotional well-being, there can be value to interacting with such folks in a real-world environment.
• You do not have to bring everything to the table. The best leaders surround themselves with other really smart folks who, in aggregate, will provide support in areas in which you are deficient. That said, you need to know where these gaps in your knowledge and experience are, and when it is the right time to listen to those trusted advisors.
• When it comes time to identify folks for your “cabinet,” make sure to choose people who think differently than you and who may disagree with you on some fundamental things. Surrounding yourself with friends and close colleagues can lead to groupthink and poor decision making. The best results often stem from challenging and difficult decision-making processes.
• As a corollary to the above, every leader will bring their own sensibility and personality to the role. Make sure to bring yours, even if it involves silly jokes about holding a medical meeting in a former President’s basement or getting another former President to eat a big spoonful of the aforementioned condiment.
• Fun is important. Fun builds relationships, and teams, and trust. Make sure you are having it, as much as you possibly can, throughout your leadership tenure.

On that note, I will sign off for good, at least in these pages. I’ll still be bumbling around, proposing new educational experiences, hosting Pardon the Interruption, and serving as a sounding board for anyone who wants to chat. But I cannot wait to see what the next 3 years bring for our organization, under the leadership of Drs. Addrizzo-Harris, Buckley, and Howington. And for those of you who are just taking your first steps in leadership, and who will be following in their footsteps years down the road, I hope that you get just as much enjoyment from and fulfilment in the role of President as I have. #SchulmanOut

For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, like me, spring has transitioned into summer, allowing us all to spend more time outdoors, gathering again with family, friends, and colleagues. As in-person gatherings resume, albeit cautiously, it has been wonderful to have the chance to catch up with folks in-person once again. And, while people are always happy to hear about what’s going on with the family, or how things are going at Emory, the most common question I get is “So what’s it like to be President of CHEST?” Now that I’ve been on the job for 6 months, I thought it was well enough time to pull back the curtain on the role for all of you out in CHEST-land who might be interested, as well. For the purposes of this column, I’ll be incorporating things that occurred over the past week.

As I’ve previously reported, the most important decisions that relate to CHEST strategy are made by the Board of Regents. While I do have the privilege of organizing and running Board meetings, most presidential duties between these meetings focus on communication: with our members, our leaders, and other organizations. One of the best parts of the job is the opportunity to interact with our members; between the president@chestnet.org account and my own, I receive a couple of emails each day with questions about navigating CHEST, or ideas about ways that things might be better accomplished. With our recent Network and section reorganization, many of those questions have focused on leadership opportunities, inquiring about whether the writer should apply, or asking for information about the qualities that might increase the odds of earning a position. My answer is almost always the same: go ahead and throw your name in the hat; for most members, the sections are the first place to start the journey in CHEST leadership. And I’m pleased to say that I’ve had the chance to see some of the members who’ve reached out to me in the past selected for the positions to which they’d applied (in full disclosure, I have little role in selecting leadership positions; Network and section positions are chosen by current members of those Networks and sections). I look forward to watching their progress in our organizational leadership.

While CHEST CEO Robert Musacchio and I communicate almost every day, Wednesday is our weekly meeting during which we review progress on our organizational goals, the status of ongoing projects, and concerns from our membership and leadership. I also have the pleasure of meeting with my co-Presidents every other week; though Jack, Doreen, and Steve have always been happy to offer their counsel on very short notice, this semimonthly meeting helps to provide continuity in leadership, as well as a more formal opportunity for me to meet with trusted advisors to get a sounding board on active issues that affect CHEST. And, this gets to the other main job of CHEST President, which is to facilitate the making of important decisions on behalf of the College. I receive sporadic emails from CHEST staff as we are approached by other organizations or international partners for input on or approval for statements that they wish to make. In the case where the topic is clearly in the CHEST wheelhouse and the statement is consistent with our organizational goals, I can unilaterally sign off; a common example of something that fits in this category is content related to tobacco cessation. In the more frequent situation where the statement for approval is a bit more complex, I will usually refer the request to one of our committee, Network, or section chairs for consideration. Since the turnaround time on these requests is usually pretty short, I may ask them to advise me on their own, although they sometimes opt to run things by their own membership for further input or to achieve consensus.

The CHEST President also serves as ambassador to other organizations; this week, I had the pleasure of participating in a meeting with the American Board of Internal Medicine and a number of medical specialty leaders focused on how professional societies can help to mitigate the spread of medical misinformation. I also interfaced with several of our international partners in the pulmonary space, as they plan their own international meetings, to see how CHEST can contribute to the success of those endeavors by contributing content, speakers, or both. At the time of this writing, the CHEST Congress in Bologna, Italy, is right around the corner, and so I also spent time working with our Italian partners and program co-chair William Kelly, MD, FCCP, to finalize the meeting’s opening session. Though our own international meeting is still months away, work continues with the annual meeting innovations group, and I’ve been working with my own small team on some special surprises that you’ll hear more about in the coming months! The other CHEST meeting-related item on the front burner is the selection of the keynote speaker. The way this works is that I outline in broad strokes a sense of the flavor I’m targeting, and the CHEST staff work with a consulting group to propose some options. They provide me with a brief biography in clips, and we narrow the list down. As I write, we are finalizing our invitation, and I look forward to formally announcing the CHEST 2022 keynote speaker shortly!

After I explain the breadth of duties involved in my role, the most common follow-up question asked of me is whether I am enjoying the position. I’ll concede that it’s not for everyone. There’s a lot less independent decision-making than people assume. But, if you like getting to meet and interact with people from around the globe, helping them to see how CHEST can help them in their pursuits or career goals (and how they can help CHEST in our mission), it’s a super fun job. And I’ll most definitely miss it when I’m done.

So that, in brief, is an overview of what the CHEST President does. But each week is different. And, I get better at the job each day, as I learn something new about the position, the organization, and our outstanding members, leaders, and staff. I look forward to continuing to represent each of you in making decisions and communicating on behalf of CHEST. As always, I remain interested in your input as to how things are going; please consider reaching out to me at president@chestnet.org at your convenience. ... I expect to have a few minutes to write back sometime next Thursday.
 

Until next time,

David

For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, like me, spring has transitioned into summer, allowing us all to spend more time outdoors, gathering again with family, friends, and colleagues. As in-person gatherings resume, albeit cautiously, it has been wonderful to have the chance to catch up with folks in-person once again. And, while people are always happy to hear about what’s going on with the family, or how things are going at Emory, the most common question I get is “So what’s it like to be President of CHEST?” Now that I’ve been on the job for 6 months, I thought it was well enough time to pull back the curtain on the role for all of you out in CHEST-land who might be interested, as well. For the purposes of this column, I’ll be incorporating things that occurred over the past week.

As I’ve previously reported, the most important decisions that relate to CHEST strategy are made by the Board of Regents. While I do have the privilege of organizing and running Board meetings, most presidential duties between these meetings focus on communication: with our members, our leaders, and other organizations. One of the best parts of the job is the opportunity to interact with our members; between the president@chestnet.org account and my own, I receive a couple of emails each day with questions about navigating CHEST, or ideas about ways that things might be better accomplished. With our recent Network and section reorganization, many of those questions have focused on leadership opportunities, inquiring about whether the writer should apply, or asking for information about the qualities that might increase the odds of earning a position. My answer is almost always the same: go ahead and throw your name in the hat; for most members, the sections are the first place to start the journey in CHEST leadership. And I’m pleased to say that I’ve had the chance to see some of the members who’ve reached out to me in the past selected for the positions to which they’d applied (in full disclosure, I have little role in selecting leadership positions; Network and section positions are chosen by current members of those Networks and sections). I look forward to watching their progress in our organizational leadership.

While CHEST CEO Robert Musacchio and I communicate almost every day, Wednesday is our weekly meeting during which we review progress on our organizational goals, the status of ongoing projects, and concerns from our membership and leadership. I also have the pleasure of meeting with my co-Presidents every other week; though Jack, Doreen, and Steve have always been happy to offer their counsel on very short notice, this semimonthly meeting helps to provide continuity in leadership, as well as a more formal opportunity for me to meet with trusted advisors to get a sounding board on active issues that affect CHEST. And, this gets to the other main job of CHEST President, which is to facilitate the making of important decisions on behalf of the College. I receive sporadic emails from CHEST staff as we are approached by other organizations or international partners for input on or approval for statements that they wish to make. In the case where the topic is clearly in the CHEST wheelhouse and the statement is consistent with our organizational goals, I can unilaterally sign off; a common example of something that fits in this category is content related to tobacco cessation. In the more frequent situation where the statement for approval is a bit more complex, I will usually refer the request to one of our committee, Network, or section chairs for consideration. Since the turnaround time on these requests is usually pretty short, I may ask them to advise me on their own, although they sometimes opt to run things by their own membership for further input or to achieve consensus.

The CHEST President also serves as ambassador to other organizations; this week, I had the pleasure of participating in a meeting with the American Board of Internal Medicine and a number of medical specialty leaders focused on how professional societies can help to mitigate the spread of medical misinformation. I also interfaced with several of our international partners in the pulmonary space, as they plan their own international meetings, to see how CHEST can contribute to the success of those endeavors by contributing content, speakers, or both. At the time of this writing, the CHEST Congress in Bologna, Italy, is right around the corner, and so I also spent time working with our Italian partners and program co-chair William Kelly, MD, FCCP, to finalize the meeting’s opening session. Though our own international meeting is still months away, work continues with the annual meeting innovations group, and I’ve been working with my own small team on some special surprises that you’ll hear more about in the coming months! The other CHEST meeting-related item on the front burner is the selection of the keynote speaker. The way this works is that I outline in broad strokes a sense of the flavor I’m targeting, and the CHEST staff work with a consulting group to propose some options. They provide me with a brief biography in clips, and we narrow the list down. As I write, we are finalizing our invitation, and I look forward to formally announcing the CHEST 2022 keynote speaker shortly!

After I explain the breadth of duties involved in my role, the most common follow-up question asked of me is whether I am enjoying the position. I’ll concede that it’s not for everyone. There’s a lot less independent decision-making than people assume. But, if you like getting to meet and interact with people from around the globe, helping them to see how CHEST can help them in their pursuits or career goals (and how they can help CHEST in our mission), it’s a super fun job. And I’ll most definitely miss it when I’m done.

So that, in brief, is an overview of what the CHEST President does. But each week is different. And, I get better at the job each day, as I learn something new about the position, the organization, and our outstanding members, leaders, and staff. I look forward to continuing to represent each of you in making decisions and communicating on behalf of CHEST. As always, I remain interested in your input as to how things are going; please consider reaching out to me at president@chestnet.org at your convenience. ... I expect to have a few minutes to write back sometime next Thursday.
 

Until next time,

David

For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, like me, spring has transitioned into summer, allowing us all to spend more time outdoors, gathering again with family, friends, and colleagues. As in-person gatherings resume, albeit cautiously, it has been wonderful to have the chance to catch up with folks in-person once again. And, while people are always happy to hear about what’s going on with the family, or how things are going at Emory, the most common question I get is “So what’s it like to be President of CHEST?” Now that I’ve been on the job for 6 months, I thought it was well enough time to pull back the curtain on the role for all of you out in CHEST-land who might be interested, as well. For the purposes of this column, I’ll be incorporating things that occurred over the past week.

As I’ve previously reported, the most important decisions that relate to CHEST strategy are made by the Board of Regents. While I do have the privilege of organizing and running Board meetings, most presidential duties between these meetings focus on communication: with our members, our leaders, and other organizations. One of the best parts of the job is the opportunity to interact with our members; between the president@chestnet.org account and my own, I receive a couple of emails each day with questions about navigating CHEST, or ideas about ways that things might be better accomplished. With our recent Network and section reorganization, many of those questions have focused on leadership opportunities, inquiring about whether the writer should apply, or asking for information about the qualities that might increase the odds of earning a position. My answer is almost always the same: go ahead and throw your name in the hat; for most members, the sections are the first place to start the journey in CHEST leadership. And I’m pleased to say that I’ve had the chance to see some of the members who’ve reached out to me in the past selected for the positions to which they’d applied (in full disclosure, I have little role in selecting leadership positions; Network and section positions are chosen by current members of those Networks and sections). I look forward to watching their progress in our organizational leadership.

While CHEST CEO Robert Musacchio and I communicate almost every day, Wednesday is our weekly meeting during which we review progress on our organizational goals, the status of ongoing projects, and concerns from our membership and leadership. I also have the pleasure of meeting with my co-Presidents every other week; though Jack, Doreen, and Steve have always been happy to offer their counsel on very short notice, this semimonthly meeting helps to provide continuity in leadership, as well as a more formal opportunity for me to meet with trusted advisors to get a sounding board on active issues that affect CHEST. And, this gets to the other main job of CHEST President, which is to facilitate the making of important decisions on behalf of the College. I receive sporadic emails from CHEST staff as we are approached by other organizations or international partners for input on or approval for statements that they wish to make. In the case where the topic is clearly in the CHEST wheelhouse and the statement is consistent with our organizational goals, I can unilaterally sign off; a common example of something that fits in this category is content related to tobacco cessation. In the more frequent situation where the statement for approval is a bit more complex, I will usually refer the request to one of our committee, Network, or section chairs for consideration. Since the turnaround time on these requests is usually pretty short, I may ask them to advise me on their own, although they sometimes opt to run things by their own membership for further input or to achieve consensus.

The CHEST President also serves as ambassador to other organizations; this week, I had the pleasure of participating in a meeting with the American Board of Internal Medicine and a number of medical specialty leaders focused on how professional societies can help to mitigate the spread of medical misinformation. I also interfaced with several of our international partners in the pulmonary space, as they plan their own international meetings, to see how CHEST can contribute to the success of those endeavors by contributing content, speakers, or both. At the time of this writing, the CHEST Congress in Bologna, Italy, is right around the corner, and so I also spent time working with our Italian partners and program co-chair William Kelly, MD, FCCP, to finalize the meeting’s opening session. Though our own international meeting is still months away, work continues with the annual meeting innovations group, and I’ve been working with my own small team on some special surprises that you’ll hear more about in the coming months! The other CHEST meeting-related item on the front burner is the selection of the keynote speaker. The way this works is that I outline in broad strokes a sense of the flavor I’m targeting, and the CHEST staff work with a consulting group to propose some options. They provide me with a brief biography in clips, and we narrow the list down. As I write, we are finalizing our invitation, and I look forward to formally announcing the CHEST 2022 keynote speaker shortly!

After I explain the breadth of duties involved in my role, the most common follow-up question asked of me is whether I am enjoying the position. I’ll concede that it’s not for everyone. There’s a lot less independent decision-making than people assume. But, if you like getting to meet and interact with people from around the globe, helping them to see how CHEST can help them in their pursuits or career goals (and how they can help CHEST in our mission), it’s a super fun job. And I’ll most definitely miss it when I’m done.

So that, in brief, is an overview of what the CHEST President does. But each week is different. And, I get better at the job each day, as I learn something new about the position, the organization, and our outstanding members, leaders, and staff. I look forward to continuing to represent each of you in making decisions and communicating on behalf of CHEST. As always, I remain interested in your input as to how things are going; please consider reaching out to me at president@chestnet.org at your convenience. ... I expect to have a few minutes to write back sometime next Thursday.
 

Until next time,

David

The wisdom of the crowd is the collective opinion of a group of individuals rather than that of a single expert. At CHEST, the makeup of our membership is diverse and energetic, and it comprises individuals with unique expertise who not only serve as faculty but who are also eager for opportunities themselves to learn. That collective wisdom, leveraged over the entire membership, is what the leadership of CHEST will be listening to this year as we create new educational products and continuously improve the annual meeting and other courses held throughout the year. From broad-based general overviews such as CHEST’s board reviews, to more specific courses such as training in bedside ultrasound or ventilator management, each are geared to make all of us better clinicians who will recognize and provide the latest and most effective treatments for our patients. If you had the opportunity to attend my opening address at the CHEST annual meeting in San Antonio in October, you heard me talk about the innate wisdom of “the crowd.” We all have various “crowds” in our lives -- our work colleagues, families, and relationships in professional societies. I reminded the audience that if we take the time to listen to each of these “crowds,” they usually know the answers. In the coming year, we, as a leadership team for CHEST, will be focusing on being better listeners and utilizing “our crowd” of members to better connect in order to develop educational products that will train clinicians, educators, and researchers in the very latest and most effective care in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine.

•Digital Strategy Task Force – This multidisciplinary group, composed of both volunteer members and association staff, has been assigned to evaluate the user experience associated with existing CHEST content delivery platforms and highlight opportunities for improvements. In this effort, they will identify trends that will enable the organization to better execute on the digital-dependent strategies in the organization’s strategic plan in a successful way. The group will be making recommendations to the Board of Regents that will include timelines, goals, and specific objectives, define organizational voice and brand messaging present on web and other platforms, and create specific metrics to measure the user experience on an ongoing basis.

•Optimizing Board Review Courses – CHEST will be looking at ways to present some content on digital platforms that are difficult to teach in a classic didactic format. Topics such as acid-base disturbances and biostatistics are more effectively presented using a digital, problem-based format. Efforts will be made to shorten board review courses slightly without compromising quality or jeopardizing coverage of content and to incorporate succinct bulleted summaries of each topic covered. In addition, plans are in place to create new courses that will train learners the techniques for passing the new “low stakes” board examination offered by the ABIM.

•Making membership more affordable for international colleagues – New discounted membership rates have been launched to allow international members to obtain the “Enhanced” level of membership to be eligible for fellowship in the association (ie, the FCCP designation). Volume discounts have been introduced for regional chapters and organizations to allow health-care team members from around the world to join CHEST in conjunction with their local society at a fraction of the cost of a single member rate.

•Patient education modules from the CHEST Foundation – A variety of patient education modules are now available to providers, as well as to the general public for information on a wide array of topics – from correct use of inhalers to state-of-the-art therapies for COPD or lung cancer.

Improved opportunities for member participation -- From improved instructions for joining a CHEST NetWork to specific orientation instructions for new members of the Board of Regents, improved communications have become available to help members become better acquainted with the framework of the organization and allow them to become more effective once they begin new leadership roles.

•Embracing innovation -- This year, the organization will launch CHEST Inspiration, a program that involves development of an environmental scan to be shared with our members regarding how CHEST can be a differentiator in an environment where quality education is becoming more accessible and, as a result, more competitive. As part of this initiative, CHEST will plan to host a series of focus group sessions to act on the environmental scan and will also roll out an innovation competition at the 2019 annual meeting in New Orleans in October.

•Expanded international strategy – CHEST is responding to the requests from member groups in countries within Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East to hold a CHEST Congress each spring to bring the best of the CHEST annual meeting to our colleagues from around the world who may not be able to travel to the meeting held in the U.S., as well as a more intimate board review-like meeting each summer in various regions of the world. For example, this year, the College will host a CHEST Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, April 10-12, and a regional meeting in Athens, Greece, June 27-29.

We are committed to improving communication with our members and encouraging innovation regardless of their prior participation levels. CHEST will continue to bring its brand of education focused on more hands-on learning and team-based knowledge using simulation, serious gaming, and artificial intelligence in the years ahead. CHEST leaders have begun to be active on social media, and we will be introducing new platforms for all members to better understand what is happening from a leadership perspective. Together, we will be able to harness the collective wisdom of our talented and innovative members in order to make a lasting difference for our patients.

The wisdom of the crowd is the collective opinion of a group of individuals rather than that of a single expert. At CHEST, the makeup of our membership is diverse and energetic, and it comprises individuals with unique expertise who not only serve as faculty but who are also eager for opportunities themselves to learn. That collective wisdom, leveraged over the entire membership, is what the leadership of CHEST will be listening to this year as we create new educational products and continuously improve the annual meeting and other courses held throughout the year. From broad-based general overviews such as CHEST’s board reviews, to more specific courses such as training in bedside ultrasound or ventilator management, each are geared to make all of us better clinicians who will recognize and provide the latest and most effective treatments for our patients. If you had the opportunity to attend my opening address at the CHEST annual meeting in San Antonio in October, you heard me talk about the innate wisdom of “the crowd.” We all have various “crowds” in our lives -- our work colleagues, families, and relationships in professional societies. I reminded the audience that if we take the time to listen to each of these “crowds,” they usually know the answers. In the coming year, we, as a leadership team for CHEST, will be focusing on being better listeners and utilizing “our crowd” of members to better connect in order to develop educational products that will train clinicians, educators, and researchers in the very latest and most effective care in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine.

•Digital Strategy Task Force – This multidisciplinary group, composed of both volunteer members and association staff, has been assigned to evaluate the user experience associated with existing CHEST content delivery platforms and highlight opportunities for improvements. In this effort, they will identify trends that will enable the organization to better execute on the digital-dependent strategies in the organization’s strategic plan in a successful way. The group will be making recommendations to the Board of Regents that will include timelines, goals, and specific objectives, define organizational voice and brand messaging present on web and other platforms, and create specific metrics to measure the user experience on an ongoing basis.

•Optimizing Board Review Courses – CHEST will be looking at ways to present some content on digital platforms that are difficult to teach in a classic didactic format. Topics such as acid-base disturbances and biostatistics are more effectively presented using a digital, problem-based format. Efforts will be made to shorten board review courses slightly without compromising quality or jeopardizing coverage of content and to incorporate succinct bulleted summaries of each topic covered. In addition, plans are in place to create new courses that will train learners the techniques for passing the new “low stakes” board examination offered by the ABIM.

•Making membership more affordable for international colleagues – New discounted membership rates have been launched to allow international members to obtain the “Enhanced” level of membership to be eligible for fellowship in the association (ie, the FCCP designation). Volume discounts have been introduced for regional chapters and organizations to allow health-care team members from around the world to join CHEST in conjunction with their local society at a fraction of the cost of a single member rate.

•Patient education modules from the CHEST Foundation – A variety of patient education modules are now available to providers, as well as to the general public for information on a wide array of topics – from correct use of inhalers to state-of-the-art therapies for COPD or lung cancer.

Improved opportunities for member participation -- From improved instructions for joining a CHEST NetWork to specific orientation instructions for new members of the Board of Regents, improved communications have become available to help members become better acquainted with the framework of the organization and allow them to become more effective once they begin new leadership roles.

•Embracing innovation -- This year, the organization will launch CHEST Inspiration, a program that involves development of an environmental scan to be shared with our members regarding how CHEST can be a differentiator in an environment where quality education is becoming more accessible and, as a result, more competitive. As part of this initiative, CHEST will plan to host a series of focus group sessions to act on the environmental scan and will also roll out an innovation competition at the 2019 annual meeting in New Orleans in October.

•Expanded international strategy – CHEST is responding to the requests from member groups in countries within Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East to hold a CHEST Congress each spring to bring the best of the CHEST annual meeting to our colleagues from around the world who may not be able to travel to the meeting held in the U.S., as well as a more intimate board review-like meeting each summer in various regions of the world. For example, this year, the College will host a CHEST Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, April 10-12, and a regional meeting in Athens, Greece, June 27-29.

We are committed to improving communication with our members and encouraging innovation regardless of their prior participation levels. CHEST will continue to bring its brand of education focused on more hands-on learning and team-based knowledge using simulation, serious gaming, and artificial intelligence in the years ahead. CHEST leaders have begun to be active on social media, and we will be introducing new platforms for all members to better understand what is happening from a leadership perspective. Together, we will be able to harness the collective wisdom of our talented and innovative members in order to make a lasting difference for our patients.

The wisdom of the crowd is the collective opinion of a group of individuals rather than that of a single expert. At CHEST, the makeup of our membership is diverse and energetic, and it comprises individuals with unique expertise who not only serve as faculty but who are also eager for opportunities themselves to learn. That collective wisdom, leveraged over the entire membership, is what the leadership of CHEST will be listening to this year as we create new educational products and continuously improve the annual meeting and other courses held throughout the year. From broad-based general overviews such as CHEST’s board reviews, to more specific courses such as training in bedside ultrasound or ventilator management, each are geared to make all of us better clinicians who will recognize and provide the latest and most effective treatments for our patients. If you had the opportunity to attend my opening address at the CHEST annual meeting in San Antonio in October, you heard me talk about the innate wisdom of “the crowd.” We all have various “crowds” in our lives -- our work colleagues, families, and relationships in professional societies. I reminded the audience that if we take the time to listen to each of these “crowds,” they usually know the answers. In the coming year, we, as a leadership team for CHEST, will be focusing on being better listeners and utilizing “our crowd” of members to better connect in order to develop educational products that will train clinicians, educators, and researchers in the very latest and most effective care in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine.

•Digital Strategy Task Force – This multidisciplinary group, composed of both volunteer members and association staff, has been assigned to evaluate the user experience associated with existing CHEST content delivery platforms and highlight opportunities for improvements. In this effort, they will identify trends that will enable the organization to better execute on the digital-dependent strategies in the organization’s strategic plan in a successful way. The group will be making recommendations to the Board of Regents that will include timelines, goals, and specific objectives, define organizational voice and brand messaging present on web and other platforms, and create specific metrics to measure the user experience on an ongoing basis.

•Optimizing Board Review Courses – CHEST will be looking at ways to present some content on digital platforms that are difficult to teach in a classic didactic format. Topics such as acid-base disturbances and biostatistics are more effectively presented using a digital, problem-based format. Efforts will be made to shorten board review courses slightly without compromising quality or jeopardizing coverage of content and to incorporate succinct bulleted summaries of each topic covered. In addition, plans are in place to create new courses that will train learners the techniques for passing the new “low stakes” board examination offered by the ABIM.

•Making membership more affordable for international colleagues – New discounted membership rates have been launched to allow international members to obtain the “Enhanced” level of membership to be eligible for fellowship in the association (ie, the FCCP designation). Volume discounts have been introduced for regional chapters and organizations to allow health-care team members from around the world to join CHEST in conjunction with their local society at a fraction of the cost of a single member rate.

•Patient education modules from the CHEST Foundation – A variety of patient education modules are now available to providers, as well as to the general public for information on a wide array of topics – from correct use of inhalers to state-of-the-art therapies for COPD or lung cancer.

Improved opportunities for member participation -- From improved instructions for joining a CHEST NetWork to specific orientation instructions for new members of the Board of Regents, improved communications have become available to help members become better acquainted with the framework of the organization and allow them to become more effective once they begin new leadership roles.

•Embracing innovation -- This year, the organization will launch CHEST Inspiration, a program that involves development of an environmental scan to be shared with our members regarding how CHEST can be a differentiator in an environment where quality education is becoming more accessible and, as a result, more competitive. As part of this initiative, CHEST will plan to host a series of focus group sessions to act on the environmental scan and will also roll out an innovation competition at the 2019 annual meeting in New Orleans in October.

•Expanded international strategy – CHEST is responding to the requests from member groups in countries within Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East to hold a CHEST Congress each spring to bring the best of the CHEST annual meeting to our colleagues from around the world who may not be able to travel to the meeting held in the U.S., as well as a more intimate board review-like meeting each summer in various regions of the world. For example, this year, the College will host a CHEST Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, April 10-12, and a regional meeting in Athens, Greece, June 27-29.

We are committed to improving communication with our members and encouraging innovation regardless of their prior participation levels. CHEST will continue to bring its brand of education focused on more hands-on learning and team-based knowledge using simulation, serious gaming, and artificial intelligence in the years ahead. CHEST leaders have begun to be active on social media, and we will be introducing new platforms for all members to better understand what is happening from a leadership perspective. Together, we will be able to harness the collective wisdom of our talented and innovative members in order to make a lasting difference for our patients.