president's message
A Report on Activities
By James J. Pollifrone, DO, FAOAO
AOAO President
In October 2012, I was sworn in as the AOAO President. We were awaiting the results of the upcoming presidential election. On October 24, 2012, the AOA, AACOM and the ACGME announced the proposed unified accreditation system for graduate medical education. Then I blinked.
Now, six months into this position we find that physicians are battling governmental policies and regulations that may or may not be in our patients' best interest. The discussions with the AOA and the ACGME are more difficult than initially imagined and our DO residents are continuing to be deemed not qualified for acceptance into some ACGME approved fellowships.
As President of the AOAO, Chairman of our Evaluating Committee and representative to the Program Training and Review Committee (PTRC), I have an excellent view of the ever-changing landscape and hurdles that we as DO orthopedic surgeons are facing on a daily basis both locally and on a national level.
Within the osteopathic family of specialties, the AOAO continues to be held in high regard in the AOA profession. Our residency programs likewise are held to the highest standards. Our graduates are well trained, the Academy is financially strong and our Board of Directors is not afraid to tackle the issues at hand. Our CME programs continue to improve under the leadership of our CME Committee Chair, Steven Morton, DO.
The Evaluating Committee is poised to exchange ideas with our counterparts on the RRCs (Residency Review Committees) of the ACGME to define a single accreditation system for orthopedic surgery.
I personally think we are fortunate to have such involved members in all of our committees and for the leadership of our Executive Director, Lee Vander Lugt, DO.
I wish all of you the best in the rest of 2013 and I hope to see you all in Miami and San Diego. Thanks for choosing me as your President.
