February 1997
Volume 61 |
Number 2
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PRESIDENT'S PAGE
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| United We Stand! |
Phillip O. Bridenbaugh, M.D., President
The start of a New Year heralds the time when nearly everyone
tries to anticipate what lies ahead (New Year's revelations?)
and plans their reaction, or action, to the best of their clairvoyant
ability (New Year's resolutions). Although many of our ASA activities
for 1997 are under way, others are yet to be started. ASA, like
most of organized medicine, awaits the inauguration of the new
administration and Congress to see what directions it will take
in Medicare reform.
As usual, Michael Scott, Director of Governmental and Legal Affairs,
and ASA's Washington Office will direct our efforts to the congressional
committees most involved in this reform at the federal level.
Cherie L. McNett, State Relations Manager, is equally active in
the surveillance of health care legislation at the state level.
A major difference in the approach to federal and state legislatures
is that the ASA staff and lobbyists can work directly with the
congressional staff on our behalf. However, when it comes to taking
action at the state legislative level, it is up to us and our
state societies to take the lobbying lead.
The ASA Washington Office does monitor legislative and regulatory
activity in every state and will endeavor to alert the respective
component society leadership when bills or regulations related
to the practice of anesthesiology are being considered. Furthermore,
the staff can and will be happy to provide you with a variety
of relevant material from other states to assist component society
members and their lobbyists in preparing fact sheets and testimony
to congressional committees. It is my opinion, and I believe the
impression of many physicians, that legislative actions in the
various states will have more impact on the individual practices
of our specialty than that coming out of Washington, D.C.
My reason, however, for restating the importance of members'
interest in government affairs is to emphasize the importance
of our component societies to each member and to ASA as a whole.
The cost of membership in any fraternal or political society has
increased significantly in the past few years. Furthermore, most
of us have joined more societies as more and more specialty and
subspecialty societies have emerged. The more diverse our professional
interests, the more involved we want to be in professional societies.
For example, at quick count, I personally belong to more than
12 specialty and academic societies (at an annual cost in excess
of $2,000). I suspect that is not an uncommon number of memberships
for many physicians. It has, however, raised concerns on the part
of many of our cost-conscious members regarding the value of their
investment. The question that a number of our members ask is,
"Why do I have to be a member of my state society in order
to be a member of ASA?" The most common criticism is that
the state dues are too much for what the member gets in return
from the state society.
To the degree that your ASA leadership has little knowledge and
no control over component society activities or dues, it
is impossible and inappropriate for us to tell anyone whether
they are getting their money's worth. On the other hand, ASA can
tell you what functions a component society can perform to serve
its members, and very many components are doing a great job at
that.
The component societies are the lifeblood of ASA! ASA provides
many of its member services through the component societies. Both
societies' missions are to serve their members. We at ASA have
been aware that the increase in active members has not kept pace
with previous years' growth. We are also cognizant that the anticipated
decreases in resident admissions will further erode the membership
rolls. Since 1993, we have had less than a 4-percent increase
in membership for the first time in 20 years. In 1996, there was
a 0-percent increase.
Bernard V. Wetchler, M.D., 1995 ASA President, chairs the Committee
on Component Society Relationships and completed an extensive
survey of ASA members inquiring into all aspects of services (educational,
socioeconomic and political). Many of the responses from that
survey are or will be incorporated into or addressed by programs
of our respective societies. In 1996, Ronald A. MacKenzie, D.O.,
ASA Secretary, chaired the Committee on Membership Recruitment
and Retention and contacted residents, nonmembers and ex-members
to encourage their joining and actively supporting their state
and national societies.
It is important for anesthesiologists to have the opportunity
to be heard and to share their needs and opinions with their fellow
anesthesiologists at the local and state levels. That has been
the premise upon which all professional societies have been founded
for decades. In turn, they need a vehicle by which their feelings
can be converted into actions. That is a major way in which all
of us can improve the practice of anesthesiology. We cannot just
"talk the talk," we have to "walk the walk."
Membership in a professional society is not like membership
in the local country club, where one pays dues to be fed and entertained
and thus has a right to complain about poor service. It is,
rather, financial support for the responsibility to create
and participate in an organizational structure that will represent
us to other organizations, governing bodies and the American public
with a common voice.
The way to ensure that you "get your money's worth"
out of any group you join is to either: 1) roll up your sleeves
and become personally and actively involved in whatever way you
can, or 2) pay your dues happily in the knowledge that you have
elected good leadership and colleagues to represent you in your
absence. ASA needs to be able to represent 34,000-plus members
educationally, scientifically, socioeconomically and politically.
We cannot do that successfully without the continuous active participation
and support of every component society.
We as American citizens expect strong support from our state
government as well as honest and specific representation to the
federal government from our elected senators and representatives
in Congress. We in ASA want the same for all anesthesiologists.
In closing, I wish to share two quotes with you:
"It is not from top to bottom that societies
die; it is from bottom to top."
-Henry George, 1879
"Be united among yourselves; and you will
want nothing from the rest of the world."
-Samuel Adams, July 4, 1776
Let us all come alive and unite for the good future of our specialty.
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