SPECIAL SERIES
How the ACR WorkseThe Chapters’ Vital Role Richard B. Gunderman, MD, PhD, Mark J. Adams, MD, MBA, Joseph G. Cernigliaro, MD, Trina Madison, BS The future of the ACR hinges to a substantial degree on the health and vitality of local and state radiology organizations. Unlike other organizations, such as the RSNA, the ARRS, and the Association of University Radiologists, the Council of the ACR functions in some ways analogous to the US Congress. ACR chapters send delegates to the national meeting, and these councilors are largely responsible for developing and approving policy as well as electing ACR officers and leaders, including members of the Council Steering Committee, the Council speaker and vice speaker, and some members of the Board of Chancellors. This approach has both advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, this makes the ACR more democratic than many of its professional counterparts. For example, many ACR elections are truly contested, inviting candidates to outline competing visions for the organization and the fields of radiology, radiation oncology, and medical physics. On the other hand, it also renders the ACR more dependent on its chapters. If chapters are not robust, do not foster active conversation and debate among their members, or do not furnish the national organization with
652
truly informed and engaged representatives, the ACR as a whole is likely to suffer. As a result, the ACR has a significant interest in fostering strong chapters. Like a building, it can only be as strong as the units of which it is composed. Like a team, its performance is always defined by the level of excellence of its members. To be sure, a whole can be greater than the sum of its parts, but one of the best strategies for improving any whole is to build up the parts that constitute it. Given the importance of chapters to the ACR, it is necessary to step back from time to time and ask, What could the ACR and its members do to enhance chapters? Chapters should avoid comparing themselves with the national organization. The ACR employs hundreds of people, has a membership roll in the tens of thousands, and operates on an annual budget in the tens of millions of dollars. None of the chapters, including those with the largest membership rolls and budgets, can approach this scale. The relatively small memberships, dearth of paid staff members, and smaller budgets of many chapters make it nearly impossible for them to offer anything approaching the
kind of programming, policymaking, and advocacy that the national organization is able to provide, though some do amazingly well. Yet ACR chapters can and should play a crucial role in the life of the ACR and the field of radiology. To help fulfill this mission, chapters need to provide forums in which their members can meaningfully interact with one another regularly. Does a chapter hold meetings and organize other activities that draw members together for discussion and collaboration? Do members know what the chapter is doing on their behalf, and do they feel that they have opportunities to become engaged in the chapter’s life? If members feel uninformed or apathetic about their chapter, they may question the value of their membership. What can a chapter do to increase member engagement? One strategy is to enhance regular communication with members, using a monthly or quarterly newsletter. Another is to maintain a robust website that is regularly updated. The two can be combined by “pushing” news and announcements of activities to members that include links to more information on the website. But a newsletter will
1546-1440/15/$36.00
n
ª 2015 American College of Radiology http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacr.2014.12.014
be successful only if it actually has newsworthy information to share, and a website will attract visitors only if it offers timely, useful, and enlightening perspectives. Such channels of communication can help ensure that there is something to communicate. Another way to increase member engagement is to convene meetings that members find worth attending. Such meetings can focus on a variety of themes, including continuing medical education, economic issues, and advocacy. A chapter meeting can also help inform and develop members in others ways, through sessions on leadership, practice development, and enhancing relationships with patients and referring health professionals. It is also a great time to build professional and personal relationships on a face-to-face basis. Chapters can also tailor their offerings to the needs of different members, for example, by including presentations on both diagnostic radiology and radiation oncology, as well as resident, fellow, and young physician topics. Inevitably, large and well-funded chapters enjoy important advantages, but virtually any state can provide at least one well-organized, worthwhile, and well-attended meeting per year. The ACR can help in providing funding for speakers, for example, through its Radiology Leadership Institute and Chapter Visitation Program. Where resources are especially scarce, state chapters can pool resources and hold multistate, regional meetings. The ACR can also act as a resource for sharing best practices. For example, what lessons can every chapter glean from the best small and large chapter annual meetings? For a variety of reasons, many members will not become active
participants in the work of the local, state, or national organization. Some are simply too busy; others prefer to devote their time and attention to patient care, teaching, or research; and others are simply not interested in political activity. In this setting, the organization needs to help its members clearly see the difference that its leaders—and more important, its members—are making through activities such as policymaking and advocacy. Members should never feel that they get nothing of value in return for their dues. Other members would like to become involved, and still others, given the right opportunity, will discover a desire for engagement. In this case, an organization must not merely communicate with its members. It needs to recruit them, by showcasing the many service opportunities it provides for its members to contribute. For these members, the emphasis should be less on what the organization does for them and more on the catalytic role the organization can play in helping members make a difference. In professional service, as in life, we get out what we put in. There are indications that such efforts are especially important now. For example, the ACR Council has seen a steady decline in the number of policy resolutions being submitted for its consideration at its annual meeting. Some groups of radiologists, particularly those in the early stages of their careers, have tended to be less engaged. Although there are explanations—downward pressures on incomes, increasing productivity demands, and a general increase
Journal of the American College of Radiology Gunderman et al n ACR State Chapters
in the complexity of radiologic practice—engagement remains more vital than ever to the long-term health of the field. Another factor may be the decline of independent ownership among radiology practices. The mission of the national organization cannot be promoted in the absence of strong local and state engagement. For example, many legislative initiatives require members to educate their state representatives. Other initiatives such as Imaging 3.0 can succeed only if members make changes in the way they interact with patients, referring health professionals, and hospital and health system administrators. Moreover, local and state organizations often serve as the training grounds where national leaders can begin to lead and hone their skills. These same organizations also have an important role to play as laboratories for the development and testing of new ideas, such as resolutions that can be presented to the national organization. A struggling state organization will often exhibit a predictable profile. For one thing, its members will be uninformed and unengaged. It will have few regular channels of communication, and those it does have will be of poor quality. Its meetings will be poorly attended, or it will hold no meetings at all. Its leaders will demonstrate low levels of diversity in terms of age, practice type, and specialization. In many cases, its leaders will be selected in a closed process through what may be referred to as “an old boys’ network.” When their members speak with the national office, they will often complain that they find
653
little or no value in their state or local organization. In contrast, thriving organizations can be identified in part through their leadership. Leaders are well informed about key issues and resources. When indicated, they are willing to press for action and the resources necessary to make it successful. They are genuinely interested in the future of the field and the younger members whose engagement will be crucial in securing it. They
take real satisfaction and pride in making a difference. Perhaps even more important, they enjoy helping others make a difference. They believe in community service, and they see their organization as their community. The Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville famously described local government as one of the geniuses of American democracy, because it effectively eliminates the traditional relationship between a governor at the top and the governed at the
bottom. The opportunity for each citizen to participate in government at the local and state levels enables many people to be involved in charting their collective futures, stimulating interest in the affairs of government and helping individuals develop their leadership abilities. Enlightened radiologists appreciate that ACR chapters play a similarly vital role, helping promote vigorous discussion, well-informed policymaking, and robust professionalism throughout the field.
Richard B. Gunderman, MD, PhD, is from the Department of Radiology, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana. Mark J. Adams, MD, MBA, is from the Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York. Joseph G. Cernigliaro, MD, is from the Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. Trina Madison, BS, is from the American College of Radiology, Reston, Virginia. Richard B. Gunderman, MD, PhD: Department of Radiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, 702 Barnhill Drive, Room 1053, Indianapolis, IN 46202-5200; e-mail: [email protected].
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Journal of the American College of Radiology Volume 12 n Number 7 n July 2015
How the ACR WorkseThe Chapters’ Vital Role Richard B. Gunderman, MD, PhD, Mark J. Adams, MD, MBA, Joseph G. Cernigliaro, MD, Trina Madison, BS The future of the ACR hinges to a substantial degree on the health and vitality of local and state radiology organizations. Unlike other organizations, such as the RSNA, the ARRS, and the Association of University Radiologists, the Council of the ACR functions in some ways analogous to the US Congress. ACR chapters send delegates to the national meeting, and these councilors are largely responsible for developing and approving policy as well as electing ACR officers and leaders, including members of the Council Steering Committee, the Council speaker and vice speaker, and some members of the Board of Chancellors. This approach has both advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, this makes the ACR more democratic than many of its professional counterparts. For example, many ACR elections are truly contested, inviting candidates to outline competing visions for the organization and the fields of radiology, radiation oncology, and medical physics. On the other hand, it also renders the ACR more dependent on its chapters. If chapters are not robust, do not foster active conversation and debate among their members, or do not furnish the national organization with
652
truly informed and engaged representatives, the ACR as a whole is likely to suffer. As a result, the ACR has a significant interest in fostering strong chapters. Like a building, it can only be as strong as the units of which it is composed. Like a team, its performance is always defined by the level of excellence of its members. To be sure, a whole can be greater than the sum of its parts, but one of the best strategies for improving any whole is to build up the parts that constitute it. Given the importance of chapters to the ACR, it is necessary to step back from time to time and ask, What could the ACR and its members do to enhance chapters? Chapters should avoid comparing themselves with the national organization. The ACR employs hundreds of people, has a membership roll in the tens of thousands, and operates on an annual budget in the tens of millions of dollars. None of the chapters, including those with the largest membership rolls and budgets, can approach this scale. The relatively small memberships, dearth of paid staff members, and smaller budgets of many chapters make it nearly impossible for them to offer anything approaching the
kind of programming, policymaking, and advocacy that the national organization is able to provide, though some do amazingly well. Yet ACR chapters can and should play a crucial role in the life of the ACR and the field of radiology. To help fulfill this mission, chapters need to provide forums in which their members can meaningfully interact with one another regularly. Does a chapter hold meetings and organize other activities that draw members together for discussion and collaboration? Do members know what the chapter is doing on their behalf, and do they feel that they have opportunities to become engaged in the chapter’s life? If members feel uninformed or apathetic about their chapter, they may question the value of their membership. What can a chapter do to increase member engagement? One strategy is to enhance regular communication with members, using a monthly or quarterly newsletter. Another is to maintain a robust website that is regularly updated. The two can be combined by “pushing” news and announcements of activities to members that include links to more information on the website. But a newsletter will
1546-1440/15/$36.00
n
ª 2015 American College of Radiology http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacr.2014.12.014
be successful only if it actually has newsworthy information to share, and a website will attract visitors only if it offers timely, useful, and enlightening perspectives. Such channels of communication can help ensure that there is something to communicate. Another way to increase member engagement is to convene meetings that members find worth attending. Such meetings can focus on a variety of themes, including continuing medical education, economic issues, and advocacy. A chapter meeting can also help inform and develop members in others ways, through sessions on leadership, practice development, and enhancing relationships with patients and referring health professionals. It is also a great time to build professional and personal relationships on a face-to-face basis. Chapters can also tailor their offerings to the needs of different members, for example, by including presentations on both diagnostic radiology and radiation oncology, as well as resident, fellow, and young physician topics. Inevitably, large and well-funded chapters enjoy important advantages, but virtually any state can provide at least one well-organized, worthwhile, and well-attended meeting per year. The ACR can help in providing funding for speakers, for example, through its Radiology Leadership Institute and Chapter Visitation Program. Where resources are especially scarce, state chapters can pool resources and hold multistate, regional meetings. The ACR can also act as a resource for sharing best practices. For example, what lessons can every chapter glean from the best small and large chapter annual meetings? For a variety of reasons, many members will not become active
participants in the work of the local, state, or national organization. Some are simply too busy; others prefer to devote their time and attention to patient care, teaching, or research; and others are simply not interested in political activity. In this setting, the organization needs to help its members clearly see the difference that its leaders—and more important, its members—are making through activities such as policymaking and advocacy. Members should never feel that they get nothing of value in return for their dues. Other members would like to become involved, and still others, given the right opportunity, will discover a desire for engagement. In this case, an organization must not merely communicate with its members. It needs to recruit them, by showcasing the many service opportunities it provides for its members to contribute. For these members, the emphasis should be less on what the organization does for them and more on the catalytic role the organization can play in helping members make a difference. In professional service, as in life, we get out what we put in. There are indications that such efforts are especially important now. For example, the ACR Council has seen a steady decline in the number of policy resolutions being submitted for its consideration at its annual meeting. Some groups of radiologists, particularly those in the early stages of their careers, have tended to be less engaged. Although there are explanations—downward pressures on incomes, increasing productivity demands, and a general increase
Journal of the American College of Radiology Gunderman et al n ACR State Chapters
in the complexity of radiologic practice—engagement remains more vital than ever to the long-term health of the field. Another factor may be the decline of independent ownership among radiology practices. The mission of the national organization cannot be promoted in the absence of strong local and state engagement. For example, many legislative initiatives require members to educate their state representatives. Other initiatives such as Imaging 3.0 can succeed only if members make changes in the way they interact with patients, referring health professionals, and hospital and health system administrators. Moreover, local and state organizations often serve as the training grounds where national leaders can begin to lead and hone their skills. These same organizations also have an important role to play as laboratories for the development and testing of new ideas, such as resolutions that can be presented to the national organization. A struggling state organization will often exhibit a predictable profile. For one thing, its members will be uninformed and unengaged. It will have few regular channels of communication, and those it does have will be of poor quality. Its meetings will be poorly attended, or it will hold no meetings at all. Its leaders will demonstrate low levels of diversity in terms of age, practice type, and specialization. In many cases, its leaders will be selected in a closed process through what may be referred to as “an old boys’ network.” When their members speak with the national office, they will often complain that they find
653
little or no value in their state or local organization. In contrast, thriving organizations can be identified in part through their leadership. Leaders are well informed about key issues and resources. When indicated, they are willing to press for action and the resources necessary to make it successful. They are genuinely interested in the future of the field and the younger members whose engagement will be crucial in securing it. They
take real satisfaction and pride in making a difference. Perhaps even more important, they enjoy helping others make a difference. They believe in community service, and they see their organization as their community. The Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville famously described local government as one of the geniuses of American democracy, because it effectively eliminates the traditional relationship between a governor at the top and the governed at the
bottom. The opportunity for each citizen to participate in government at the local and state levels enables many people to be involved in charting their collective futures, stimulating interest in the affairs of government and helping individuals develop their leadership abilities. Enlightened radiologists appreciate that ACR chapters play a similarly vital role, helping promote vigorous discussion, well-informed policymaking, and robust professionalism throughout the field.
Richard B. Gunderman, MD, PhD, is from the Department of Radiology, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana. Mark J. Adams, MD, MBA, is from the Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York. Joseph G. Cernigliaro, MD, is from the Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. Trina Madison, BS, is from the American College of Radiology, Reston, Virginia. Richard B. Gunderman, MD, PhD: Department of Radiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, 702 Barnhill Drive, Room 1053, Indianapolis, IN 46202-5200; e-mail: [email protected].
654
Journal of the American College of Radiology Volume 12 n Number 7 n July 2015
