David Schulman, MD, MPH, FCCP

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. Had I known when I penned my last column for the November 2022 issue of CHEST Physician that I’d get one more crack at making a final impression, I might have saved some of my leadership tips for this month, but c’est la vie. Being the Past President is a pretty sweet gig. I liken it to being a grandparent; you get to have lots of fun, and then get to go home at the end of the day and leave the cleanup to someone else. Not that I left too much to clean up, but I have no doubt that President Doreen Addrizzo-Harris is ready to handle whatever challenges 2023 throws at her.

Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth. Serving as CHEST President was an incredible privilege. The Nashville meeting seems like it was just yesterday, as does the experience of watching the work of the Scientific Program Committee, led by the amazing Dr. Subani Chandra, that put together our most ambitious annual meeting to date. And, it superseded all our expectations. It was wonderful to be back in person for the first time in 3 years, and it was even better to have the chance to share the experience with all of you who joined us. While I have every expectation that our Hawai’i meeting this October will be even bigger and better, this was the personal highlight of the year for me. There were so many other fantastic things I got to experience that it is difficult to know where to start. Sometimes the whole year seems like it went by so fast; I don’t know where we’ve been, and I’ve just been there! As a component of our organizational strategy, CHEST has been examining ways in which we can work more closely with our society partners, both domestically and abroad. During my tenure, I had the pleasure of meeting with representatives from many organizations, including the American Thoracic Society, the Canadian Thoracic Society, the European Respiratory Society, the Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia, the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, the Indian Chest Society, the Asociación Latinoamericana de Tórax, and the Turkish Respiratory Society. Many of these groups are struggling with the same challenges as CHEST, including how best to conduct academic meetings in the context of an increasingly online world, how to better engage our junior colleagues, who may not see the value of membership in a professional society, and how to better integrate our efforts toward improving worldwide lung health. In the coming months and years, I expect that you will see the products of these international collaborations, which I hope will be the springboard from which we can mutually develop more impactful public health and educational initiatives.

CHEST

The year was certainly not without challenges; there were some definite struggles in 2022. The Networks reorganization created confusion for some, despite diligent planning and communication. Despite the challenges, however, the change ultimately permitted us to offer more leadership opportunities to our members than existed previously and created new a home for many different specialists among our membership. We have heard from some of you that the elimination of certain networks led you to feel that CHEST did not adequately value your areas of professional focus. And while we hear you and are working to develop new mechanisms for networking at the annual meeting and throughout the year, the addition of our new sections also allows us to highlight disease states and content domains that previously did not have a clear home in our prior Network structure. CHEST is still learning how to best include and engage groups who have been historically disenfranchised, for whom we want to create new opportunities. The 2021 CHEST President Dr. Steve Simpson identified this as a priority for his presidential year, and we have made strides in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

We launched the First 5 Minutes^® initiative to help clinicians build trust with their patients earlier and more effectively. And CHEST hired the organization’s first Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), who has already built our first Value-Setting Work Group and started incorporating DEIB principles into our organizational decision-making. Naively, as we began the year, I was hoping we would make more progress in 2022 than we did. The old dreams were good dreams; they didn’t work out, but I’m glad I had them.

So although there is a great deal more work to do, I know that this is a priority for President Addrizzo-Harris in 2023, and we will continue this positive momentum in the months and years to come. I will retire now to my couch of perpetual indulgence. Yes, I’ve still got the rest of 2023 as an active member of the Board. And, while it has been a great experience, I am looking forward a bit to winding down and letting the fresh faces guide the future of this wonderful organization. Of course, I couldn’t go out without another contest (with an opportunity to win free registration to CHEST 2023!). Five of the sentences in this document come directly from movies; identify the five different sources of these quotes (the movie titles alone are sufficient) and email them to us at [email protected]. All correct responses received by May 15, 2023, will be entered into a drawing for the prize. Don’t know if there will be a next time, but ‘til then.


David

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. Had I known when I penned my last column for the November 2022 issue of CHEST Physician that I’d get one more crack at making a final impression, I might have saved some of my leadership tips for this month, but c’est la vie. Being the Past President is a pretty sweet gig. I liken it to being a grandparent; you get to have lots of fun, and then get to go home at the end of the day and leave the cleanup to someone else. Not that I left too much to clean up, but I have no doubt that President Doreen Addrizzo-Harris is ready to handle whatever challenges 2023 throws at her.

Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth. Serving as CHEST President was an incredible privilege. The Nashville meeting seems like it was just yesterday, as does the experience of watching the work of the Scientific Program Committee, led by the amazing Dr. Subani Chandra, that put together our most ambitious annual meeting to date. And, it superseded all our expectations. It was wonderful to be back in person for the first time in 3 years, and it was even better to have the chance to share the experience with all of you who joined us. While I have every expectation that our Hawai’i meeting this October will be even bigger and better, this was the personal highlight of the year for me. There were so many other fantastic things I got to experience that it is difficult to know where to start. Sometimes the whole year seems like it went by so fast; I don’t know where we’ve been, and I’ve just been there! As a component of our organizational strategy, CHEST has been examining ways in which we can work more closely with our society partners, both domestically and abroad. During my tenure, I had the pleasure of meeting with representatives from many organizations, including the American Thoracic Society, the Canadian Thoracic Society, the European Respiratory Society, the Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia, the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, the Indian Chest Society, the Asociación Latinoamericana de Tórax, and the Turkish Respiratory Society. Many of these groups are struggling with the same challenges as CHEST, including how best to conduct academic meetings in the context of an increasingly online world, how to better engage our junior colleagues, who may not see the value of membership in a professional society, and how to better integrate our efforts toward improving worldwide lung health. In the coming months and years, I expect that you will see the products of these international collaborations, which I hope will be the springboard from which we can mutually develop more impactful public health and educational initiatives.

CHEST

The year was certainly not without challenges; there were some definite struggles in 2022. The Networks reorganization created confusion for some, despite diligent planning and communication. Despite the challenges, however, the change ultimately permitted us to offer more leadership opportunities to our members than existed previously and created new a home for many different specialists among our membership. We have heard from some of you that the elimination of certain networks led you to feel that CHEST did not adequately value your areas of professional focus. And while we hear you and are working to develop new mechanisms for networking at the annual meeting and throughout the year, the addition of our new sections also allows us to highlight disease states and content domains that previously did not have a clear home in our prior Network structure. CHEST is still learning how to best include and engage groups who have been historically disenfranchised, for whom we want to create new opportunities. The 2021 CHEST President Dr. Steve Simpson identified this as a priority for his presidential year, and we have made strides in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

We launched the First 5 Minutes^® initiative to help clinicians build trust with their patients earlier and more effectively. And CHEST hired the organization’s first Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), who has already built our first Value-Setting Work Group and started incorporating DEIB principles into our organizational decision-making. Naively, as we began the year, I was hoping we would make more progress in 2022 than we did. The old dreams were good dreams; they didn’t work out, but I’m glad I had them.

So although there is a great deal more work to do, I know that this is a priority for President Addrizzo-Harris in 2023, and we will continue this positive momentum in the months and years to come. I will retire now to my couch of perpetual indulgence. Yes, I’ve still got the rest of 2023 as an active member of the Board. And, while it has been a great experience, I am looking forward a bit to winding down and letting the fresh faces guide the future of this wonderful organization. Of course, I couldn’t go out without another contest (with an opportunity to win free registration to CHEST 2023!). Five of the sentences in this document come directly from movies; identify the five different sources of these quotes (the movie titles alone are sufficient) and email them to us at [email protected]. All correct responses received by May 15, 2023, will be entered into a drawing for the prize. Don’t know if there will be a next time, but ‘til then.


David

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. Had I known when I penned my last column for the November 2022 issue of CHEST Physician that I’d get one more crack at making a final impression, I might have saved some of my leadership tips for this month, but c’est la vie. Being the Past President is a pretty sweet gig. I liken it to being a grandparent; you get to have lots of fun, and then get to go home at the end of the day and leave the cleanup to someone else. Not that I left too much to clean up, but I have no doubt that President Doreen Addrizzo-Harris is ready to handle whatever challenges 2023 throws at her.

Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth. Serving as CHEST President was an incredible privilege. The Nashville meeting seems like it was just yesterday, as does the experience of watching the work of the Scientific Program Committee, led by the amazing Dr. Subani Chandra, that put together our most ambitious annual meeting to date. And, it superseded all our expectations. It was wonderful to be back in person for the first time in 3 years, and it was even better to have the chance to share the experience with all of you who joined us. While I have every expectation that our Hawai’i meeting this October will be even bigger and better, this was the personal highlight of the year for me. There were so many other fantastic things I got to experience that it is difficult to know where to start. Sometimes the whole year seems like it went by so fast; I don’t know where we’ve been, and I’ve just been there! As a component of our organizational strategy, CHEST has been examining ways in which we can work more closely with our society partners, both domestically and abroad. During my tenure, I had the pleasure of meeting with representatives from many organizations, including the American Thoracic Society, the Canadian Thoracic Society, the European Respiratory Society, the Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia, the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, the Indian Chest Society, the Asociación Latinoamericana de Tórax, and the Turkish Respiratory Society. Many of these groups are struggling with the same challenges as CHEST, including how best to conduct academic meetings in the context of an increasingly online world, how to better engage our junior colleagues, who may not see the value of membership in a professional society, and how to better integrate our efforts toward improving worldwide lung health. In the coming months and years, I expect that you will see the products of these international collaborations, which I hope will be the springboard from which we can mutually develop more impactful public health and educational initiatives.

CHEST

The year was certainly not without challenges; there were some definite struggles in 2022. The Networks reorganization created confusion for some, despite diligent planning and communication. Despite the challenges, however, the change ultimately permitted us to offer more leadership opportunities to our members than existed previously and created new a home for many different specialists among our membership. We have heard from some of you that the elimination of certain networks led you to feel that CHEST did not adequately value your areas of professional focus. And while we hear you and are working to develop new mechanisms for networking at the annual meeting and throughout the year, the addition of our new sections also allows us to highlight disease states and content domains that previously did not have a clear home in our prior Network structure. CHEST is still learning how to best include and engage groups who have been historically disenfranchised, for whom we want to create new opportunities. The 2021 CHEST President Dr. Steve Simpson identified this as a priority for his presidential year, and we have made strides in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

We launched the First 5 Minutes^® initiative to help clinicians build trust with their patients earlier and more effectively. And CHEST hired the organization’s first Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), who has already built our first Value-Setting Work Group and started incorporating DEIB principles into our organizational decision-making. Naively, as we began the year, I was hoping we would make more progress in 2022 than we did. The old dreams were good dreams; they didn’t work out, but I’m glad I had them.

So although there is a great deal more work to do, I know that this is a priority for President Addrizzo-Harris in 2023, and we will continue this positive momentum in the months and years to come. I will retire now to my couch of perpetual indulgence. Yes, I’ve still got the rest of 2023 as an active member of the Board. And, while it has been a great experience, I am looking forward a bit to winding down and letting the fresh faces guide the future of this wonderful organization. Of course, I couldn’t go out without another contest (with an opportunity to win free registration to CHEST 2023!). Five of the sentences in this document come directly from movies; identify the five different sources of these quotes (the movie titles alone are sufficient) and email them to us at [email protected]. All correct responses received by May 15, 2023, will be entered into a drawing for the prize. Don’t know if there will be a next time, but ‘til then.


David

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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] at your convenience. ... I expect to have a few minutes to write back sometime next Thursday.
 

Until next time,

David

There is little I enjoy more than an opportunity to get together with old friends.

I write this missive on the return trip from a week of CHEST leadership meetings held last month, and I find myself filled with joy, awe, and great appreciation for the hard work our volunteers contribute to making the American College of Chest Physicians an extraordinarily productive and successful organization. This year’s meetings meant more than any I can ever recall from the past, in the context of a return to in-person gatherings that let our members share laughs, stories, and even a game or two of laser tag in the context of celebrating good times and friendship. And while some great works were accomplished by our committees, some of which I will enumerate below, the highlight of the week was definitely the esprit de corps that was on broad display.

Courtesy ACCP

Our Membership Committee meeting was led by Vice-Chair Marie Budev, DO, FCCP. While this committee is tasked with the critical duty of reviewing applications for the prestigious FCCP designation, they are just as importantly tasked with promoting membership, to our domestic and international colleagues. This is a challenging task, because different members prioritize the variety of benefits from CHEST differently; some focus on access to our educational offerings, both throughout the year and at our annual meeting, while others find greater value in the chance to network with colleagues from around the world and to participate in leadership in an international society. Making sure that we are helping our members realize these benefits, while also identifying (and potentially enhancing) those opportunities in which members are most interested is a challenging task, and I very much enjoyed watching these folks brainstorm ways that we could further increase the value of joining CHEST for current and potential future members.

The Guidelines Oversight Committee, chaired by Lisa Moores, MD, FCCP, is responsible for the oversight of CHEST’s evidence-based guidelines. As our clinical guidelines are among the most highly regarded of all of the things we publish, the members of this committee take special care to ensure that the subjects selected for review as part of the guideline process meet strict criteria. They receive dozens of proposals for new guidelines each year and carefully examine each one to identify the potential public health impact, to ensure the availability of literature in the space worthy of review, and to provide the opportunity to illuminate areas where there are significant clinical uncertainties, often due to new treatments or diagnostic tests. Watching committee members meticulously debate the merits of the many good ideas received to finalize a short list of topics for guideline development in the coming year was incredibly informative and validated my longstanding perception that our members are some of the best clinical minds in the pulmonary, critical care, and sleep fields in the world.

The Professional Standards Committee (PSC), chaired by Scott Manaker, MD, PhD, FCCP, has the important duty of developing CHEST’s conflict of interest (COI) policy, as well as reviewing all potential COI among CHEST leaders and members of our guideline panels. While this may sound a little dry, the fascinating part of this meeting was the ongoing discussion of what constitutes a meaningful COI. As one would expect, many of the best medical experts in the world have relationships with pharmaceutical and medical device companies, who often seek the counsel and participation of high-performing, high-volume clinicians for research trials. CHEST has extremely strict rules with regard to COI among its many levels of leadership, but the question of what constitutes a potentially problematic COI for the large number of folks who volunteer their time and energy to teach at one of our many courses is an interesting (albeit possibly philosophical) question. Since PSC members cannot observe every CHEST faculty interaction, we rely on our members to let us know if they perceive any potential bias in faculty teaching (and we so very much appreciate those of you who bring the extremely rare concerns to our attention!), but this is an area that we continue to watch very closely, as we continue to ensure that all CHEST education is accurate, unbiased, and the best available throughout the world.

The reformulated Council of Networks met under the leadership of Angel Coz Yataco, MD, FCCP, and Cassie Kennedy, MD, FCCP, to discuss how to best engage our members in the new structure, which comprises seven Networks and 22 component Sections. The Council’s primary charges are to develop educational content, to review project applications from Sections, and to serve as expert consultants to the President in their specific clinical domains. While the new configuration provides a significant increase in leadership positions for our members, as well as more formal opportunities to cultivate relationships across different Sections, I have received a few emails from colleagues who were concerned about elimination of certain former Networks, or the placement of a specific Section under a specific Network. Some of these concerns were discussed at the April meeting. While there will be some growing pains, listening to the thoughtful discussion that ensued validated my belief that Drs. Coz and Kennedy are the right folks to be leading the Council as it matures into this new and stronger structure.

While I also had the opportunity to hear reports from the Training and Transitions Committee, the Education Committee, and the Council of Global Governors, I wanted to briefly mention the Scientific Program Committee and its Innovations Group. While we are looking forward to seeing everyone in Nashville this October, I cannot tell you how excited I am about some of the new things we have in store for our first in-person annual meeting in 3 years. (Literally ... I am absolutely sworn to secrecy!) But under the leadership of Program Chair Subani Chandra, MD, FCCP, and my two other “Chief Fun Officers” Aneesa Das, MD, FCCP, and William Kelly, MD, FCCP, I can say that attendees are going to be in for a heck of a lot of fun. Oh, and there’s going to be some education there, also.

In closing, I want to reiterate how much of a pleasure and privilege it has been to sit in the President’s chair over the first few months of 2022. If any of the committees I’ve described above sound interesting to you, please strongly consider throwing your hat into the ring when nominations open up in the coming months. Getting involved at CHEST has been one of the best experiences of my career, and I expect you’ll feel the same way after you join in the fun. As always, I remain available to you, either by emailing me at [email protected] or messaging me on Twitter @ChestPrez. And, please come find me in Nashville in October, either to say hello, or to challenge me to a game of laser tag. ... I’m not very hard to beat.

Until next time,

David

There is little I enjoy more than an opportunity to get together with old friends.

I write this missive on the return trip from a week of CHEST leadership meetings held last month, and I find myself filled with joy, awe, and great appreciation for the hard work our volunteers contribute to making the American College of Chest Physicians an extraordinarily productive and successful organization. This year’s meetings meant more than any I can ever recall from the past, in the context of a return to in-person gatherings that let our members share laughs, stories, and even a game or two of laser tag in the context of celebrating good times and friendship. And while some great works were accomplished by our committees, some of which I will enumerate below, the highlight of the week was definitely the esprit de corps that was on broad display.

Courtesy ACCP

Our Membership Committee meeting was led by Vice-Chair Marie Budev, DO, FCCP. While this committee is tasked with the critical duty of reviewing applications for the prestigious FCCP designation, they are just as importantly tasked with promoting membership, to our domestic and international colleagues. This is a challenging task, because different members prioritize the variety of benefits from CHEST differently; some focus on access to our educational offerings, both throughout the year and at our annual meeting, while others find greater value in the chance to network with colleagues from around the world and to participate in leadership in an international society. Making sure that we are helping our members realize these benefits, while also identifying (and potentially enhancing) those opportunities in which members are most interested is a challenging task, and I very much enjoyed watching these folks brainstorm ways that we could further increase the value of joining CHEST for current and potential future members.

The Guidelines Oversight Committee, chaired by Lisa Moores, MD, FCCP, is responsible for the oversight of CHEST’s evidence-based guidelines. As our clinical guidelines are among the most highly regarded of all of the things we publish, the members of this committee take special care to ensure that the subjects selected for review as part of the guideline process meet strict criteria. They receive dozens of proposals for new guidelines each year and carefully examine each one to identify the potential public health impact, to ensure the availability of literature in the space worthy of review, and to provide the opportunity to illuminate areas where there are significant clinical uncertainties, often due to new treatments or diagnostic tests. Watching committee members meticulously debate the merits of the many good ideas received to finalize a short list of topics for guideline development in the coming year was incredibly informative and validated my longstanding perception that our members are some of the best clinical minds in the pulmonary, critical care, and sleep fields in the world.

The Professional Standards Committee (PSC), chaired by Scott Manaker, MD, PhD, FCCP, has the important duty of developing CHEST’s conflict of interest (COI) policy, as well as reviewing all potential COI among CHEST leaders and members of our guideline panels. While this may sound a little dry, the fascinating part of this meeting was the ongoing discussion of what constitutes a meaningful COI. As one would expect, many of the best medical experts in the world have relationships with pharmaceutical and medical device companies, who often seek the counsel and participation of high-performing, high-volume clinicians for research trials. CHEST has extremely strict rules with regard to COI among its many levels of leadership, but the question of what constitutes a potentially problematic COI for the large number of folks who volunteer their time and energy to teach at one of our many courses is an interesting (albeit possibly philosophical) question. Since PSC members cannot observe every CHEST faculty interaction, we rely on our members to let us know if they perceive any potential bias in faculty teaching (and we so very much appreciate those of you who bring the extremely rare concerns to our attention!), but this is an area that we continue to watch very closely, as we continue to ensure that all CHEST education is accurate, unbiased, and the best available throughout the world.

The reformulated Council of Networks met under the leadership of Angel Coz Yataco, MD, FCCP, and Cassie Kennedy, MD, FCCP, to discuss how to best engage our members in the new structure, which comprises seven Networks and 22 component Sections. The Council’s primary charges are to develop educational content, to review project applications from Sections, and to serve as expert consultants to the President in their specific clinical domains. While the new configuration provides a significant increase in leadership positions for our members, as well as more formal opportunities to cultivate relationships across different Sections, I have received a few emails from colleagues who were concerned about elimination of certain former Networks, or the placement of a specific Section under a specific Network. Some of these concerns were discussed at the April meeting. While there will be some growing pains, listening to the thoughtful discussion that ensued validated my belief that Drs. Coz and Kennedy are the right folks to be leading the Council as it matures into this new and stronger structure.

While I also had the opportunity to hear reports from the Training and Transitions Committee, the Education Committee, and the Council of Global Governors, I wanted to briefly mention the Scientific Program Committee and its Innovations Group. While we are looking forward to seeing everyone in Nashville this October, I cannot tell you how excited I am about some of the new things we have in store for our first in-person annual meeting in 3 years. (Literally ... I am absolutely sworn to secrecy!) But under the leadership of Program Chair Subani Chandra, MD, FCCP, and my two other “Chief Fun Officers” Aneesa Das, MD, FCCP, and William Kelly, MD, FCCP, I can say that attendees are going to be in for a heck of a lot of fun. Oh, and there’s going to be some education there, also.

In closing, I want to reiterate how much of a pleasure and privilege it has been to sit in the President’s chair over the first few months of 2022. If any of the committees I’ve described above sound interesting to you, please strongly consider throwing your hat into the ring when nominations open up in the coming months. Getting involved at CHEST has been one of the best experiences of my career, and I expect you’ll feel the same way after you join in the fun. As always, I remain available to you, either by emailing me at [email protected] or messaging me on Twitter @ChestPrez. And, please come find me in Nashville in October, either to say hello, or to challenge me to a game of laser tag. ... I’m not very hard to beat.

Until next time,

David

There is little I enjoy more than an opportunity to get together with old friends.

I write this missive on the return trip from a week of CHEST leadership meetings held last month, and I find myself filled with joy, awe, and great appreciation for the hard work our volunteers contribute to making the American College of Chest Physicians an extraordinarily productive and successful organization. This year’s meetings meant more than any I can ever recall from the past, in the context of a return to in-person gatherings that let our members share laughs, stories, and even a game or two of laser tag in the context of celebrating good times and friendship. And while some great works were accomplished by our committees, some of which I will enumerate below, the highlight of the week was definitely the esprit de corps that was on broad display.

Courtesy ACCP

Our Membership Committee meeting was led by Vice-Chair Marie Budev, DO, FCCP. While this committee is tasked with the critical duty of reviewing applications for the prestigious FCCP designation, they are just as importantly tasked with promoting membership, to our domestic and international colleagues. This is a challenging task, because different members prioritize the variety of benefits from CHEST differently; some focus on access to our educational offerings, both throughout the year and at our annual meeting, while others find greater value in the chance to network with colleagues from around the world and to participate in leadership in an international society. Making sure that we are helping our members realize these benefits, while also identifying (and potentially enhancing) those opportunities in which members are most interested is a challenging task, and I very much enjoyed watching these folks brainstorm ways that we could further increase the value of joining CHEST for current and potential future members.

The Guidelines Oversight Committee, chaired by Lisa Moores, MD, FCCP, is responsible for the oversight of CHEST’s evidence-based guidelines. As our clinical guidelines are among the most highly regarded of all of the things we publish, the members of this committee take special care to ensure that the subjects selected for review as part of the guideline process meet strict criteria. They receive dozens of proposals for new guidelines each year and carefully examine each one to identify the potential public health impact, to ensure the availability of literature in the space worthy of review, and to provide the opportunity to illuminate areas where there are significant clinical uncertainties, often due to new treatments or diagnostic tests. Watching committee members meticulously debate the merits of the many good ideas received to finalize a short list of topics for guideline development in the coming year was incredibly informative and validated my longstanding perception that our members are some of the best clinical minds in the pulmonary, critical care, and sleep fields in the world.

The Professional Standards Committee (PSC), chaired by Scott Manaker, MD, PhD, FCCP, has the important duty of developing CHEST’s conflict of interest (COI) policy, as well as reviewing all potential COI among CHEST leaders and members of our guideline panels. While this may sound a little dry, the fascinating part of this meeting was the ongoing discussion of what constitutes a meaningful COI. As one would expect, many of the best medical experts in the world have relationships with pharmaceutical and medical device companies, who often seek the counsel and participation of high-performing, high-volume clinicians for research trials. CHEST has extremely strict rules with regard to COI among its many levels of leadership, but the question of what constitutes a potentially problematic COI for the large number of folks who volunteer their time and energy to teach at one of our many courses is an interesting (albeit possibly philosophical) question. Since PSC members cannot observe every CHEST faculty interaction, we rely on our members to let us know if they perceive any potential bias in faculty teaching (and we so very much appreciate those of you who bring the extremely rare concerns to our attention!), but this is an area that we continue to watch very closely, as we continue to ensure that all CHEST education is accurate, unbiased, and the best available throughout the world.

The reformulated Council of Networks met under the leadership of Angel Coz Yataco, MD, FCCP, and Cassie Kennedy, MD, FCCP, to discuss how to best engage our members in the new structure, which comprises seven Networks and 22 component Sections. The Council’s primary charges are to develop educational content, to review project applications from Sections, and to serve as expert consultants to the President in their specific clinical domains. While the new configuration provides a significant increase in leadership positions for our members, as well as more formal opportunities to cultivate relationships across different Sections, I have received a few emails from colleagues who were concerned about elimination of certain former Networks, or the placement of a specific Section under a specific Network. Some of these concerns were discussed at the April meeting. While there will be some growing pains, listening to the thoughtful discussion that ensued validated my belief that Drs. Coz and Kennedy are the right folks to be leading the Council as it matures into this new and stronger structure.

While I also had the opportunity to hear reports from the Training and Transitions Committee, the Education Committee, and the Council of Global Governors, I wanted to briefly mention the Scientific Program Committee and its Innovations Group. While we are looking forward to seeing everyone in Nashville this October, I cannot tell you how excited I am about some of the new things we have in store for our first in-person annual meeting in 3 years. (Literally ... I am absolutely sworn to secrecy!) But under the leadership of Program Chair Subani Chandra, MD, FCCP, and my two other “Chief Fun Officers” Aneesa Das, MD, FCCP, and William Kelly, MD, FCCP, I can say that attendees are going to be in for a heck of a lot of fun. Oh, and there’s going to be some education there, also.

In closing, I want to reiterate how much of a pleasure and privilege it has been to sit in the President’s chair over the first few months of 2022. If any of the committees I’ve described above sound interesting to you, please strongly consider throwing your hat into the ring when nominations open up in the coming months. Getting involved at CHEST has been one of the best experiences of my career, and I expect you’ll feel the same way after you join in the fun. As always, I remain available to you, either by emailing me at [email protected] or messaging me on Twitter @ChestPrez. And, please come find me in Nashville in October, either to say hello, or to challenge me to a game of laser tag. ... I’m not very hard to beat.

Until next time,

David

With this issue, we usher in a new era for CHEST Physician, as I hand over the reins of Editor-in-Chief to Angel Coz, MD, FCCP. I have had the pleasure of serving in this role over the last 4 years, and though I will still have the privilege of appearing within these pages with some frequency as I move into my new role as CHEST President, I would like to mark this milestone by passing along a few thoughts on how CHEST Physician has developed over the last few years, and reflecting on the goals I set for us way back in the January 2018 issue (on page 46 of that issue, for those of you holding on to our back issues).

I’ve always viewed CHEST Physician as “the People’s Paper” of CHEST. While we don’t feature first-run scientific manuscripts and authors aren’t likely to reference our articles in other publications, your editorial board and our partners at Frontline aim to give our readers a broad overview of recent publications and presentations in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine, along with expert commentary about how those developments might affect the care we provide to our patients. I can’t thank our editorial board members enough for the hours they spend selecting a small number of items to feature among all of the new medical developments each month.

One of the main goals we had established over the last few years was to create more opportunities for CHEST Physician to serve as the voice of the members and leaders of the American College of Chest Physicians. We achieved the latter part of this goal, with leadership penning quarterly columns on actions of the Board of Regents, developments within the annual meeting, as well as ongoing columns from our NetWorks. And, we have also provided a more reliable voice for our members, with authors of our Sleep Strategies, Critical Care Commentary, and Pulmonary Perspectives columns providing a broader and more representative sample of our membership than ever before.

One of the areas where I would love to see more progress is with reader engagement. It has been a delight to receive feedback from CHEST members, even when the author is taking issue with something we have published. CHEST Physician will be a better publication than it already is with your ongoing input. Please, if you see something that we write that you particularly like (or don’t!) or if there’s something you’d like to see that we haven’t written, please reach out to us! You can always reach us at [email protected].

In closing, I want to thank all of the steadfast CHEST Physician readers for making my 4 years as Editor-in-Chief enjoyable and meaningful. While I am so pleased with the current state of this publication, I cannot wait to see its ongoing evolution under the leadership of Dr. Coz and his editorial board.

With this issue, we usher in a new era for CHEST Physician, as I hand over the reins of Editor-in-Chief to Angel Coz, MD, FCCP. I have had the pleasure of serving in this role over the last 4 years, and though I will still have the privilege of appearing within these pages with some frequency as I move into my new role as CHEST President, I would like to mark this milestone by passing along a few thoughts on how CHEST Physician has developed over the last few years, and reflecting on the goals I set for us way back in the January 2018 issue (on page 46 of that issue, for those of you holding on to our back issues).

I’ve always viewed CHEST Physician as “the People’s Paper” of CHEST. While we don’t feature first-run scientific manuscripts and authors aren’t likely to reference our articles in other publications, your editorial board and our partners at Frontline aim to give our readers a broad overview of recent publications and presentations in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine, along with expert commentary about how those developments might affect the care we provide to our patients. I can’t thank our editorial board members enough for the hours they spend selecting a small number of items to feature among all of the new medical developments each month.

One of the main goals we had established over the last few years was to create more opportunities for CHEST Physician to serve as the voice of the members and leaders of the American College of Chest Physicians. We achieved the latter part of this goal, with leadership penning quarterly columns on actions of the Board of Regents, developments within the annual meeting, as well as ongoing columns from our NetWorks. And, we have also provided a more reliable voice for our members, with authors of our Sleep Strategies, Critical Care Commentary, and Pulmonary Perspectives columns providing a broader and more representative sample of our membership than ever before.

One of the areas where I would love to see more progress is with reader engagement. It has been a delight to receive feedback from CHEST members, even when the author is taking issue with something we have published. CHEST Physician will be a better publication than it already is with your ongoing input. Please, if you see something that we write that you particularly like (or don’t!) or if there’s something you’d like to see that we haven’t written, please reach out to us! You can always reach us at [email protected].

In closing, I want to thank all of the steadfast CHEST Physician readers for making my 4 years as Editor-in-Chief enjoyable and meaningful. While I am so pleased with the current state of this publication, I cannot wait to see its ongoing evolution under the leadership of Dr. Coz and his editorial board.

With this issue, we usher in a new era for CHEST Physician, as I hand over the reins of Editor-in-Chief to Angel Coz, MD, FCCP. I have had the pleasure of serving in this role over the last 4 years, and though I will still have the privilege of appearing within these pages with some frequency as I move into my new role as CHEST President, I would like to mark this milestone by passing along a few thoughts on how CHEST Physician has developed over the last few years, and reflecting on the goals I set for us way back in the January 2018 issue (on page 46 of that issue, for those of you holding on to our back issues).

I’ve always viewed CHEST Physician as “the People’s Paper” of CHEST. While we don’t feature first-run scientific manuscripts and authors aren’t likely to reference our articles in other publications, your editorial board and our partners at Frontline aim to give our readers a broad overview of recent publications and presentations in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine, along with expert commentary about how those developments might affect the care we provide to our patients. I can’t thank our editorial board members enough for the hours they spend selecting a small number of items to feature among all of the new medical developments each month.

One of the main goals we had established over the last few years was to create more opportunities for CHEST Physician to serve as the voice of the members and leaders of the American College of Chest Physicians. We achieved the latter part of this goal, with leadership penning quarterly columns on actions of the Board of Regents, developments within the annual meeting, as well as ongoing columns from our NetWorks. And, we have also provided a more reliable voice for our members, with authors of our Sleep Strategies, Critical Care Commentary, and Pulmonary Perspectives columns providing a broader and more representative sample of our membership than ever before.

One of the areas where I would love to see more progress is with reader engagement. It has been a delight to receive feedback from CHEST members, even when the author is taking issue with something we have published. CHEST Physician will be a better publication than it already is with your ongoing input. Please, if you see something that we write that you particularly like (or don’t!) or if there’s something you’d like to see that we haven’t written, please reach out to us! You can always reach us at [email protected].

In closing, I want to thank all of the steadfast CHEST Physician readers for making my 4 years as Editor-in-Chief enjoyable and meaningful. While I am so pleased with the current state of this publication, I cannot wait to see its ongoing evolution under the leadership of Dr. Coz and his editorial board.