In these trying times, your Academy is here for you
From the President
Dr. Thiers served as Academy president from March 2020 to March 2021.
By Bruce Thiers, MD, May 1, 2020
I had originally planned to write this column about all the opportunities, programs, and resources that your Academy has to offer. In my first DW column, I mentioned that, for some, the Academy is a black hole. A lot of what is done by your hard-working Academy staff and volunteers is done quietly and may not be noticed by the average member. While the Academy accomplishes so much on our behalf (and I am committed to covering that in a future column!) I would be remiss if I didn’t use this space to highlight the ways in which your Academy has been there for us during the COVID-19 pandemic — working steadily and consistently to ensure that we are informed and prepared to manage this new reality.
As we are all regrettably aware, your Academy’s Board of Directors made the wise decision to cancel the 2020 Annual Meeting. After a careful and deliberative process through which we weighed our ability to host the quality meeting our attendees have come to expect, as well as our deep concern for the health and safety of all attendees, we had to make this tough decision. I, like many of you, was looking forward to visiting with colleagues, getting a few CME credits, and catching up on the latest research and clinical pearls. Fortunately, your Academy has assembled a team of staff and physician volunteers to evaluate the feasibility of producing a virtual educational meeting experience. Stay tuned for details on that in the near future (if not already communicated to you by the time this is published).
Your Academy has been working tirelessly to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our practices, patients, and overall health care system. We established an Ad Hoc Task Force (AHTF) on the COVID-19 pandemic made up of dozens of staff and physician volunteers. The AHTF has been meeting on a regular basis — spending hours on the phone into the late hours of the night, poring over emerging clinical and practice recommendations from regulatory agencies, and providing updates to membership on a frequent basis.
For the near future, we will be living and working in uncertain times. The situation seems to be changing hourly and it can be overwhelming to keep up with the latest news and alerts. Rest assured that your Academy is on top of it and is communicating frequently to membership via several channels. I encourage everyone to regularly visit the AAD COVID-19 resource pages and to check your email for the DW Academy Insider every Thursday for updates. Please know that the Academy has your back and we will weather this storm together. Until then, be well and stay safe.
