Why we love the Academy.
From the President
By Terrence A. Cronin Jr., MD, FAAD, February 1, 2024
We have reached the final full month of the greatest honor of my career: serving you as Academy President. It’s fitting that it is February, the month dedicated to love, because I truly do love the Academy. I know that feeling is mutual. The feeling stretches all the way back to the first time we each attended the Annual Meeting as residents. It’s a truly life-changing experience. Getting to witness first-hand the world-class education, the camaraderie, the collegiality, and — of course — the fun would make anyone fall in love with the Academy.
It is the feeling of belonging to something greater than ourselves that brings us back year after year. Dermatologists love being a part of the innovative improvements in helping heal patients with skin disease. It is quite exciting to be on the cutting edge of education. Knowing the Academy has our back as we fight for our continued ability to treat patients, maintain our practices, and keep our specialty a respected one is truly why love for the AAD is so long-lasting. Unifying the many disparate voices in our specialty is an incredible but important responsibility because we are so much stronger together. Togetherness is a big reason why we love the Academy, and meeting with our friends and colleagues re-energizes us like nothing else.
During my time as president, I have been able to see all the great things the Academy does for its members. I’m particularly proud of the Academy’s advocacy efforts. We have made a lot of progress in the past year toward physician Medicare reimbursement and against scope creep, thanks to the efforts of not just our talented Academy staff who are dedicated to advocacy, but also our dedicated members who attend the Legislative Conference and who urge their patients to contact their members of Congress in support of important legislation. There is still a long way to go, but we can be proud of, happy about, and love the work the Academy has done to shorten that distance.
As an association whose primary goal is to serve its members, the Academy has done a great job positioning the specialty with the public. The Your Dermatologist Knows strategy that was launched in 2022 is using a variety of methods to help spread the word to potential patients that only a board-certified dermatologist has the experience and knowledge necessary to treat your skin, hair, and nail conditions. The Academy also has a vast library of public patient resources that is continually updated with new information. Thanks to these efforts, the public knows they can trust dermatologists to provide them with the care that they and their family deserve.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a member association if there weren’t benefits for members, and who doesn’t love benefits? Our wide catalog of journals and publications includes the very one you’re reading right now. The Academy website offers a variety of resources for coding and practice management that you should definitely make use of if you’re not already! And I already mentioned our unforgettable meetings, including Innovation Academy and the Annual Meeting.
There truly is something to love for everyone no matter where you look. I look forward to seeing everyone at next month’s Annual Meeting in San Diego. If it’s your first one, I hope that you too will fall in love with the Academy and discover that a rewarding and fulfilling future is in store for you.
See you in San Diego and may we all “live long and prosper!”
Take action
Find out how you can get involved in the Academy’s advocacy efforts.
Presidential spotlight
It takes a dedicated and engaged membership to move the needle on the issues facing our patients and practices, and sometimes our most diligent members can go unrecognized. As a toast to our unsung heroes within the Academy, I will be featuring one hardworking member at the end of this column each month.
This month’s recipient of the Presidential Spotlight goes to: Megan Cronin, MD, FAAD.
She completed her residency at the University of Miami Frost Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery where she served as chief resident. She is currently serving the Academy on multiple committees including the Young Physicians Committee, the Melanoma/Skin Cancer Community Programs Committee, and the SkinPAC Committee. She was also recruited to serve on the Workgroup to Evaluate AAD Events and the Ad Hoc Task Force on Dermatological Resources for the Intervention and Prevention of Human Trafficking.
In addition to her academic and teaching responsibilities as voluntary faculty at the University of Miami, she has a busy private practice in Melbourne, Florida. She is board-certified in both micrographic dermatologic surgery and dermatology.
She also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Florida Society of Dermatologic Surgeons, and she has been an innovative educator in dermatologic surgery, recently co-editing the Atlas of Reconstructive Surgery after Skin Cancer Surgery with her proud uncle and grandfather.
Her tireless commitment to innovative surgical education, mentorship, and service deserves our admiration, and her dedicated support of my presidential administration, (I couldn’t have done it without her wise counsel and assistance!) certainly deserves the Presidential Spotlight.
AAD/A Impact Report
Read more about the Academy’s most recent advocacy wins.
