As many of you know, the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) is undergoing many changes as regards CME, membership and board certification to name just a few. Please visit the AOA website and the AOBOS website for details. In light of these changes, the Board of Directors of the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics (AOAO) has approved several changes to our bylaws in Article I, Purposes, and Article II, Members and Meetings of Members. In January, all voting members of the AOAO will be given the opportunity to take action on the changes approved by the Board. Please be on the lookout for the email and ballot so that you may exercise your right to vote. Once you have reviewed the proposed changes, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Hopefully you have noticed an enhanced AOAO presence on various social media platforms. In the next few months we will be assessing the outcomes of these efforts; however, initially it appears we are reaching a new demographic with the outlets we have chosen to emphasize.
As regards the Single Accreditation System, eight of our residencies have achieved initial accreditation by the ACGME. In late January, the ACGME Orthopedic Review Committee will convene with the main agenda item being accreditation decisions. I anticipate a large number of our programs will be on the agenda with many programs moving into the next phase of ACGME accreditation. The AOAO Board of Directors will be working with the AOA to encourage and assist our programs to achieve Osteopathic Recognition in the ACGME world.
I continue to play an active role on the Affiliate Alignment Task Force of the AOA. This group is exploring various business models related to how state and specialty affiliates relate to the AOA. Some affiliates are robust and function with little, if any, support from the AOA while others struggle in various areas and rely on the AOA for significant support. Trying to agree on a common business model has been a challenge. The Task Force will have a recommendation to present to the AOA Board of Trustees in February. James Ingram, DO and I will attend that meeting.
Although it seems like we just left the Annual Meeting in Chicago, please make plans to attend the 2018 Annual Meeting in Atlanta. We will be meeting in conjunction with the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS). The ACOS will be meeting at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis and we will meet at the Atlanta Hilton downtown. These hotels are connected by a skywalk. Despite the fact that the meeting is still ten months away, the planning process is underway. We are exploring several options for joint activities. As part of the activities leading up to the meetings, our Foundation and the ACOS Trust Fund are engaging in a friendly competition to see which group can raise the most money prior to the meeting. Plans are underway to celebrate the winner at the meeting. Please consider a gift to the AOAO Foundation within the next several months to ensure our success as the winner!