MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

THOUGHTS ON WELLBEING

NEW STRATEGIC PLAN MAPS ACG’S ROLE AS A BEACON IN CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY

Among the many reasons I am so proud to be your President are ACG’s longstanding and deep dedication to the wellbeing of the College as an organization advancing the GI profession, and our dedication to the wellbeing of individual GI clinicians. ACG works to create numerous ways to ensure that its members will flourish in gastroenterology.

So much of what I see and read recently, and what I hear in conversations with my colleagues, raises concerns about threats and obstacles to wellbeing—among health care providers in GI and throughout medicine. As clinicians, and as human beings, we are living in times of heightened controversy and facing unprecedented stressors. Decreasing reimbursement rates, unfriendly electronic medical record systems, and significant changes to recertification are just some of the variables that make burnout a real threat to our profession.

I do not pretend to have all the answers. However, I believe we must all be mindful of ways GI clinicians can care not only for our patients, but also for ourselves during these challenging times. We must also re-dedicate ourselves to care for each other—our colleagues and our communities.

NEWLY UPDATED STRATEGIC PLAN: ENSURING ACG’S ORGANIZATIONAL WELLBEING

The health and integrity of the College as a nonprofit medical professional society—our organizational wellbeing—and the leadership that ACG needs right now are among my top priorities this year. I see a big part of my presidential role as a guardian of the wellbeing of the College and a steward of its Mission and Vision. In these responsibilities, I am honored to have the Officers and Trustees of the College at my side, as well as the contributions of the Board of Governors, our dedicated journal editors, and all of the many ACG members who participate in the life of the College as volunteers through our educational programs and committee activities.

As my predecessor, Dr. Irving Pike, mentioned in his Presidential Address at ACG 2018, we are in the final phases of an update to the College’s 2014 Strategic Plan. It was an honor to work on this comprehensive review with ACG Past President Carol A. Burke, MD, FACG, and PresidentElect Mark B. Pochapin, MD, FACG. We led a consensus-building process guided by the goal of aligning this roadmap document with the College’s Mission and Vision Statements. In our update, we looked broadly at the landscape of our profession as well as deeply at our organizational strengths, assets, opportunities and challenges.

We started with a fresh look at ACG’s Vision and Mission Statements. Advocacy was added to the Mission Statement to reflect its importance in the life of the College, whether it be with policymakers, insurance companies or other payers on behalf of patients and the specialty. Throughout the review, we heard loud and clear that ACG’s leadership places the highest priority on evidence-based and compassionate patient care as the driving force behind the College’s Vision Statement, and on a shared commitment to improve the digestive and liver health of the public at large.

The biggest new area of focus in the updated Strategic Plan is the addition of wellness and professionalism as equally important to ACG’s future as research, education, publications, governance and other pillars of our organization. I believe this thorough revision aptly reflects who we are and where we want to go together. This is a living document, and I will look forward to watching the Strategic Plan come to life in the years ahead. More details and the full text will be available soon.

TAKING CARE OF OURSELVES AS ENDOSCOPISTS

One very practical way you can help advance wellbeing is to respond to the survey research fielded by the ACG Women in Gastroenterology Committee on musculoskeletal injuries from endoscopy. These findings will help illuminate risks and suggest strategies to improve the physical wellbeing of endoscopists. You can complete the survey instrument in just a few minutes online: bit.ly/EndoInjurySurvey

Finally, on a lighter note, I want to report that the giant inflatable colon stolen from the Colon Cancer Coalition and The University of Kansas Cancer Center was recovered on October 29 by the Kansas City Police after the College offered a $1,000 reward for tips leading to its safe return. If you have not followed news about the #StolenColon on social media, you will enjoy learning how this dastardly colectomy without consent became the butt of many jokes and was featured in The New York Times and on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. ACG has divided the reward between four nonprofit colorectal cancer advocacy organizations in honor of their good work. All’s well that “ends” well!