The Society always invites your questions, comments, and solutions for improvement. This year especially, we proactively sought input into our Fourth Strategic Plan (SP4). We surveyed our membership, held focus group meetings (targeting international members and past leaders), and interviewed “lapsed” members and outside stakeholders (e.g. insurers, deans, pharma).
The resulting input fed into the past and future assumptions that underlie SP4. Overall, we found that members have a high level of satisfaction with the Society and its offerings. However, this was not universal. All perspectives should and did inform SP4 during our June planning meeting and September task force meeting.
I’d like to update you on the SP4 progress. In September, the task force focused on the future, discussing core beliefs about what will position our Society to thrive, assumptions about the external environment (e.g. healthcare delivery, funding of investigation) that will impact the Society, and a future vision for endocrinology. Taken together with the stakeholder input, the group brainstormed about short-term (three to five years) goals that would move us toward that envisioned future, and developed specific objectives that would support each goal.
As you will recall, the task force had broad representation of our members’ demographics and career paths. Everyone showed a strong commitment to the Society writ large, rather than just to a specific segment of our membership, and the discussions were passionate and far-reaching. While the nascent plan is currently undergoing review by Council and the June planning group, some broad themes can be shared with you. These include:
- The fundamental need for basic investigation related to endocrinology, the strength of the continuum from basic to clinical investigation to clinical care, and the need to support our diverse membership in their career paths;
- The global nature of our Society — both geographically and in terms of the reach of endocrinology research, career paths, and healthcare delivery; and
- The importance of innovation and technology in achieving breakthroughs in discovery and cure.
We anticipate that the final plan will be approved by Council in December, and that Council will use its goals to direct our activities, prioritize projects, and judge their outcomes. We will continue to update you as SP4 nears completion.
Reminders and Thanks—
- PLEASE VOTE for incoming Officers and Council Members. The ballot for the 2018 Endocrine Society Election will remain open until October 18. To facilitate the voting process, a link to the electronic ballot is now available in the Society’s website. Please cast your vote and remind your colleagues as well. This is your Society, and your participation in the election is important!
- ENDO 2018 will occur in Chicago, Ill., March 17 – 20, 2018. The deadline to submit abstracts is November 6, 2017. Bring your colleagues and family for a great meeting and a chance to see the Chicago River dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day. I plan to find time for the always highly anticipated debates — this year including what diet is best for weight loss, and another featuring Bill Young and Paul Stewart over whether pre-operative adrenal vein sampling is needed in primary hyperaldosteronism.
- The September Clinical Endocrinology Update (CEU) and Endocrine Board Review (EBR) meetings were a record-breaking success, with a 30% increase in attendance. My personal thanks to the Chair, Janet Schlechte, and the entire CEU Steering Committee for developing a fantastic program.
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