The Academy’s Advocacy Ambassador Program drew more than 175 ambassadors to Washington, D.C., this year. For many of us, Congressional Advocacy Day is the meeting’s highlight. But many ambassadors are unaware of another very important Academy advocacy event: the semi-annual council meeting. Here’s a look at this important body that every young ophthalmologist should know about.
The Council is the policy advisory body to the Academy’s Board of Trustees. During the spring meeting, council members representing both state ophthalmology societies and subspecialty and specialized-interest societies gather during Mid-Year Forum. Together, they submit and vote on Council Advisory Recommendations (or CARs), which help shape Academy policies. After sitting in on this meeting and witnessing the process for deliberating on policies and actions, I was immediately captivated.
When I returned home, I gave a talk to my co-residents about Mid-Year-Forum. They loved hearing about my experience advocating on Capitol Hill, but they did not see an opportunity to get involved. Trainees are generally sponsored by their state or subspecialty or specialized interest organizations along with their training programs, which limits the number of trainees who can go. It occurred to me then that creating an opportunity for all trainees, not just advocacy ambassadors, to get involved in the Academy’s proceedings could increase engagement year-round while in training and beyond. But where to start?
With the support of the council members of the Michigan Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons (MiSEPS), I submitted a suggestion for a CAR on increasing participation of trainees in CAR writing and council meetings. The MiSEPS council members agreed to submit it for consideration. After providing comments during the CAR hearing, I was surprised to learn that I was the first resident to suggest a CAR in the Academy’s history. Although the CAR did not pass the voting process, I gained invaluable experience and hopefully raised awareness to get more trainees involved.
Now that we are empowered to advocate for our profession, a logical next step is learning how to advocate on our behalf, as members-in-training. Together, through the Advocacy Ambassador Program and throughout the year, we can increase awareness for how trainees can get involved at the Council meeting. We can provide input to council members from our state or subspecialty and specialized interest societies on issues that impact us. And we can submit our own CAR recommendations for consideration.
Because all advocacy ambassadors are invited guests to the Council meeting, we each have the opportunity to witness the CAR process and step to the microphone to make our voices heard after council members have debated each CAR.
If you are a trainee who is looking for ways to get involved at the Academy, even if you were not able to go to the Mid-Year-Forum this year, here are some opportunities:
- Get involved with your state ophthalmology society. You can learn about state-specific issues and advocate at your state Capitol.
- Donate to OPHTHPAC and the Surgical Scope Fund. Start small while in training, but get in the habit now to protect your patients and your profession.
- Submit an idea for a CAR to your state or subspecialty society’s council members and participate in the CAR hearing during the next Council meeting. You can search for previous CARs.
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About the author: Adam J. Weiner, MD, is a PGY3 at Beaumont Health System in Michigan, which sponsored him to attend the Academy’s Mid-Year Forum 2018 as an Advocacy Ambassador Program participant.