Professional organizations offer education, colleagues, personal satisfaction
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Joining a professional organization, whether in a specialty or general medicine, can be personally fulfilling and professionally rewarding, but the ultimate winners may be patients.
In this issue, Jonathan D. Leffert, MD, talks with Navtika R. Desai, DO, and Cheryl Rosenfeld, DO, both members of the board of directors for the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology, about how they became involved in AACE and progressed to leadership.
Leffert: What prompted you to become involved in a professional society?
Desai: As a clinical endocrinologist in a small community, it was the encouragement of a mentor — Dr. Rosenfeld — that facilitated my introduction to our professional society.
As a fresh physician out of fellowship, I wanted to connect with my community to develop a network of physicians for improving patient care and developing personal and professional relationships. It was during one local meeting that I found a mentor who encouraged me to join AACE. Being part of a professional organization allowed me to feel engaged in my community, provide socialization besides “day to day” work and take on a leadership role. In addition, membership a great way to fulfill CME requirements. I would encourage all young physicians at the start of their career to become involved in any professional society so they can grow on a personal level and find their niche as they progress in their field.
Leffert: What would you be your advice to a new member who was interested in becoming more involved in a professional society? You’re an endocrinologist. Do you think it is important to join organizations for your particular specialty or other organizations that are more general medicine?
Desai: First, I would encourage all physicians early on to engage in local medical and/or endocrine societies. Most states will have a local or regional chapter; for example, in New Jersey the NJ Association of Endocrinologists hosts monthly meetings with great national and local speakers presenting various topics of interest. In addition, local annual meetings are well attended, especially by those who are unable to attend national organization meetings due to time constraints or budget. For specialists, attending local American Osteopathic Association or primary care meetings is a great way to connect with our referring providers and serve as local experts for challenging patients.
Leffert: How do you see your involvement in a professional society benefiting the endocrine community?
Rosenfeld: There are three ways that my involvement in a professional society benefits the endocrine community: networking, professional education and patient education. The importance of meeting colleagues from all aspects of the endocrine care team in many different geographic locations cannot be understated. Shared experiences, best practices and assistance with complex medical issues ultimately benefit the patients. Networking also provides an opportunity to build endocrine care teams to provide comprehensive care for the endocrine patient.
Keeping current with the latest developments in medicine is crucial to provide optimal care. As there are so many sources of information available, it becomes overwhelming for an endocrinologist with a busy practice to keep up. My involvement with AACE has provided me with access to lectures, guidelines and other materials from a trusted source that are relevant to my practice. Patient education materials must also come from a trusted and truthful source. There is a great deal of medical misinformation on the internet, so being able to steer patients to the right information from a professional society is a great benefit. Contributing to the patient information materials is a great way for me to ensure that the right advice is getting to patients, including my own.
Leffert: Describe your path to leadership in a society.
Rosenfeld: I took a longer path than most. I wanted to devote the appropriate amount of time to understanding my leadership roles. I started out with involvement locally, at the state board of directors level. With understanding of the responsibilities and needs at the local level, I advanced to state chapter president and volunteered for committees at the national level. Over time, I took on committee leadership roles and increased my knowledge of the responsibilities and needs at the national level. It was at this point that I felt confident in my ability to join the national board as a member. In addition, all of these opportunities gave my colleagues time to get to know me and trust my motivation to advance the organization.
Leffert: What is the time commitment necessary to be involved?
Rosenfeld: The time commitment varies depending on your involvement. Some volunteer responsibilities take only a few hours a month but are rewarding in seeing a project come to fruition. At the national leadership level, with involvement in multiple projects, I typically spend a few hours a week, but do not find that it interferes with the success of my practice or my teaching responsibilities.
My advice is to get involved at the disease state network level and begin volunteering for projects that interest you or are in your area of expertise. Make sure the time you spend is rewarding but does not adversely impact your patient care or family time. Even if you only have a little time to volunteer, you can bring value to your professional society.
Leffert: What have you enjoyed most about your participation in professional society work?
Desai: I enjoy meeting my colleagues and being inspired by them. You have a routine day-to day-life where you as a physician are contributing to patients, as well as research and academics, but this is more on a personal level. You're volunteering your time, so it gives additional meaning.
Medicine is constantly evolving, and we have to be constant learners. I started at the local AACE chapter level, where I gained confidence and met a number of colleagues who encouraged me to became a board member and eventually chapter president. Now I'm on the national board for AACE, so it was a natural progression — I learned where my interests and expertise lie as a private practitioner and how I can contribute to the medical community. You’re eventually looked on as a thought leader, a better patient advocate and educator, which is the ultimate reward.
Jonathan D. Leffert, MD, is managing partner at North Texas Endocrine Center and past president of the AACE. He is an Endocrine Today Editorial Board Member and the Putting It Into Practice column editor. He can be reached at jleffert@leffertmail.com; Twitter: @JonathanLeffert.
Navtika Desai, DO, is founder of Full Circle Endocrinology in Hillsborough, New Jersey and Sarasota, Florida. She is a former chief of endocrinology at Penn Medicine Princeton Health and a past president of the New Jersey chapter of AACE. She can be reached at navtikad@me.com.
Cheryl Rosenfeld, DO, practices endocrinology with North Jersey Endocrine Consultants, which she founded in 2006. She is the endocrinology subspecialty education coordinator for the Prime Health Care Consortium Internal Medicine Residency Program in New Jersey and is an adjunct clinical associate professor of medicine at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York. She can be reached at meddraw@aol.com.
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