In this edition:
AAMC Strategic Planning Launched Under New President and CEO, David J. Skorton, MD
Learn Serve Lead 2019: The AAMC Annual Meeting
Co-located 2020 AAMC Council Spring Meeting
American College of Radiology (ACR) Joins CFAS
CFAS Rep Sara Petruska Represents AAMC in Women’s Preventive Services Initiative
CFAS Rep Profiles: Dixon Santana, MD, and Laura Shaffer, PhD
CFAS Society Profile: The American Society of Nephrology (ASN)
CFAS Tweet Chats
Advocacy Update: Surprise Billing and Drug Pricing Legislation
CFAS Affiliate Membership Category
Have you recently been promoted? Do you have a paper coming out? Let us know about any recent professional accomplishments and we’ll feature them in the next edition of the CFAS Rep Update.
AAMC Strategic Planning Launched Under New President and CEO, David J. Skorton, MD
AAMC President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, now about three months into his tenure at the AAMC, has been hard at work learning about the breadth and depth of the association’s work and mission. As one of his first major projects at the AAMC’s helm, David has launched a strategic planning process to identify the association’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges. While the process is still ongoing, the AAMC has made strides in its risk assessments and environmental scans. Most recently, the AAMC has solicited information from its member institutions, including academic societies, on how they conduct such assessments. If any society reps or executives are interested in providing such feedback to the AAMC, please reach out to Eric Weissman.
AAMC constituents, including CFAS reps, will have opportunities to learn more about and contribute to the strategic planning process at the upcoming Learn Serve Lead meeting in Phoenix. Dr. Skorton is eager to hear from CFAS reps and very interested in engaging faculty, so please feel free to reach out to him either through email or in person at Learn Serve Lead 2019: The AAMC Annual Meeting.
Learn Serve Lead 2019: The AAMC Annual Meeting
We look forward to seeing many of you in Phoenix, Arizona, November 8–12 during Learn Serve Lead: The 2019 AAMC Annual Meeting. As in past meetings, CFAS reps made great contributions to the programming and many sessions of interest to faculty members originated within CFAS or feature CFAS reps as speakers or moderators. A document of recommended programming throughout the conference was emailed to CFAS reps earlier this month and can be accessed here.
Due to scheduling issues this year, an AAMC orientation was done by webinar on Wednesday, October 30. New CFAS reps can also meet with Eric Weissman in person at the Exhibit Hall Kickoff Reception on Saturday, November 9 from 4:15–6:30 p.m. in the AAMC Pavilion to discuss representation.
Co-located 2020 AAMC Council Spring Meeting
Planning is well underway for the co-located 2020 AAMC council spring meetings, where CFAS will have the unique opportunity to have its spring meeting with the AAMC’s Council of Deans (COD) and Council of Teaching Hospitals (COTH). All three of the AAMC’s councils will meet at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, California, from March 12–March 15, 2020, and opportunities are still being fleshed out for joint programming that will convene all three councils in the same space to discuss mutually interesting topics. More details to come soon.
American College of Radiology (ACR) Joins CFAS
Please welcome the American College of Radiology (ACR) to CFAS. ACR joins over 70 societies that are academic society members of the AAMC. Yoshimi Anzai, MD, MPH, is ACR’s representative to CFAS and serves as associate chief medical quality officer, professor of radiology, adjunct professor of population health sciences, and adjunct professor of neurosurgery at University of Utah School of Medicine.
CFAS Rep Sara Petruska Represents AAMC in Women’s Preventive Services Initiative
In 2016, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a CFAS member society, launched the Women’s Preventive Services Initiative in a five-year cooperative agreement with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). ACOG convened a coalition of national health professional organizations and consumer and patient advocates with expertise in women’s health to review and update recommendations for women’s preventive healthcare services, including the HRSA-sponsored Women’s Preventive Services Guidelines. Representing the AAMC in the initiative is CFAS rep Sara Ellen Petruska, MD, assistant professor and clerkship director in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Dr. Petruska is the junior CFAS rep for the University of Louisville School of Medicine and also serves as the designated medical school representative for the AAMC’s Group on Women in Medicine and Science (GWIMS). Prior to Dr. Petruska, CFAS rep Carrie Wienecke, MD, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, served in this role.
“The aim of the initiative is to gather together the different guidelines around preventive health for women and come up with one body of recommendations that would be covered by all insurance plans without cost-sharing to patients. These guidelines need to be streamlined and updated because, for example, there is currently no guideline that recommends screening for substance abuse,” said Dr. Petruska.
The work that the initiative does around the standard of care that will be taught to students and resident is directly relevant to the AAMC, as is the initiative’s focus on how providers, including academic health centers, will get reimbursed for this kind of care. The biggest deliverable to come out of the initiative so far is the interactive, online “Well Women Chart.” The chart includes guidance on cancer screening, infectious diseases, pregnancy, and postpartum and details variables that need to be considered based on age. There are dissemination efforts underway to get the chart into residency programs and providers’ offices all over the country. The initiative is now going to focus on making continuous updates so that when new guidelines come out, they will be included in updates to the chart. The chart will also be available as a smartphone app that providers can pull up during office visits. WPSI also welcomes nominations for new conditions to be prevented or services to be covered, which can be submitted here.
CFAS Rep Profiles: Dixon Santana, MD, FACS, FICS, and Laura Shaffer, PhD
Dixon Santana, MD, FACS, FICS
Associate Professor in the Departments of Surgery, Radiology, Vascular Surgery, and Interventional Surgery at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine; Senior CFAS Rep for TTUHSC School of Medicine
CFAS: You went to medical school and did your residency in Puerto Rico. Based on your experience, what should medical professionals know about life in Puerto Rico now, given high profile news events like Hurricane Maria and lack of access to care?
Dr. Santana: The last decade has seen a government and social system that has been in critical condition with a guarded prognosis. It’s like speaking to someone about the severity of their loved one’s critical condition, giving a prognosis and hope that it will all be okay. Then Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico with sustained winds up to 190 mph and caused devastation, death, and property damages. $91.6 billion was the calculated cost.
The best way for people to help is to come to the Island. Get to know this paradise. Mingle with locals and sponsor the local economy. If you live in a place with a high density of people from Puerto Rico, make an effort to know your neighbors.
Humanitarian help is always welcome. There is the need for missionary work, outreach to remote places, and help with not only health care needs but also infrastructure needs on the local level. There is also a lot of need for mental health services, basic primary care, and really any program that could help a population in need.
CFAS: How have you seen simulation techniques and other technology improvements advance medical education?
Dr. Santana: During my time as a medical educator I have seen the evolution of several modalities and applications of simulation. Before standardized patients, we had unanimated models to practice physical examination, simple procedures, and conversation. With more funding for research and better simulation devices and models, we have moved forward significantly. Now we use very high-tech haptic models to train combat soldiers in medical field missions. We are now able to use imaging and 3-D technology to create a virtual patient.
But with all these advances, human interaction will always be needed and necessary to teach and help develop empathy and the healing touch.
CFAS: What are the trends or recent advances in vascular and endovascular surgery?
Dr. Santana: Vascular surgery has gone through a major evolution over the last 20 years. Most of what used to by only doable and available as an open surgical technique is now possible by using a small incision or puncture site. Technology and better patient outcomes have pushed this evolution. Percutaneous-based interventions and therapies are the norm these days. The availability of the devices enabling these percutaneous-based is expanding treatment options to a growing population of aging people who are becoming more fragile.
For example, aortic aneurysm or dissections that were previously considered too high risk for extensive and complicated surgical procedures are now possible through the use of a groin artery that allows a surgeon to repair a major thoracic aortic pathology with a graft placed on a piece of catheter and wire. Also, operations to salvage lower extremity limbs (often due to diabetes) are now commonly done via a small puncture in the groin artery. These internal arterial bypasses present minimal or no risk to patients. We also use dilatation balloons coated with drugs that halt the progression of scar tissue within the artery.
Another new development is the insertion of a stent into a patient’s neck artery to either prevent or treat stroke. This procedure offers much less risk to the patient and facilitates faster recovery. Finally, there is now a procedure to create a vascular access for dialysis. This is done with the use of two catheters inside an artery and a vein that will be temporarily joined with a magnet, causing the artery and vein to join.
CFAS: Tell us about your experience with the CFAS Tweet Chats, which you were very engaged in at the last CFAS Spring Meeting.
Dr. Santana: The tweet chat at the 2019 CFAS Spring Meeting was my first time tweeting. I went into it not knowing what it was going to be like. The group that participated was great and helped me learn how to navigate Twitter, and really made it a fun experience. The group had varying levels of expertise and those who were especially Twitter-savvy were there to help orient others on how to tweet effectively.
It was a group of diverse people with such a wide variety of perspectives and vision. The tweet chat felt natural and was a great way to break the ice and connect with peers and colleagues. We exchanged ideas and concepts and we sent pictures and jokes back and forth.
I came away from the chat with the view that Twitter can be a very important platform that deserves more engagement. If properly used, it could be a way to exchange ideas, solicit opinions that can be voted on, discuss articles and research, and brainstorm on a trending topic.
CFAS: Are there some recent accomplishments or initiatives from Texas Tech University Health Science Center School of Medicine that would be interesting to CFAS reps?
Dr. Santana: At the Lubbock campus we just started using state of the art simulation rooms and medical ultrasound laptops. The new Permian Basin facilities are also state of the art and are a significant improvement to the overall teaching space. Their simulation facilities are built to simulate a hospital ward.
There is also a new Accountable Care Organization (ACO) initiative to teach communication skills to students and residents during interactions with patients. The initiative aims to develop communication skills in the students and residents that will make patients feel like they are part of the overall care plan.
CFAS: What do you like to do in your free time?
Dr. Santana: I enjoy mountain biking and road cycling. When I have the opportunity, I like going to the beach and practice scuba diving. Recently, I’ve made trips to lakes where I have done water sports and hiking at canyons.
Laura Shaffer, PhD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Chief of the Section of Pediatric Psychology, University of Virginia School of Medicine; Junior CFAS Society Rep for the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers
CFAS: Tell us about your work in pediatric psychology.
Dr. Shaffer: A big theme of my work is integrated care. I provide clinical service to youth with developmental and medical complexities in Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and Pediatric Endocrinology. I see children and families with a wide range of issues like anxiety and autism, poor adherence to diabetes care, gender dysphoria, and chronic pain. One of my specialties is pediatric weight management and I’ve been involved in interprofessional work on that issue with the Children’s Hospital Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
As section chief of Pediatric Psychology for UVA Children’s, I’m working to grow pediatric behavioral health services and oversee our current services. I also provide clinical and didactic teaching to NDBP and Pediatric Endocrinology fellows, residents in Pediatrics and Psychiatry, and medical students. I’ve also been the training director for an American Psychological Association accredited doctoral internship in Child Clinical and Pediatric Psychology and hope to build pediatric psychology training programs at UVA.
CFAS: You are a CFAS rep for the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers - What are some issues facing psychologists working in academic medicine?
Dr. Shaffer: Psychologists work across all missions of academic medicine in a wide range of departments and facets of administration. As doctoral level healthcare professionals in academic medical settings, psychologists face many of the same challenges as physicians such as meeting clinical productivity and balancing teaching and scholarship expectations. In addition, psychologists need to educate credentialing committees about credentialing processes and standards for psychologists, advocate for contractual negotiations that appropriately reimburse mental health and health and behavior CPT codes, and help P&T committees properly evaluate their professional activities.
There is a strong movement now across academic medical centers to give psychologists medical staff privileges commensurate to physicians. Integral to psychology training are key interpersonal skills such as conflict management, communication skills, emotional intelligence, and collaborative leadership and thus psychologists often serve in leadership roles across all pillars of academic medicine. Psychologists have been involved in “hot topics” such as professional wellness initiatives, anti-harassment and civility programs, diversity and inclusion initiatives, legislative policy development and advocacy, and efforts toward clinical transformation to collaborative team-based practice. All of this comes down to advancing psychology in academic medicine to lend our rich training and expertise to further education and provision of healthcare and related scholarship.
CFAS: You presented at the 2019 CFAS Spring Meeting about mentoring and sexual harassment – what advice would you give on how to be a good mentor to someone who is reporting sexual harassment?
Dr. Shaffer: When responding to disclosures of sexual harassment perpetrated against a mentee, it’s very important to validate their experience, respect their autonomy, and communicate that the responsibility lies with perpetrator. Stay engaged and focused on the mentee’s needs and respect and validate their strengths. It’s also helpful to build up their self-confidence and help them build trust with others, identify any roadblocks for effective networking, identify colleagues they can network with, and connect them with peer support groups.
CFAS: Are there recent accomplishments or initiatives from the University of Virginia School of Medicine that would be interesting to CFAS reps?
Dr. Shaffer: There are some great things happening here at UVA. Of course, I am excited that we are growing our pediatric psychology program, working to increase behavioral health training for our Pediatric residents, and implementing a new Pediatric resident wellness program. On a larger scale, UVA Health was again ranked the number one hospital in Virginia by U.S. News & World Report, and UVA Children’s had eight nationally ranked subspecialties.
The UVA School of Medicine received the Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity for the seventh consecutive year and has increased the percentage of URM residents, fellows, and faculty learning and working here. In response to increasing occurrences of patients’ biased behavior targeting healthcare team members in the wake of the 2017 riots in Charlottesville, UVA faculty, staff, and learners developed a training program, Acting Against Disrespect, to help team members address bigotry and disrespectful behavior. This program is now mandatory training for all UVA Health professionals and learners and has been offered nationally through the AAMC.
Additionally, we have outstanding evidence-based leadership training programs for our faculty including the Junior Faculty Development Program and Leadership in Academic Matters. The Office of Faculty Affairs also recently started a new Faculty Mentoring program and has heightened efforts to support more women faculty in applying for promotion to full professor.
CFAS: What do you like to do in your free time?
Dr. Shaffer: I love to be outdoors and stay active. Some of my hobbies include road biking, yoga, and hiking. I also like going to outdoor concerts and festivals in the Charlottesville area. At some point in the future, I’d like to get back into doing more art and music.
Society Profile: The American Society of Nephrology (ASN)
The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) seeks to advance kidney care and lead the fight against kidney disease by “educating health professionals, sharing new knowledge, advancing research, and advocating the highest quality care for patients,” according to its website. ASN has more than 21,000 members, and while most are nephrologists, other allied health professionals involved in kidney care, research, and education are also members, including nurses, physician assistants, dieticians, and social workers. Thirty-five percent of members reside outside of the country, and 45% of the participants at ASN Kidney Week (the society’s annual meeting) travel to the United States from abroad. ASN provides free membership to trainees, including undergraduates, medical students, medical residents, and nephrology fellows as well as students on a PhD track.
Some of the most valuable benefits ASN offers are educational resources, especially the considerable opportunities for members to accrue continuing education (CE) and continuing medical education (CME) credits. ASN also has two self-assessment programs (KSAP and NephSAP) that are free to members; publishes two peer-reviewed, monthly journals; and disseminates a newsmagazine and daily e-news. Another benefit that members value are the active online communities defined by different types of interests in nephrology, such as dialysis, acute kidney injury, and diabetic kidney disease.
ASN also administers a separately incorporated foundation called KidneyCure that provides travel support to bring trainees to meetings and advances faculty members’ opportunities for professional development and provides young investigators approximately $3 million in grant funding every year for nephrology fellows, investigators transitioning to independence, and clinician-educators. KidneyCure also partners with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s faculty development program to support nephrologists from underrepresented backgrounds who want to become leaders in medicine.
Kirk Campbell, MD, the CFAS rep for ASN and Associate Professor in the Division of Nephrology, Nephrology Fellowship Director and the Vice Chair of Diversity and Inclusion at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, talked about some of the most important contemporary issues and challenges facing nephrologists. “In addition to needing more investment in research and better coordinated delivery of new technologies, devices, and therapeutics. We have a workforce challenge with a lack of innovation, investment, and reimbursement dampening trainee interests in pursuing nephrology. A multi-pronged effort is needed to address these challenges,” Dr. Campbell said. He also specifically highlighted the importance of getting new devices and therapeutics to kidney patients and raising awareness of the rare kidney disorders that are difficult and expensive to treat, having a disproportionate public health impact.
ASN is continually working to address these multi-faceted challenges through policy activism. “We are very active in policy and were instrumental in guiding the Trump Administration’s Executive Order on Advancing American Kidney Health, which was issued this summer,” said Tod Ibrahim, the Executive Vice President of ASN. “ASN’s three federal partnerships (the Kidney Health Initiative, KidneyX, and Nephrologists Transforming Dialysis Safety) had built momentum for this within HHS over the last few years and the effort was helped by the fact that HHS Secretary Alex Azar is personally interested in kidney disease.”
The primary goal of the executive order is to reduce kidney failure by 25% over the next decade. It also aims to double the number of kidneys available for transplant and use certain technological advancements to move people with kidney failure from inpatient settings to home dialysis, new modalities (such as an artificial kidney), or transplant. (The genesis of the executive order lies partly in the fact that CMS covers the cost of dialysis for every American with kidney failure, and that adds up to an unsustainable $114 billion that the centers spend on kidney care every year.)
There are four strategies the executive order is pursuing to achieve these overarching goals. Investing in the NIH and kidney research is crucial to achieving the first goal of reducing kidney failure. The second goal aims to improve access to and quality of treatment by investing in Kidney X (a partnership with HHS) and the Kidney Health Initiative (KHI), two public-private partnerships that are trying to spur innovation throughout the kidney arena, which includes helping to produce artificial kidneys and, eventually, portable, wearable, or implantable artificial kidneys. The third goal of the executive order is improving access to kidney care models by working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to pilot five new kidney care models (the models are currently being fleshed out in the rulemaking process). These models would incentivize earlier detection of kidney problems. The fourth goal is to increase access to kidney transplants by increasing the number of organs and donors as well as by removing disincentives for living kidney donors.
Beyond the executive order on advancing kidney health, there is plenty of overlap on policy issues of mutual interest to ASN and CFAS. “One important area of overlap is advocating for federal and private funding for research. One of the things we see in nephrology is the massive, disproportionate amount of CMS’ budget going to dialysis patients, so not enough has been done to slow the progression of the disease and come up with new therapeutics and devices. We can coordinate messaging around these issues, because ASN and CFAS have strong communications arms,” said Dr. Campbell.
Ibrahim described a few more issues where CFAS and the AAMC could provide valuable guidance. “It would be helpful to societies like ASN for CFAS to publicize best practices in addressing core challenges across specialties. Some of these issues could include understanding the physician workforce, supporting diversity and inclusion in medicine, and addressing burnout and increasing well-being.” Ibrahim also expressed hope that the AAMC would continue to advocate for researching funding across the federal government, but also look at alternative funding streams, such as Kidney X, to support research funding. “It would also be great if the AAMC could work with the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) and other stakeholders to ensure the Medical Specialty Matching Program also requires NRMP’s ‘all-in’ policy, which nephrology has already adopted. Finally, there is a lot of interest in what the AAMC’s role is with the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and the AAMC’s positions on initial and continuing certification.”
CFAS Tweet Chats
CFAS held its fourth tweet chat on September 19 in a rich and energetic discussion on diversity and inclusion in academic medicine. So far, CFAS has held tweet chats – a dynamic conversation on Twitter about a specific topic – on the topics of medical education, well-being in academic medicine, and diversity and inclusion in academic medicine.
The tweet chat on September 19 asked faculty members and representatives from institutions questions such as, “Is there something we’re not talking about in terms of diversity and inclusion in academic medicine that we should be?” “What are the essential components/strategies of a successful institutional approach to diversity and inclusion?” and “Does anyone have advice for how to navigate difficult or problematic situations they’ve encountered around diversity and inclusion?” A high-level summary of that discussion was distributed on the CFAS listserv and posted on the CFAS website, and similar summaries for all future tweet chats will be created to preserve a record of the information and resources shared.
CFAS Tweet Chats started at the 2019 CFAS Spring Meeting and has steadily grown in popularity and reach, both with CFAS reps and external audiences. The hashtag we use to designate our chats, “#CFASChat,” has been trending twice, meaning that the conversations were reaching a very large number of people on Twitter. And during the last two tweet chats, several Twitter accounts belonging to academic health centers and academic societies joined in the conversations.
At Learn Serve Lead 2019: The AAMC Annual Meeting on Monday, November 11 from 6–7 pm Phoenix time, CFAS will host another tweet chat that will be a joint chat with Colleen Farrell, MD, and her popular Medical Humanities tweet chat (@MedHumChat). This will be a big event and we hope you can join us for it, even if you are unfamiliar with Twitter! Participating is much easier than it sounds, so please reach out to CFAS Communications Specialist Alex Bolt with any questions on how to get involved.
Advocacy Update: Surprise Billing and Drug Pricing Legislation
During the past few months, the news has been humming with policy activity on the issues of surprise medical bills and drug pricing. Both issues enjoy bipartisan energy and there is legislation currently being considered by both chambers of Congress on these issues, so we wanted to provide you with a concise summary of the AAMC’s advocacy positions and the most recent activity on these important topics.
On the surprise billing front, the AAMC strongly believes that patients should not be held responsible for bearing the costs of medical bills resulting from situations where they could not reasonably choose an in-network provider. The AAMC and other provider groups also believe Congress should not set a benchmark payment rate in statute, and should consider alternative solutions to resolve billing disputes. However, as of this writing, both the House Energy and Commerce Committee bill, the No Surprises Act (H.R. 3630), and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee bill, the Lower Health Care Costs Act (S. 1895), contain rate setting provisions.
The AAMC is urging Congress to avoid adding unnecessary administrative burden and requiring hospitals provide plan specific details for which the insurer is the best source of information, such as information about an individual patient’s specific insurance plan and whether they have yet met their health plan’s deductible.
With regard to drug pricing, three House committees of jurisdiction recently advanced the Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019 (H.R. 3), a bill introduced by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and several Democratic leaders that would give the HHS Secretary broad authority to negotiate prescription drug prices. The CBO provided an estimate of the bill that finds that it would save $345 billion over six years and may prevent up to 15 new drugs from coming to the market over the next decade. While both parties are outspoken about the need to reduce high drug prices, the debate around H.R. 3 has been very partisan. The bill is expected to come to a vote on the House floor within the next couple weeks.
On the Senate side, the Senate Finance Committee passed the bipartisan Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act (PDPRA) of 2019 in July and committee leaders hope the bill will be considered by the full Senate this fall, though Chairman Grassley has indicated that it may get pushed back to the new year.
While the AAMC continues to support efforts to lower drug prices for patients and closely monitors any drug pricing legislation and policies, we also remain focused on safeguarding the 340B Drug Pricing program. In September 2018, the AAMC joined other hospital partners in suing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) after the agency finalized a rule significantly reducing reimbursement for 340B drugs. Last May, a U.S. District Court ruled the cuts were unlawful and directed the parties to propose a remedy.
The AAMC is also a member of the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, a broad-based coalition that promotes bipartisan, market-based solutions to lower drug prices in America.
CFAS Affiliate Membership Category
CFAS launched an “Affiliate” membership category to give CFAS reps whose terms have expired the opportunity to attend meetings and remain involved in the council’s work in advisory roles. Currently, 21 former CFAS reps have been granted “affiliate” status. If you are a former CFAS rep who would like to remain involved as a CFAS affiliate, please reach out to CFAS Engagement Specialist Stephen Barry.
Looking for information about CFAS? Find what you need on our website, from the names of CFAS leaders, to updates on committee and working group initiatives, to upcoming offerings and meetings, and finally, current and previous editions of CFAS News.
Do you have ideas or suggestions for the newsletter? A recommendation for a CFAS rep or member society to profile? All of your ideas are welcome. Please send them to cfas@aamc.org. CFAS is eager to promote society news and leadership announcements in this newsletter and in CFAS News. You can also reach out with questions or comments to Alex Bolt at abolt@aamc.org.