Message from Dr. Eric T. Stoopler, AAOM President
Dear AAOM Colleagues, I trust you all had a very enjoyable summer and had an opportunity to “recharge your batteries” prior to the start of a new academic year. As we experience cooler temperatures and observe the beautiful fall foliage, we move into a new season with a sense of excitement for the AAOM. This is usually a very busy time for all but please take a moment to read this newsletter which highlights recent events and activities. The World Workshop on Oral Medicine VII was held in Gothenburg, Sweden, on September 24-26. Oral medicine professional organizations from around the world, including the AAOM, were represented by individuals from diverse backgrounds, with the common purpose of advancing science and patient care in oral medicine. Many thanks to our domestic and international colleagues, as well as all sponsors, who helped to create this wonderful opportunity for scientific collaboration. The gracious hospitality of our Swedish hosts, Dr. Bengt Hasseus, Dr. Inger von Bultzingslowen, and Dr. Maria Bankvall, was sincerely appreciated. Kudos to the WWOM Steering Committee for their tireless efforts in organizing another exceptional World Workshop. I believe the extraordinary work conducted here will be impactful for many years to come and will lay the foundation for future World Workshops.
Several of our AAOM committees have been extremely active during these past months. The Membership Committee chaired by Dr. Michael Hatton has been engaged in thoughtful discussion regarding the current and future needs of our organization and is in the process of developing strategies to increase recruitment and retention of AAOM members. The Social Media Committee co-chaired by Dr. Jaisri Thoppay and Dr. David Ojeda has continued to increase the footprint of AAOM in cyberspace and additional content for various social media outlets is being sought. Finally, the Publications Committee co-chaired by Dr. Juan Bugueno and Dr. Milda Chmieliauskaite has been monitoring the progress of newly revised AAOM Clinician’s Guides and formulating new strategies for development and online implementation of AAOM Clinical Practice Statements. If you have any suggestions for these committees, please don’t hesitate to reach out to them!
Finally, I hope you will consider attending the Continuing Education course at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston as part of the Fall Meeting in November. Our oral medicine colleagues at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine / Brigham and Women’s Hospital will host an interdisciplinary educational program focused on oral oncology to provide state-of-the-art information that will be useful to all involved in patient care. I wish you all a very festive autumn! |
