Listening To Those Who Are New To The Specialty: Editorial

Dr. David turpin: the percentage of members who have been in practice 10 years or less has fallen. He says for the first time in history, we have 4 generations working side-by-side. Turpin says if we want our specialty to be prominent over the next 100 years, young people are the answer.

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Listening To Those Who Are New To The Specialty: Editorial

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John Pulgarin

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EDITORIAL

Listening to those who are new to the specialty

David L. Turpin, Editor-in-Chief Seattle, Wash

he value of membership in the American Association of Orthodontists is very high, according to the 2006 all-member needs and satisfaction study results. But some numbers have changed, and these changes deserve our attention. For the rst time in my memory, the percentage of members who have been in practice 10 years or less has fallen, from 29% in 2000 to 23% today. The proportion of those practicing 30 years or more is up, from 14% in 2000 to nearly 23% in the most recent survey. Yes, we are an aging specialty. There is no other way to look at it. What does this mean, and what, if anything, can we as a specialty do about it? First, we might want to know whether our workforce is sufcient to do the job. Our schools continue to endure nancial difculties, and the numbers of residents who graduate yearly have not increased signicantly over the past 10 years. Although membership in the AAO remains high, for the rst time in the US workplace, we have 4 generations working side by sidetraditionalists (people in their 60s and older), baby boomers (about mid-40s to early 60s), generation Xers (late 20s to early 40s), and millennials (mid-20s and younger). Over the next 25 years, 80 million baby boomers will retire, but there will be only 46 million generation Xers to take their places. It is obvious that, for our specialty to be prominent over the next 100 years, young people are the answer. Assuming that the youngest in our specialty continue to make an AAO membership choice, enticing them to be as active as many of our traditionalists will require change. The toughest questions remain to be answered. Are we prepared to listen to younger members as they seek to become active in the AAO? Will we make the changes necessary to accommodate them? Over the years, I have read and observed that people, regardless of their ages, make time for things they believe in even when time is scarce. The AAO is already experimenting with a compressed schedule for delegates during its annual session. This year, most

AAO councils will become paperless, and this will contribute to shorter meetings because the members will be better informed before meeting. To assist in reducing the need for travel, conference calls are on the increase. Younger members are also interested in more distance-learning programs and online continuing education from the AAO. This even applies to stafng needs and their related educational opportunities. To take my turn at being a good listener, I posed a few questions to Dr Tanya Stavisky, chairperson of the Council on New and Younger Members (CONYM). Editor: CONYM is the newest AAO council. Why was it formed? Dr Stavisky: CONYM was established to give a voice to members about to enter and those in their rst few years of orthodontic practice. One of our main objectives is to grow the AAO membership to offset the loss of retiring members by demonstrating relevance, benets, and leadership to the students and new doctors for lifelong membership and leadership. Editor: What activities and services are you proposing that have not already been done? Dr Stavisky: One service that the AAO and CONYM now provide for students and younger members is an educational program at the AAO Annual Session, including the New Orthodontist Conference, the New Orthodontist Risk Management Seminar, and the AAO Orthodontic Residents Reception. Another of our newest and most exciting projects is the introduction of childcare opportunities at the AAO Annual Session. Many new members, both men and women, would like to bring their children to the Annual Session, so we believe that providing child-care services during the daytime sessions will be an enormous benet to our attendees. Beginning at the 2008 Annual Session in Denver, the AAO along with CONYM will offer programs for our attendees children, providing stimulating activities onsite for younger children and offsite for older children. These programs will give our young members with families days full of creative fun and educational opportunities for the children and peace of mind for our conference attendees so that they can enjoy the orthodontic programs.
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American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics January 2007

Editor: Have you established a good working relationship with the AAO House of Delegates and the Board of Trustees to enable the changes you envision? Dr Stavisky: This years House of Delegates passed several motions that CONYM believes will enhance our application process and encourage membership in our organization. These resolutions included a centralized application process for AAO membership and the discontinuation of the Associate Member category; student membership will be available to dental students who have been accepted in an accredited residency program. In addition to these resolutions that have already been approved, CONYM has submitted several other resolutions to the Board of Trustees for consideration. These include a review of the current disability insurance coverage as it pertains to new members, the possible addition of maternity coverage to the insurance products available to AAO members, and the possible relationship with a banking institution to provide

loan repayment or consolidation services to AAO members. Editor: Are there any other benets to becoming active in the AAO right out of school? Are you able to target those you need to reach? Dr Stavisky: Another invaluable service that the AAO and CONYM provide for our members is information that is of interest and value for our new members on the AAO website. This information includes practice resources, legal resources, insurance options, the AAO library, and a discussion board. CONYM also publishes a periodic newsletter with timely and informative articles of particular interest to students and younger members. The articles are posted on the member website and are also e-mailed to all students and younger members. After listening to the enthusiasm and creativity that Dr Stavisky brings to the table, I feel a great deal more comfortable about the future of our specialty. The numbers will take care of themselves with this type of dedication.