President’s Message from Dr. Robert G. Parker Presented at the Association of Extremity Nerve Surgeons’ Annual Symposium in Scottsdale, AZ, in 2012
It was an absolute joy and privilege to participate in our Association of Extremity Nerve Surgeons’ Annual Symposium in Scottsdale in 2012. To our past president, Dr. Peter Bregman, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your dedication, leadership, and guidance these past two years.
There is indeed truth in Newton’s quote about “standing on the shoulders of giants”. At this time, I’d like to acknowledge our mentor, Dr. Lee Dellon. Lee and Luianne, it’s an honor to have both of you here with us tonight.I want to welcome our leaders, all the way back to our founders; our board of directors; dedicated faculty who teach our concepts and procedures; as well as our capable director, Krista Richter. Not only have they generated the momentum to keep this great organization moving forward, they have done so with the wisdom to keep it moving in the right direction.
We have all benefited so much from their contributions and volunteerism. I know that every member of AENS joins with me in thanking you from the depths of our hearts. A very warm welcome also goes out to the new Fellows and new members. You are invaluable to our association.
Is there another area of medicine so misunderstood, and yet with so much compelling evidence of its value for patients suffering from chronic nerve pain, than ours?
Look at a few of our accomplishments from just the past eleven years:
- Association of Extremity Nerve Surgeons established in 2001
- Annual symposiums held
- Development of basic and advanced surgical training courses
- Fundamental and Masters’ cadaveric courses
- Publishing of multiple journal articles
- Formation of The Research Foundation
- Completion of the APMA Affiliation
- Establishment of MAYO Clinic Microsurgical courses
- Teams traveling to Ecuador to change lives
AENS IS A QUEST FOR THE TRUTH!
"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them."
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
AENS surgeons help patients who come to them with little hope of ever being out of pain. Who then, except for our small group of dedicated surgeons, is there to help them?
We’ve all heard comments like these:
- You saved my life.
- You gave me my wife back.
- God sent you to me.
- I have no pain; I have no pain.
- I can lift my foot up now; it’s stronger.
- I don’t trip and fall anymore.
WE HAVE THE EVIDENCE! WE HAVE THE EXPERIENCE!
It is now up to us to get the message out. Our time has come!
My platform this year is to propose that members work together to promote AENS Local Area Nerve Network Programs so our association can continue to educate, spread the word, and expand in local communities.
- Each AENS Fellow can become THE nerve referral resource in at least one of these referral specialties: orthopedic, podiatric, allopathic and osteopathic, physiatric, and neurologic.
- You can encourage and enlist at least one board certified surgeon in your own community or state that you know to be ethical, and start the process of helping him or her become a skilled Fellow of the AENS.
- You can host a small “Invitation Only” meeting in your hometown or community for your referral sources and peers. Perhaps you can get a sponsor or a vendor. Give a presentation yourself or have a “Speaker from afar”, a fellow AENS member, as a presenter.
For example, two of us hosted our first “Nerve Network Affiliate” meeting the week prior to the Annual Symposium in Scottsdale. Applied Biologics agreed to sponsor the evening. Dr. Rick Jacoby gave a presentation on Amnio Matrix procedures and I introduced the AENS with the program you will see below. We educated several local referring surgeons and had a great evening with outstanding feedback.
We must first answer the questions that may be in the minds of the potential referring doctors or future Fellows.
- What is the Association of Extremity Nerve Surgeons and why was it founded?
- What is the AENS surgeon capable of doing?
- Who are the members of AENS in your community?
- How can you affiliate with an AENS surgeon as a referral source to help your patients?
- How can the AENS be a resource for you to develop the skill set and become a Fellow?
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