Level 2: Member Engagement Opportunities
Ways To Get Involved with Your Academy
Level 2
Activities involve little time, while still allowing you to interact with your colleagues, share expertise, and further the specialty with your contributions. The activities may include joining the ENT Advocacy Network, attending the AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO, or submitting an article to Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery journal or Bulletin.
Board of Governors Spring and Fall Meetings (Level 2)The Board of Governors formally assembles twice each year, once each spring in the Washington, DC area and once each fall in conjunction with the AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO. These meetings present ideal opportunities for you to network with your colleagues, attend educational forums, become involved in BOG committee activities, meet your Members of Congress, and much more.
Contact Us
Contact Federal and State Legislators (Level 2)Become a champion of your specialty by reaching out to your federal and state lawmakers today. Write, email, phone, or visit your elected officials to voice your views on healthcare and other legislative issues critical to the specialty. Our online Advocacy Center helps you identify your state and federal legislators, view current legislative “Action Alerts,” and send emails to your elected officials.
Contact Us
Fill out a RUC Survey (Level 2)Our Academy actively participates in the AMA/Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) process. The RUC, a joint effort of the AMA and medical specialty societies, makes recommendations on revising and updating the resource-based relative value scale that is used by Medicare and many private payers. As part of this process, you may be asked to participate in a survey to help value a CPT code. Your work on this survey is critical in the Academy’s efforts to ensure appropriate valuation. A high survey-completion rate and thoughtful, well-informed survey responses greatly improve the probability that the Academy’s recommendations will be accepted by the RUC.
Contact Us
Give to the Hal Foster, MD Endowment (Level 2)As the financial bedrock of an institution, an endowment builds for the future, rather than uses funds for immediate needs. Foundation endowment earnings supply stable, ongoing funding to sustain excellence in research, lifelong learning, humanitarian missions and aid, evidence-based medicine, international outreach, and advocacy—all vital to our mission. Every day, changes in the medical landscape call us to respond by creating new programs and knowledge for the specialty. But these advances can only be sustained in the long term with additional funding. By supporting the Hal Foster, MD Endowment, you provide a fundamental gift that continues enriching the specialty for years.
Learn More
Join the ENT Advocacy Network (Level 2)The ENT Advocacy Network is a group of Academy members who take an active interest in legislation affecting otolaryngology—head and neck surgery and the surgical community. As part of the ENT Advocacy Network, our Government Affairs staff will keep you informed on vital developments in healthcare legislative policy. Our ENT Advocacy Network includes a free subscription to The ENT Advocate, a biweekly legislative e-newsletter updating members on federal and state issues affecting the specialty, and legislative “Action Alerts” that include tips on how to contact your elected officials.
Contact Us
Take Part in the Key Contacts Network (Level 2)Our Key Contacts Network is a database of our members’ key legislative contacts in the states and on Capitol Hill. Joining the Key Contacts Network affords you the unique opportunity to influence healthcare policy and be an advocate for your patients, your specialty, and your livelihood. On limited occasions, our Government Affairs team may ask members of this network to use their relationships with key legislative contacts to advance an AAO-HNS legislative priority.
Contact Us
Join a Committee (Level 2, Level 3)
Your Academy and Foundation encourage members to apply to join an education, clinically-focused, or Board of Governors (BOG) committee, or one of the many other committees that fit your area of expertise or interest. These committees offer you opportunities to influence the practice and study of medicine, network with colleagues in your field of expertise, and participate in leadership activities of the Academy and Foundation.
Learn More
Submit an Article to Our Scientific Journal, Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery(Level 2, Level 3)Ranked among the top ENT journals worldwide*, our journal is packed with articles on scientific developments, the latest research, guidelines, topical supplements, and systematic reviews of literature and evidence.
Contact Us
*Eigenfactor™ Score (EF): A measure of the overall value provided by all of the articles published in a given journal in a year. Article Influence™ Score (AI): a measure of a journal’s prestige based on per article citations and comparable to Impact Factor.
Join the Creating Healthcare Excellence through Education and Research (CHEER) Network (Level 2, Level 3, Level 4)Sign up for CHEER, our research training network, which is open to both community and academic sites that want to become educated and active in research. We offer annual research training for support staff.
Learn More
Represent Your State Society and Board of Governors (Level 2, Level 3, Level 4)Established in 1982 as a grassroots member network, the BOG functions as an advisory body to the Board of Directors (BOD) and the AAO-HNS membership. In addition, the BOG acts as an avenue of communication for the BOD. It is made up of local, state, regional, and national otolaryngology—head and neck surgery societies from around the United States. The BOG plays a vital role in the Academy and in the specialty to identify and respond to issues that confront otolaryngologists and their patients. These issues include legislative and regulatory proposals at the local, state, and federal levels; as well as socioeconomic and public relations matters. Members of this grassroots network are typically community practitioners in the ENT field.
Contact Us
Section for Residents and Fellows (Level 2, Level 3, Level 4)All Academy resident members and fellows-in-traning are automatically members of this section. Since 2000, the SRF has given this group of members a voice in determining the course of their profession while still in training. This allows residents to run for office, vote in the election of SRF officers, and propose resolutions for the Section to vote and act on.
Contact Us
Volunteer with a Humanitarian Mission (Level 2, Level 3, Level 4)Humanitarian work includes a wide range of opportunities to bring improved medical care or education to underserved populations. You can volunteer to work at a local free clinic, provide head and neck cancer screenings at a health fair, visit a Native American reservation, or provide financial and moral support to residents and other otolaryngology—head and neck surgeons who do humanitarian work. You can also take part in a medical mission in the developing world, joining teams that specialize in cleft lip/palate, head and neck cancer, pediatrics, plastic reconstructive surgery, otology, thyroid care, or general otolaryngology.
Learn More
Women in Otolaryngology Section (Level 2, Level 3, Level 4)Created in 2010, the section for Women in Otolaryngology (WIO) offers women otolaryngologists the chance to strengthen career support systems and skills through networking events, professional development, and mentoring programs. WIO supports women otolaryngologists by identifying and addressing their needs, fostering their development, and cultivating women as leaders in the specialty.
Contact Us
Write for the Bulletin (Level 2, Level 3, Level 4)Our highly ranked, award-winning monthly news magazine, the Bulletin, brings members timely, trusted insights on clinical developments, quality and safety, socioeconomic issues, practice management tips, and translational research. Do you have a topic or a series you think would benefit our members? We would love to hear from you!
