President's Letter
Dear Colleagues & Friends,
As the holiday season arrives, I once again want to express my gratitude for your trust and support as we approach the year end and am pleased to update you on the activities of the Society over the past two months.
I was thrilled to have the opportunity to gather, in person, with the SGS Board of Directors in late October. We spent 24 hours with a jam-packed agenda filled with important collaborative work and took some time to relax and get to know each other. We spent in depth time hearing from all our committee chairs, and, although we had a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time, I was proud of how productive we were strategizing about current and future priorities. What an inspiring group of colleagues!
The Board approved SGS’s participation in the Betsey, Lucy, and Anarcha Editorial Mentorship Program, in collaboration with the Green Journal. With this collaboration, an SGS member will be selected each year to participate in this Program, which includes being paired with a longitudinal mentor on the Green Journal editorial board. Selected participants will be invited to an in-person, one-day editorial and peer-review workshop, with travel expenses paid by SGS, with the Editors of Obstetrics & Gynecology in Minneapolis, MN. Mentees will receive longitudinal mentorship from Green Journal editors, current and former editorial board members, and peer review coaches. This program is open to SGS active members and associate members. I especially encourage early career members to apply. The deadline is December 15, 2024.
The call for applications is here:
Dr. Cara Grimes, Research Committee Chair, updated the board on the activities of each of the SGS research engines and I continue to be amazed at how incredibly productive these groups are, contributing important knowledge to improve the lives and gynecologic health of our communities. There are many ways both members and non-members can get involved in SGS research priorities. Please look for updated information on the website about how research ideas, concepts, study design, process flow and ultimate approval by our Publications Committee leads to manuscript presentation for each engine. Given the large amount of output from the FPRN, the Board approved that two Associate Chair positions will be established for the FPRN – one for FPRN-AUGS and one for FPRN-MIGS. This increases the total number of Associate Chairs of the Research Committee from 3 (CoRPS, SRG, FPRN) to 4 (CoRPS, SRG, FPRN-AUGS, FPRN-MIGS).
The Board approved a new FPRN logo design which adds a new graphic to the FPRN acronym, and importantly recognizes the landmark support SGS placed in founding the Network by including SGS branding with the phrase “Established by SGS in 2007.”
The Board discussed our commitment to health equity and how we can support research specific to health equity. It was decided that we would pilot a travel award for the 2026 Annual Meeting for an abstract centering work on health equity. Please keep your eyes out for more information on this exciting opportunity as the call for abstract submissions comes around next summer.
Dr. Jaime Long, Education Committee Chair, updated the Board on SGS’s new simulation advisory service, a free service of support offered to SGS members who are working on simulation programs. Taught by a core group of faculty, the service can help with things such as designing and implementing simulations, developing simulation curricula and programs, professional development, how to get started, get buy-in, build programs, and publish. We are really looking forward to the Simulation presentations that will be held on Monday morning at the Annual Meeting. This is a new addition to our annual meeting format, and we received so many excellent submissions. The Pelvic Anatomy Group’s Digital Library has been further developed since its soft introduction in March 2024 and will soon be launched as another free product and service to SGS members. The Education Committee is also hard at work compiling an Oral Histories project, with interviews of SGS members to capture the perspective of gynecologic surgery and the Society. After seeing some previews of these interviews recently, I am thrilled that an exciting 10-minute segment will be featured at the Annual Meeting.
We were joined by our new Investment Advisor who gave the Board a high-level overview of our investments and investment strategy, along with a report from our Secretary-Treasurer, Dr. Becky Rogers. I am pleased to report that our Society continues to be financially healthy, giving us both stability for future work and growth and the ability to consider investing in priorities.
Donations are an important part of that financial viability, and Dr. Andrew Walter, Fund Development Chair, joined the Board and discussed current and end of year giving opportunities, value added ideas that may enhance donor recognition at the Annual Meeting, and ideas to increase awareness about S.H.A.R.E. funds and the impact donations are making. As committee chair, Dr. Walter’s article is featured in this newsletter. Please read about the Board’s discussion of governing documentation around fund categories, continuing alignment with donor intent, life cycles of the funds and certain spending policies in his communication.
With a proposal from Dr. Jim Robinson, Membership Committee Chair, the Board approved a new membership pathway for key SGS volunteers who have worked on the SRG, CoRPS and PAG to meet membership eligibility requirements. I am thrilled we will be recognizing the hard work of these individuals and inviting them to consider membership. Please do not forget to offer to propose individuals for membership who may be presenting at the annual meeting for the first time! You can read from Dr. Robinson in his article featured in this newsletter.
I am pleased to say that with increasing interest in advocacy, the Board agreed that SGS should pursue membership in the Women First Research Coalition (WFRC). WFRC consists of 14 OBGYN subspecialty organizations and recent accomplishments include weighing in on House and Senate appropriations bills, commenting on proposed NIH framework and specific NIH agencies to argue for increases in women’s health research funding. I am proud we will be part of this group of peer organizations advocating to advance women’s health.
A huge thank you to Dr. Lauren Siff and all our faculty who lent their time and expertise at the December 8 SGS Winter Postgraduate Course. The course featured three 90-minute panel presentations/discussions over a six-hour period. This year we also offered attendees the option of a coaching session with SGS members who are Certified Academy of Surgical Coaching Coaches. The course fulfills and supports the SGS mission and shines each year as a great way for prospective members to engage with our Society.
I hope you take a moment to join me to reflect on the incredible progress and work we have achieved together over 2024. I look forward to ringing in 2025 and hope you will be able to take some time to relax, rejuvenate and rejoice this holiday season. Thank you for all you do.
Warm wishes to you all for a holiday season filled with peace and much laughter.
Best,
Star Hampton, MD
SGS President 2024-2025
