Members Only

Strengthening NAMSS’ Current and Future Performance

By Lisa Goodwin, MBA, CPCS, CPMSM

We are just a few weeks away from the NAMSS 48th Educational Conference & Exhibition in Denver. The conference committee and the NAMSS team are busy wrapping up every detail. I am excited to see each of you, and I hope you will stop me to say hello or introduce yourselves if we have yet to meet in person. 

This year has been busy for the NAMSS Board, as we have focused on leadership and working internally on our strengths and weaknesses as a volunteer board. We implemented an evaluation process in which each Board member evaluated their own Board performance. Officers met individually with Board members and reviewed the self-evaluation. The process helped the Board get to know each other on a deeper and more personal level. It also offered feedback on ways to improve while keeping the best interest of the association first and foremost. Following this process, the Board members then evaluated the officers on their performance. The feedback is confidential but has given the officers great insight into their individual performance and areas for improvement.

While we have been working through our performance as a Board, we have also been working on developing a way to identify up-and-coming NAMSS leaders. I am excited to say that there are many amazing volunteers and a few that have distinguished themselves and shown interest in future NAMSS leadership opportunities. Those who have been identified this year have been invited to attend the pre-conference, Present Like a Pro speaker training. Present Like a Pro training is presented by a dear friend of NAMSS, Kevin O’Connor, CSP, CEC. Kevin is nationally recognized by groups such as the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American Association for Physician Leadership. Kevin has been offering this training to the NAMSS Board annually for several years, and we are excited to have him offer the training as a pre-conference session in Denver.

Another focus of the Board this year has been updating our strategic goals and planning our association goals for the next 3–5 years. It is the second time I have participated in this process, and I continue to be invigorated and hopeful for the future of NAMSS. A high-priority goal is focusing on how NAMSS can influence the industry. How can we build and strengthen strategic partnerships to advocate on behalf of our profession? We have focused on key relationships with our regulatory partners through the accreditation webinar series. This series has been very popular and exceeded our expectations in both attendance and budget.

We have had an opportunity to partner with the ACCME’s President and CEO Dr. Graham McMahon. Dr. McMahon presented a webinar on some new features of the ACCME and an enhanced reporting program. Be sure to check out the NAMSS members-only article Dr. McMahon was interviewed for, as well. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the ACCME.

The 2024 roundtable, “Guiding Quality Performance for Practitioners via Continuous Monitoring,” took place in July. Our government relations team, NAMSS Past President Diane Meldi, and NAMSS Senior Manager, Policy and Government Relations Molly Ford did an amazing job of bringing together many of our industry partners to discuss this important topic. This is an area that many organizations struggle with — defining quality performance indicators and how to monitor those performance indicators. I know for my organization, being able to improve the collection of performance data is a key factor in moving forward with a three-year reappointment cycle. Are you familiar with the ACS Surgeon Specific Registry (SSR^TM)? We learned about this from the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This is an online quality improvement tool and software application database that allows surgeons to track their cases and outcomes. More information is available here. The full Roundtable report will be published on the NAMSS website by the end of this month.

One of the last items I want to share is that with all the work on our strategic goals, the Board realized that an update to our vision and mission was needed. We have a task force currently working on this project, and I think you will be happy with the update as it better describes who we are as an association at this time and aligns with where we want to go in the future.

I hope you can join us at the conference in Denver. We have very exciting announcements that I am sure you will want to hear, and I am bursting at the seams to tell you!

Sincerely,

Lisa Goodwin

Register today for #NAMSS24.