Volunteering is a great way to give back and can be truly meaningful. Myriad worthwhile causes exist, so it can be hard to choose among them, but donating time to ACR and ARP committees helps promote rheumatology practice and brings awareness to rheumatic diseases. The College relies on volunteers to help achieve strategic priorities, promote…

Our New Executive Vice President Discusses His Aspirations for the ACR
I was honored to be invited by Paula to write this column about my aspirations for the ACR’s future. As one might expect, I am also humbled by the prospect of trying to encapsulate the vision that has already been so elegantly provided by ACR leadership and its board of directors: “As the leading authority…

Learn to Lead: Tips for Diagnosing & Resolving Conflict
CHICAGO—Resolving conflict doesn’t start with clever strategizing, but with understanding the bigger picture and the factors that led to conflict in the first place, from cultural differences to resistance to change, an expert said at the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in a session about how to be a better leader. “To me, what’s often missing…
Lead Effectively: Leaders Are Made, not Born
Every year at the end of January, ACR and ARP volunteers gather in Atlanta to learn more about a subject we seldom are taught in any formal way in our professional training: leadership. The 2019 Leadership Development Conference took place on Saturday, Jan. 26 and offered participants a unique opportunity to step away from their…

ARHP Member Karla Jones Builds Network within Pediatric Rheumatology
Questions that come to mind when you are specialized within a subspecialty: How can I build a network of peers? Where can I find resources and tools that apply to me? Do organizations exist that can provide me with opportunities for growth and leadership? As a pediatric nurse practitioner in rheumatology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital…

The ACR Board of Directors Adopts 5-Year Strategic Plan
Rheumatology is at a critical juncture in our history. To advance into the future, the ACR must thoroughly prepare for changing political landscapes, emerging technologies and workforce challenges. On May 12, the ACR Board of Directors met in Washington, D.C., to approve our ambitious new Strategic Plan for 2017–2022. This plan encompasses five strategic themes…

ARHP President Dr. Afton L. Hassett’s Rise from Annual Meeting Attendee to Leadership Role
Current ARHP President Afton L. Hassett, PsyD—a clinical psychologist and an associate research scientist in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan—attended her first ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in 1999. Dr. Hassett submitted an abstract to the meeting describing her dissertation research exploring the role of pain and depression in rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. It…

Volunteers Wanted to Join the ACR’s Committees, Board of Directors, Research Foundation
In 1974, President Nixon established a week in April to recognize the importance of volunteering. National Volunteer Week is scheduled for April 23–29 this year. At the College, we like to acknowledge and thank our volunteers year round. The mission of the College cannot be achieved without the time, effort, talent and dedication of our…

Participate in Virtual Capitol Hill Meetings with the ACR
On May 11, ACR leadership representatives from the Board of Directors, the Affiliate Societies Council and the Committee on Government Affairs and RheumPAC will take the ACR’s policy messages to Capitol Hill for the Advocacy Leadership Conference. There is power in numbers, so we hope you will participate in our Virtual Hill Day by visiting…

Stony Brook University’s Rheumatology Department History, Leadership in the Spotlight
The State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook was founded in 1957, and is currently known as Stony Brook University. In the 1970s, when the Health Sciences Center was still in the cocoon stages of its metamorphosis, the School of Medicine, under the brilliant stewardship of Marvin Kuschner, MD, was already on a mission…