The 2016 AANS Presidential Address: Leading the way

Abstract

This AANS presidential address focuses on enduring values of the neurosurgical profession that transcend the current political climate. The address was delivered by Dr. Batjer during a US presidential election year, but the authors have intentionally avoided discussing the current chaos of the American health care system in the knowledge that many pressing issues will change depending on the outcome of the 2016 elections. Instead, they have chosen to focus on clarifying what neurosurgeons, and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, in particular, stand for; identifying important challenges to these fundamental principles and values; and proposing specific actions to address these challenges. The authors cite "de-professionalism" and commoditization of medicine as foremost among the threats that confront medicine and surgery today and suggest concrete action that can be taken to reverse these trends as well as steps that can be taken to address other significant challenges. They emphasize the importance of embracing exceptionalism and never compromising the standards that have characterized the profession of neurosurgery since its inception.

The Effects of 24-Hour Neurosurgical Call on Fine Motor Dexterity, Cognition, and Mood

“…They subsequently limited interns from working more than 16-hour shifts in 2011. This has resulted in significant criticism by many physicians especially in the academic neurosurgical community [4, 6-8, 10-11, 13, 19]. Multiple studies have been conducted that have failed to show an objective benefit to patient care after the implementation of the duty hour restrictions [4, 8, 12].…”

“…The rigorous work hours that were historically demanded during training were also felt to contribute to a decreased quality of life and physician burnout [3, 10, 16, 18]. However, now there is concern that these hour restrictions have limited educational opportunities that are critical to the training of a neurological surgeon [7, 11-13, 19]. Decreasing clinical and operative exposure could be having a deleterious impact on the maturation of critical thinking and technical skills that were felt to be endangered by fatigue [1, 5-6, 8, 12-13, 19].…”

“…However, now there is concern that these hour restrictions have limited educational opportunities that are critical to the training of a neurological surgeon [7, 11-13, 19]. Decreasing clinical and operative exposure could be having a deleterious impact on the maturation of critical thinking and technical skills that were felt to be endangered by fatigue [1, 5-6, 8, 12-13, 19]. Inadequate development of surgical and clinical decision making skills and a perceived failure of professional responsibility also have the potential to affect confidence and mental well-being [20].…”

Neurosurgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center: 1956–2020

“…In his 2016 presidential address to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Batjer detailed the social contract between the public and neurosurgeons. 22 He emphasized the need to engage the community and to be active in policy leadership through local and national organizations. His opinions echoed ideas promulgated in Clark's 1982 presidential address to the same organization.…”

Twenty-five Years of Award-winning Education Publication Excellence in ASHS Journals

“…ecause of its importance to the disciplines, horticultural education has for decades had a prominent role in and been recognized by the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS). The ASHS established an Education Division with its first division meetings in 1965 (Batjer 1966). When ASHS started publishing HortTechnology in 1991 (ASHS 1990), a special section on Teaching Methods (Kelly 1990) was created to encourage publishing the scholarship of horticultural education appropriate for the mission of the publication.…”