Dear colleague,
It is my distinct honor and pleasure to serve you as president of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology this year. First and foremost, I extend my thanks and appreciation to SGO Past President Carol L. Brown, MD, FACOG, FACS, for her leadership and service. I hope to continue the progress she made on many fronts. My presidency will be shaped by three forces: Globalization, localization and transformation.
Globalization of SGO took a major step forward under Dr. Brown. Last year you, the SGO members, approved a new membership structure to make it more inclusive for our international colleagues. You sent a clear message about the importance of the international community within SGO, and the importance of SGO to the international community. I intend to build on that.
One of my first acts as president was the creation of the SGO Global Initiatives Task Force, which will convene for the first time in late May. Members include Drs. Linus Chuang, Saketh Guntupalli, Wendell Naumann, Mark Einstein, Michael Birrer, Audrey Tsunoda, Marie Plante and Muhieddine Seoud. This esteemed group is charged with developing SGO’s multi-pronged international strategy for the next five years.
In 2020, SGO will conduct its Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer outside of the United States for the first time. Program Committee Chairs Drs. Kenneth Kim and Kathleen Moore look forward to presenting SGO to the world in Toronto, Canada, March 28-31. Check now to make sure your passport is current!
While acting globally, we will not lose our focus locally. In fact, we have already identified a need for regional gynecologic oncology research presentation, education, mentoring and networking in the Southeast United States. In September 2019, we will conduct the first SGO Southeast Regional Meeting in Birmingham, AL, to fulfill this need. Southern elegance and sophistication will be on full display at the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa, situated upon a Robert Trent Jones golf course that is one of the longest in the world.
In 2019, we celebrate the 50-year history of our Society. My goal for 2020 is to take aim at the future of gynecologic oncology. The SGO 2020 Practice Survey will be critical to developing data-driven insights into how gynecologic oncology will transform to meet patient needs in the coming years. The Practice Survey Task force, headed by Drs. Barbara Goff and David Kushner, is putting the finishing touches on the next iteration of SGO’s five-year benchmarking survey that will look at demographics, practice activities and characteristics, professional environment, and personal income and benefits.
Questions in the practice survey will be more inclusive and reflective of our new membership model, with advanced practice providers, other specialists and international members encouraged to participate. The Diversity and Inclusion Task Force has submitted questions designed to measure SGO’s inclusiveness. Other new topics will address matters relevant to the gynecologic oncology care team such as clinical trials, social media, wellness/burnout and emerging treatments.
The survey will be shorter and easier to complete this time around. Our goal is for more than 51 percent of the membership to complete the survey. Your feedback will be critical to shape the future of the subspecialty in general and your individual career in particular. Please watch for an invitation to participate in the survey this spring. I look forward to reporting on the results in my Presidential Address in Toronto.
In the meantime, I welcome your comments and feedback now and throughout the year. Please reach out to me at warner.huh@sgo.org.
Best,
Warner K. Huh, MD
SGO President