Commentary
Video
Mission Behind AUPN’s Annual Meeting
Author(s):
Panelists John England, MD, FAAN, and Lisa Merlin, MD, discuss the main objectives of the upcoming AUPN Annual Meeting, set to take place September 14th in Orlando, Florida.
The AUPN held its first official meeting on June 12, 1967, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, led by interim chairman Dr. Maynard Cohen. This meeting established the Constitution and Bylaws and elected the initial Board of Trustees, comprising Dr. Cohen, Dr. David Daly, Dr. Erland Nelson, Dr. David Clark, and Dr. Norman Geschwind. Following the formal adoption of the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws in 1968, the organization's initial officers were elected, with Dr. Cohen serving as the first president.
The organization began its activities in June 1968, addressing various issues such as relationships with the Council of Academic Societies, evaluation of training programs, the impact of federal programs on neurologist training, and research funding. Major concerns for AUPN included legislative issues, representation of neurology, curriculum development, and maintaining communication with key medical organizations. Notable efforts included advocating for the reinstatement of the internship requirement for neurology certification and developing the Neurology Matching Program (NEMP) to streamline resident recruitment and appointments.
On September 14th, the organization will host its first-ever annual meeting, held at the Hilton Orlando Convention Hotel in Orlando, Florida. The AUPN Annual Meeting takes place in conjunction with the 149th Annual Meeting of the American Neurological Association (ANA). Prior to the meeting, NeurologyLive® hosted a panel discussion featuring John England, MD, current president of AUPN, and Lisa Merlin, MD, FAAN, FANA, one of the organizers of the meeting.
In this episode, England, who also serves as the Richard M. Patterson Professor and chair of neurology at the LSU Health Science Center School of Medicine, and Merlin, who is the Distinguished Professor and vice chair for education at Downstate Health Sciences University, discussed the mission of the meeting and who may benefit from attending.
For more information on attending the meeting, click here.
Transcript is edited below for clarity.
John England, MD: The AUPN annual meeting, which is our first in many years, is geared to all leaders and aspiring leaders in academic neurology. I think that we have assembled a nice program that is not only directed at departmental chairs, but program directors of residency and fellowship programs, clerkship directors for medical students who do rotations on neurology. We also have special sessions on new chairs, and some of us who have been chairs for a long time will try to give them some advice. That's a difficult thing in this era, and we are also focusing more on women leaders in neurology, trying to promote women in neurology. Along with that, [we’re] focusing on other diversity, equity, and inclusion criteria to help not only a selection of residents, but faculty and new leaders in neurology for the 21st century.
Lisa Merlin, MD: I would summarize that by saying basically it's for anybody in academic neurology. Everybody, especially [those] in leadership positions, those of us who are invested in teaching the next generation of medical students, residents, and running departments. We will be able to get together and have an opportunity to collaborate. I think that's the major advantage of this meeting. It's small and has all of us in one place.
