Interim CEO Update 08/01/2024

I Made the Decision to Join … Now What? Time to Dive in the Deep End

Let me tell you about my summer! For an intense 6-to-8-week period, my family is fully engrossed in “summer swim.” If you ever had the opportunity to be part of this subculture, you soon realize it is consuming! We spend countless (and often exhausting) hours at early morning practice 5x a week, volunteering at Saturday morning swim meets, Friday evening pep rallies, Monday evening meets and more. While consuming, it is also REWARDING! And, that is the reason my family keeps going back year after year.

Why am I telling you about my summer pool activities? Because belonging to the pool is more closely aligned with your professional society than you might realize. The pool is a membership-based organization – just like ACPM. Each year, our family makes the decision to join. We pay the dues. We volunteer. And most importantly, we engage … and that is where we find the reward, the fulfillment and the commitment to be part of something that makes a difference. In my case, it’s a difference in the experience for my family and so many others who belong. For you, it’s making a difference in your profession, your specialty, and in the broader sense of preventive medicine, it is a difference in population and public health across the country!

If you haven’t taken that first step to engage, how do you get started? At the beginning of our first year at the pool, the team lead walked over and asked if we wanted to volunteer at the first swim meet of the season. We politely responded with an “absolutely not.” It wasn’t because we didn’t want to help. It was because we were intimidated … we didn’t know what was involved or what role we could play. It seemed safer to sit on the sidelines. But it certainly wasn’t more fun!

I invite you to join the fun, jump in the deep end and find the ACPM path that gets you engaged. As YOUR professional society, as a membership-based organization, you shape the College. From engaging in a Sipping Session to leading a Career Conversation, participating in a task group, joining a committee, helping to plan the PM conference, serving as faculty or a mentor, meeting with a Special Interest Group, leading a Section to support young physicians or students, submitting an abstract, writing a position statement, developing a policy statement, serving as a representative for the College to external groups, and so much more, there is an opportunity for you to make a difference, leave your mark, and be part of something special.

Tell us what interests you by submitting an engagement application. Want to talk through the possibilities? Reach out to membership@acpm.org.

You made the decision to join … now it’s time to engage!

Melissa Ferrari, CAE
Interim CEO