GROWING THE SOCIETY BY MEMBERS, FOR MEMBERS

By Zoe Deol, MD, FACS

During the last five years, AVLS has evolved its structure, leadership, and resources to adapt to our ever-changing times and position the organization for success in the future. These changes, some planned, some in response to mitigating circumstances, allowed AVLS to expand its reach, recruit new members, and engage existing members. Through the development of successful leadership, decisionmaking, and programming, we have gained the necessary momentum that will bring success.

MEMBERSHIP TRENDS

AVLS’s success is dependent on its membership. Each year offers not only the challenge of retaining members but also recruiting new ones. Recruitment efforts have focused heavily on non-member attendee conversions from Annual Congress, AVLS live courses, and general promotions to our various prospect lists. Over the last five years, membership recruitment expanded through outlets and new programming, including new outreach efforts through outside society conferences, ads in external vein publications, and new lead retrieval through online educational offerings.

While member retention slowed due to COVID-19, AVLS continues to grow its membership by meeting or surpassing our annual recruitment numbers for the past three years.

From 2020 to 2022, we have seen an increase in female membership from 26% to 32%, Vascular Surgeons rising from 20% to 29%, Family/ General Practice members increasing from 14% to 18%, and an overall increase in residents/ fellows from 17 to 236 total members.

Beginning in January 2022, AVLS launched a quarterly member referral program highlighting a new incentive each quarter. These incentives include gift cards, renewal discounts, Annual Congress discounts, AVLS store products, special raffles, and non-AVLS merchandise. This program is promoted via email and social media and includes highlighting new members in the Member Connection newsletter. Refer a member at www.myavls.org/refer.

LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE

Through a series of Committee restructuring decisions led by the Member Standing Committee, AVLS increased production and efficiency of its Membership volunteers. In 2021, the Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, and International Advisory Committees merged into the Membership Advisory Committee. This committee aims to advise and support the AVLS with development and implementation of programs and policies to recruit new and retain existing members.

This committee created the International Member Recruitment Initiative to assist AVLS in translating social media posts and Annual Congress web pages. The initiative promotes new members from outside of the US and inclusivity, encouraging those different nationalities within the US to feel more included in AVLS.

The Membership Advisory Committee also updated AVLS’s academic and experiential Fellowship pathways to broaden requirements for recognizing members for their substantial commitment and contribution to the specialty of venous & lymphatic disease treatment and care. Fellows show their commitment to the field through a combination of volunteerism, authored publications, education, years of practice, leadership, and any other quality or behavior which leads to the advancement of venous & lymphatic care.

Similar to how AVLS recognizes Physician Fellows, we have developed a “Laureate” status with academic and experience pathways to acknowledge outstanding vascular technologist, advanced practice provider, nurse, and therapist members who meet a specific set of guidelines, similar to how AVLS recognizes Physician Fellows. The AVLS Board has approved proposals for Advanced Practice Providers and Vascular Technologists. A proposal for Nurses and Lymphedema Therapists is currently in development.

AVLS also introduced a new Mentorship Task Force in 2022. This group is responsible for making recommendations for AVLS’s Mentorship Program, including promoting the program, developing functions and guidelines, and matching mentors with mentees. The Mentorship Program debuted as a part of the 2021 Annual Congress. It was designed to facilitate a member’s professional growth by allowing them to tap into the experience and resources of well-established venous and lymphatic care physicians and health professionals. Upon successful completion, AVLS launched a year-long mentorship campaign beginning in 2021, expanding beyond Annual Congress.

In 2019, AVLS added a new volunteer group, the Lymphatic & Integumentary Rehabilitation (LIR) Specialty Section. The LIR Specialty Section was designed to comprehensively and holistically address patient management issues, associated complications, and contributing factors that lead to lymphatic, integumentary, and functional impairments related to lymphedema. Lymphatic pathophysiology requires a team approach to maximize patient outcomes and knowledge and appreciation of the inter-relationship of the body systems for prehabilitation, rehabilitation, restoration, and maintenance to improve quality of life. Even in its infancy, this group has conducted some of AVLS’s most popular webinars and Annual Congress content with LIR webinars averaging 229 registrants compared to the overall webinar average of 169 registrants.

NEW BENEFITS & RESOURCES

In 2019, The Mel Rosenblatt Distinguished Service Award was created to recognize exemplary service by an individual in the field of venous & lymphatic medicine. This award honors individuals whose service substantially contributes to realizing the mission and vision of the American Vein & Lymphatic Society in such a manner as to significantly impact the field and our patients while inspiring those around them to act.

AVLS launched a series of free webinars in 2020, ranging from practice resources to assist during the COVID-19 pandemic to CME offerings on Lymphedema, Venous Stenting, and more. Each webinar produced non-member prospects for future membership recruitment. AVLS continues to gain positive returns on attendees and new members through its series of complimentary webinars. Each webinar attracted non-member prospects for future membership recruitment. In 2021, AVLS held eight webinars (non-Congress) with a total of 2,160 registrants, 1,399 of which were unique users.

In 2020, AVLS began offering Organizational Membership for venous and lymphatic medical practices. Through the agreement, we offer organizations the opportunity to have their physicians and allied health staff join at a discounted rate, which includes complimentary live and online educational credits. Indiana Vein Specialists joined as the first organizational member, with 12 allied health professionals and two physician members. Four more organizations have enjoyed Organizational Members program benefits.

AVLS introduced its first virtual reality educational offering in 2020, Immersive Sclerotherapy: VR 360. This was an excellent opportunity to obtain CME credit from the comfort of your own home. In 2020, we achieved 42 registrations, and the feedback from the registrants has been overwhelmingly positive with 80% of respondants saying they would participate in another VR course. In 2022, AVLS updated its Sclerotherapy course with a second edition and added Introduction to Venous Insufficiency.

My AVLS Community (MAC) launched in 2020 as an online outlet for member communication and networking. The goal was to provide a space for members to ask questions and discuss topics with each other. In this space, members can start discussion threads, respond to others, connect with members through direct messaging, and upload or download resources that will help improve the care provided to patients. This members-only community has increased member engagement while also allowing segmented groups within AVLS a place to communicate with each other, for example, committees, task forces, sections, etc.

In 2020, AVLS partnered with Vitadox.com to help our members reach new patients for vascular and lymphatic system-related symptoms, conditions, and treatment options. AVLS members were given a June 30 deadline to claim their profile to ensure they can showcase expertise, highlight medical services, and share success stories while establishing credibility, improving their online reputation, attracting new patients, and booking appointments. AVLS continues to reach out to members with unclaimed profiles to encourage participation.

AVLS launched a new member portal in 2021. This project was implemented with the members in mind, with the primary goal of streamlining navigation and creating a more user-friendly atmosphere. The new portal features include profile management, online member engagement, and a new membership storefront. Since its launch in 2021, 85% of members have logged in to their profiles to update their information. We have also seen a direct correlation between member logins and multiple YM transactions, with 70% of logins paying their dues, 98% registering for courses and webinars, and 8% purchasing merchandise.

The AVLS ePass was created in 2022 to make online learning more accessible. This annual subscription to our eLibrary (recorded content and webinars) grants access to recorded AVLS webinars and short courses to view at your convenience. Seven recorded webinars and virtual courses are currently available in the ePass catalog. The subscription will expand to no less than 20 recorded sessions and a minimum of 100 hours. Most ePass courses are eligible for 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. As new courses are added, ePass holders automatically receive access. The full online educational catalog is available at www.myavls. org/online-edu