Letter from the President By Dr. Marlin Schul, AVLS President 2019-2020
It has been an honor and privilege to serve the Society over the past two years. In my wildest dreams, I could not have imagined the organization I have known for 16 years to have evolved into such an active society. In no particular order, I will share some highlights of the AVLS and where we are going as we transition executive leadership. I am grateful for my time leading this Society. I look forward to maintaining my involvement in various committees and as Chairman of the Foundation for Venous & Lymphatic Disease.
I’ll spell out details in the areas below, but THIS SOCIETY IS RELEVANT due to our commitment to advocacy and research. • myAVLS Community (MAC) Became Reality – Members connecting with members is always a goal. How can we build more awareness of the process and share interesting cases? How can members learn more about a specific condition or educational offering? The MAC allows providers to post videos, ask other members about compelling cases, and get real-time feedback. Although in its infancy, we anticipate Ultrasound Sections, Lymphedema Sections, Advocacy Sections, etc. The board’s vision of finding more ways to connect members through the myAVLS Community is accomplishing its intent, and I encourage you to become engaged and share any feedback you may have.
MEMBER SERVICES • Name Change to Fit the Scope of Practice and Description of our Membership – We have learned that swollen legs do not always have a reflux cause of the problem. Early data from the AVLS PRO Venous Registry estimates that no less than 3% of all visits have a lymphatic component as their primary problem. More and more providers have incorporated services for the lymphedema in their practices. In fact, of the American Vein & Lymphatic Society (AVLS) educational offerings, those involving lymphedema are consistently the most popular sessions.
• AVLS moved Annual Congress from November – The AVLS meeting calendar shifted to early or mid-October as the target dates for the foreseeable future. This timing offers better access for our members, avoiding the time crunch in November, increasing the accessibility for our members to our annual Congress, and navigating the Thanksgiving holiday during a traditionally busy time of the year.
• A True Shift in Mission Has Taken Flight, Built on Pillars of Advocacy, Research, and Education – As Mark Meissner said at the time, “We have always delivered on education, and expansion to the other areas adds value if we can do it right.” Indeed, advocacy is vital to every specialty, and the approach is not as easy as saying “we are advocates.”
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