As we head into the summer months, it’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through 2025. Before we know it, October will be here, and we’ll be together in Chicago for CHEST 2025 (October 19 to 22). I always look forward to the CHEST Annual Meeting, and this is really going to be one to remember as CHEST celebrates its 90th anniversary.
Thinking about the humble beginnings of CHEST in 1935 has me reminiscing about where I started in CHEST. To be quite honest, as a thoracic surgeon, it wasn’t an association that was on my radar. But a colleague from my general surgery training, Sandra Willsie, MD, was the Scientific Program Chair of CHEST 1997 and asked me to co-moderate a session at the annual meeting in New Orleans—and I accepted. As it turned out, the senior moderator had travel issues and I moderated the session on my own just four months out of my thoracic surgery fellowship. I enjoyed the meeting and met several young thoracic surgeons there. Because of the opportunity given to me by Dr. Willsie, my foot was already in the door.
Shortly thereafter, Alvin Thomas Jr., MD, FCCP, CHEST Past President, who was the Chair of the Scientific Presentation and Awards Committee at the time, asked me to join the committee to add a surgeon’s perspective.
I was also fortunate enough later to have been given additional CHEST opportunities from Gerard Silvestri, MD, FCCP; Patricia Rivera, MD, FCCP; Frank Detterbeck, MD, FCCP; John Studdard, MD, Master FCCP; and so many more who brought me to the role I hold today. They brought me into the Networks, invited me to take part in writing guidelines, encouraged me to apply for leadership positions, and provided countless other opportunities.
To them, I want to say…
Thank you for helping me find my home within CHEST.
To you, I say, please use this as inspiration to set your course as the next leader of CHEST. The CHEST Annual Meeting is around the corner, and it is rife with opportunities to seize.
Funding may be a challenge this year for a lot of institutions; do what you can to support fellows looking to attend the meeting by advocating for resource reallocation. Make an introduction during the Networks mixer or any of the planned social events that can be intimidating for first-time or second-time attendees. A small act of support can go a long way in someone’s career.
We are an organization that supports one another and strives to improve patient care by working together. I’m so happy that I found my home within CHEST, and I hope that you help others find their homes here too, so they can experience the wonderful, inspiring community that is this organization.
