This post was authored by William Bommer, MD, FACC, governor of the California chapter of the ACC.

The ACC was founded by dedicated physicians who wanted to improve professional education and cardiovascular health. Subsequent generations have continued to foster optimal cardiovascular care and disease prevention through professional education, promotion of research, leadership in the development of standards and guidelines, and the formulation of health care policy. The development of future leaders requires education, training, and mentoring. In comparing the nurturing, growth, development, and success of our leaders, it is interesting to compare this process to the management and culture of grape vineyards. 

A grapevine starts as a grape-seed that requires light, heat, water, air and soil. With the proper nutrients and climate, the seed can germinate and develop shoots that reach out to the sun. With continued cultivation, nurturing, vine training, and pruning, the vine can flourish and produce valuable fruit. The fruit can ultimately provide food and drink to its caretakers. The new seeds can be sewn and produce new vines for future generations.

Similar qualities can be found in our ACC leadership development program. Our leaders begin by starting as Fellows in Training, graduate to become Fellows in the College, and then become involved in College Committees, Chapters or Councils under the tutelage of former leaders. They develop into leaders themselves with their own unique flavor, color, and qualities. At that point they bear fruit to sustain the membership and ultimately the patients that we serve. This fruit will also produce the seeds that will generate new members that will become the future of the College.

Much like the agricultural process, leadership in the ACC depends on the guidance of previous leaders, and requires just the right amount of nourishment.  If you are a leader, I encourage you to reach out to your Fellows in Training to develop a relationship and to help mentor. If you are a Fellow in Training, I encourage you to get involved in the ACC and in your local state chapters, and get to know your leaders.

Together we can ensure that the ACC continues to produce the best of the best.

Last week, current ACC leadership and incoming leaders came together in Washington, DC to gain the knowledge and tools needed to be effective leaders in transforming cardiovascular care and improving health. In addition to getting up to speed on ACC basics and strategic priorities, attendees of the annual Leadership Forum had a chance to network and hone skills for communication and collaboration, running effective meetings in a digital world, and decision making. As the pace of life continues to increase and we juggle competing priorities, revisiting the foundations of leadership is crucial for all of us.

Everyone has their own definition of leadership. In my option, a successful leader is someone who not only has a strong vision and strategic plan, but can also inspire and guide others.  As cardiovascular professionals, we have all dedicated ourselves to continuous education in various corners of cardiology. However, our obligations to professional development as well as our practices and hospitals often leave a gap in leadership opportunities. Taking an active leadership role in the College allows us to identify shared aspirations, enlist others in a common vision, and ultimately help shape the future of cardiology.

One of the highlights of the Forum was the keynote speaker during Friday’s dinner. In front of a packed house of 180 ACC leaders, speaker Vincent Covello, PhD, offered strategies for communicating effectively about high stress, high concern or controversial issues, something we’re all familiar with given our choice of career paths. “High concern situations change the rules of communication,” Covello noted. “The key to risk communication success is anticipation, preparation and practice.” His closing remarks caught my attention. A quote from Mark Twain: “It takes me an average of two weeks to prepare an impromptu speech.” Now that’s something for all of us to ponder.

I truly enjoy this conference more and more every year. It’s an opportunity to bridge veteran leadership with fresh ideas from promising new leaders and promises to have a transformational impact on the College and cardiology in 2013 and beyond.

Check out a video from my colleague David May, MD, FACC, incoming chair of the BOG on the important roles leaders play at the ACC:

Last week I had the chance to attend the Cardiovascular Summit: Solutions for Thriving in a Time of Change, held in Las Vegas. The CV Summit started last year with much success and continued this year with more than 400 attendees!  It was a superb meeting that left participants with more knowledge, solutions, and next steps to thrive as physicians in a time of uncertainty and continuous change.

The meeting kicked-off with sessions on the status of health care reform in the U.S. and the potential impact on cardiovascular medicine over the next few years. The keynote address, given by Harold Miller, executive director of the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, taught us ways that physicians can lead the way to a new reimbursement system that rewards quality, rather than quantity, while saving money for the health care system.

The following day covered data management and the cardiovascular service line, essentially how to work better with each other and using data to connect the dots, as well as how to implement a solid infrastructure from the get-go.

In a special workshop for congenital heart disease professionals, ACC Senior VP of Advocacy Jim Fasules, MD, FACC, shared Medicaid changes expected as a result of the Affordable Care Act, as well as widely anticipated value-based purchasing programs and their potential effects on pediatric cardiology.

In addition, due to the massive coding changes this year stemming from the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, a pre-conference session discussed appropriate documentation for those codes and concerns about audits.

Finally, the Summit appropriately concluded with sessions on leadership and governance. Workshops on finance and evolving payment models discussed contracts, horizontal integration, incentivizing physician and MLP compensation, and more, and left attendees with ways to deal with the new, evolving environment – things that they don’t necessarily teach you in medical school.

In the session on strategic change and how to keep your organization from becoming irrelevant, W. Martin, MD, eloquently stated that change never stops. There may be a reprieve between changes, but a broader vision requires a next evolution, another change. I couldn’t agree more, and it is our duty to educate ourselves and lead the change.

Special thanks to everyone involved for making this meeting a huge success, especially Howard Walpole, Jr., MBA, MD, FACC, course director of the ACC Cardiovascular Summit, and Pamela S. Douglas, MD, MACC and C. Michael Valentine, MD, FACC, course co-directors.

Be sure to check out ACC’s Facebook page for photos from the CV Summit.

Stay on top of 2013 changes and efficiently and accurately report cardiovascular services and procedures with the updated 2013 CPT® Reference Guide for Cardiovascular Coding. Visit CardioSource.org/CPT to order your copy.

Last week I was at Heart House for the December Board of Trustees meeting.  We had a packed agenda and a lot of great ideas were discussed about the future of the College. Among them, the Board approved financing of our digital strategy (highlighted in latest issue of Cardiology magazine), saw a preview of the exciting new design and functionality of the CardioSmart.org website to be launched at ACC.13, heard a compelling ACC Internal Value statement from ACC staff, celebrated reaching more than 6,000 international members, and approved the formation of ACC’s Italy Chapter, our 25th International Chapter! 

The BOT also congratulated the newly elected Board of Governors and its new Chair, Dr. David May, and Chair-Elect, Dr. Michael Mansour. I am also pleased to share that the BOT made its recommendations for the 2013-2014 officers and trustees of the College.  Congratulations to the slated officers Drs. John Gordon Harold, Patrick T. O’Gara, Kim Allan Williams, BOT members Drs. Blair D. Erb and Michael J. Mack, and our new public member trustee Debra L. Ness, MS.  The College is proud to have, for the first time in its history, a public member on its Board of Trustees, who would bring a closer public and patient perspective.  The term of the above nominees will start during ACC.13 in San Francisco.

I can also share that the CEO candidate search is moving along as we spent much of the weekend interviewing our first round of candidates.  As I assured the ACC staff during a presentation on Monday, we have an astounding selection of candidates, but as Aesop once said, “slow and steady wins the race.” We are doing very well and do not want to rush the decision making process. However, we should be on track for a CEO to be chosen hopefully by ACC.13.

On Dec. 4, I flew to New York to attend the first Forbes Healthcare Summit. It was a great full day meeting at the Time Warner Center, assembling key stakeholders within the healthcare debate. Many prominent physicians, CEOs of Pharma, healthcare professionals and patient advocates addressed current challenges and opportunities to make our healthcare system more sustainable. Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief, Forbes Media assembled great panels and presenters, and emphasized putting the consumer in the center of our healthcare industry, to improve affordability, accessibility and transparency.

From there I attended the 45th Annual New York Cardiovascular Symposium chaired by Dr. Valentin Fuster. The symposium was attended by close to 2,000 individuals, half of whom were international participants from all over the world. I gave opening remarks, highlighting our digital strategy, how ACC is sharing knowledge using digital media that complements important face-to-face meetings like the Symposia and our Annual Scientific Session. The NYCV Symposium was started 45 years ago by Dr. Henry I. Russek, and has been chaired by Dr. Fuster for the past 23 years!  Kudos to these two giants for carrying the torch of education for almost half a century.

Speaking of digital media, have you downloaded the Cardiology Magazine App yet? You can easily access the magazine on your tablets or smart phone.  Also, if you haven’t flipped through the Nov./Dec. issue of Cardiology magazine yet, there are a number of articles worth reading including the many values of ACC membership beyond the FACC and ACC designations, solutions for an evolving clinical environment that involve the entire cardiac care team, latest chapter and international news, and more. Download the App here or check out the online issue at CardioSource.org/Cardiology.

Over the past few weeks I’ve gotten a glimpse into the not-so-distant future of the ACC and Cardiology. Last week’s 21st Annual Legislative Conference was a huge success thanks to the efforts of 400 attendees, many of whom traveled to our nation’s capital and participated in the Hill visits. This was a record attendance! We were very pleased to have over 70 fellows-in-training (FITs) and over 60 Cardiac Care Associates (CCAs) in attendance during the briefings and Hill visits. I was inspired to see this growing support from the physicians and associates who are the future of cardiology. Their involvement was indeed palpable and inspiring. You can read about the perspective of different member types including an FIT, CCA, Cardiovascular Administrator and International member here on the blog in coming days.

After the conference, I had a chance to attend the “Teaching Skills Workshop for Emerging Faculty” at Heart House conducted by Drs. Pat O’Gara and Rick Nishimura and generously supported since its inception in 2005 by ACC Past President Dr. Michael Wolk. I also had dinner with these bright young cardiologists and CV surgeons, some of whom came all the way from Israel. The workshop promotes the development of skills (effective individual presentations, teaching, and communication) for those emerging faculty who are committed to contributing to the College’s mission of education and to facilitate this transfer of knowledge into their professional environment. It is invigorating to see such stellar and engaged professionals, a glimpse of our future educational and thought leaders.  I had a chance also to address them formally and tell them about the College and how they can get involved.  I even showed them an impromptu taped testimonial (that I did in my office on my iPhone!) of the effect of this intense workshop on a previous graduate who is among our faculty—Dr. Steve Little, who is now a young star.

This program has been phenomenal. Since 2005, we’ve had a total of 82 participants in 4 courses (given every other year); the skills and relationships developed at the workshop have led to their involvement in close to 600 activities or appointments at ACC to date. During my presentation I reiterated the fact that the ACC is always looking for involvement at every career stage. The College is accepting nominations and applications for committee and council membership through Oct. 31. All ACC Fellows (FACC/MACCs), FITs, CCAs, and Cardiovascular Administrators are invited to nominate a colleague or apply for membership online at https://services.acc.org/CommitteeNominations.

Looking ahead, the College is now accepting applications for the Chief Executive Officer of the ACC. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, the College selected Korn/Ferry International, a leading global executive recruitment and talent management firm, to work with the search committee tasked with hiring our new CEO. Our hope is to have the CEO named by next year’s Annual Scientific Sessions held March 9 – 11, 2013 in San Francisco, CA. You can read the job description, apply or refer someone for the position here.

The College’s future leaders and CEO will help guide the College in its continued pursuit of the singular mission to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health. From what I can see, the future is very promising and exciting indeed!

(pictured above: Over 70 FITs attended Legislative Conference, view more photos here)

This post was authored by John Gordon Harold, MD, MACC, president elect of the ACC.

Heart disease claimed another American icon over the weekend. Neil Armstrong, the astronaut who was a member of the Apollo 11 crew and made history when he became the first man to step on the moon in 1969, died from “complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures.”

With the flood of tributes and press coverage over the past few days telling the story of Armstrong and the Apollo 11 crew, I am reminded of those moments in life and individuals who have the power to change lives. How many of us can remember where we were when Armstrong said his now famous words: “that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”? I remember it vividly and I was in Ireland watching the moon landing in the early hours of the morning Irish time and hearing "Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed.”  Armstrong’s Apollo 11 crew member Buzz Aldrin had shared with me that the lunar lander had only 60 seconds of fuel with 100 feet to touchdown. I had the privilege of being with the three Apollo 11 astronauts at City Hall in New York City on August 12, 1969 when then Mayor John V. Lindsay welcomed them to New York City following a  ticker tape parade on Broadway.

The Apollo 11 astronauts had fulfilled President Kennedy's pledge to land a man on the moon and as Apollo 11 flight director Gene Kranz stated "It was risky, but it was typical America. You know this is 'what Americans can dare, Americans can do.'" Neil Armstrong, remained modest, always saying he was just part of the team and nation that made it happen. Armstrong once stated: “… I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don't intend to waste any of mine…” Although Armstrong became a household name, in the world of cardiology we should not take for granted the daily impact we have our patient’s lives. In our field we are also exposed to individuals that motivate and encourage us to push ourselves to our maximum potential and have impacted us for the better. The NASA astronauts had the “right stuff” and inspired professionalism and mentorship as exemplified by my friend astronaut Story Musgrave who spoke on leadership to our Board of Governors.

Mentorship is an important part of our field, and years ago I developed the International “Twinning Program” in order to collaborate and share educational programs and resources, as well as participate in institutional visits, lecture tours and mini-preceptorships. Along with Dr. John Ryan, a Facebook page for the Irish and British Cardiac Community has been created for all cardiovascular professionals who have Irish and British background. Through this group we hope to foster relationships and mentorship, plus it really is a small world and you never know who you could be related to (read about “a celestial convergence,” in my previous blog post, here).

Enhancing the lives of patients is at the core of the College’s mission, and each year the College recognizes esteemed individuals who have made significant contributions to the profession. The ACC Distinguished Awards are presented each year during the Convocation ceremony at the Annual Scientific Session, and range from early career distinguished awards, mid-to-late career distinguished awards and the honorable Master of the American College of Cardiology award. Nominations are open until Sept. 7 so check out the list (which includes two new categories for Distinguished Associate and Distinguished Mentor) and get your letters of support together to nominate those who have positively influenced our lives and given us “one giant leap” in the field of cardiology.

I am excited to share some updates about the ACC’s search for a new chief executive officer (CEO). The ACC has selected Korn/Ferry International, a leading global executive recruitment and talent management firm, to work with the search committee tasked with hiring a new CEO. The search committee, which consists of 15 ACC member leaders and staff, is currently soliciting input from an array of stakeholders, including members of the ACC’s Board of Trustees, the Board of Governors, past-presidents, council chairs, next generation leaders and staff. It is our hope to have a new CEO in place by next year’s annual meeting in San Francisco. Interested candidates should contact Lorraine Lavet, lorraine.lavet[at]kornferry.com.

Meanwhile, as I mentioned in a previous blog post, the College is operating under the current leadership of Interim Chief Staff Officer Tom Arend, who has done a phenomenal job.  In addition, College leaders continue to step up to the plate and have been busy representing the ACC on Capitol Hill and at cardiovascular meetings around the globe. Former ACC President Doug Weaver, MD, MACC, testified on physician payment last week and this week Jerry Kennett, MD, FACC, will be representing the College before the House Small Business Committee on the topic of “Health Care Realignment and Regulation: The Demise of Small and Solo Medical Practices?” We’ve also had representation by ACC members at recent FDA committee hearings on new drugs and devices.

On the international front, the ACC-Brazilian Society of Cardiology (SBC) Cardiovascular Symposium featuring Valentin Fuster, MD, MACC, in Sao Paulo was a phenomenal success with over 2,000 attendees. Thank you and many congratulations to SBC President Jadelson Pinheiro de Andrade, MD, and ACC Brazil Chapter Governor Antonio Chagas, MD, FACC, for such a phenomenal event. The ACC Mexico Chapter recently held a very successful annual meeting that BOG Chair Dipti Itchhaporia, MD, FACC, President-Elect John Harold, MD, MACC, and I attended. The meeting, hosted by ACC Mexico Governor Erick Alexanderson, MD, FACC, was held at the Mexican National Institute of Cardiology “Ignacio Chavez,” which was the first heart hospital when it opened in 1944. Erick is an inspirational leader and is big on FIT involvement in the chapter and will be bringing FITs to Legislative Conference this September. I’ve also had the pleasure of attending the Spanish Cardiology Society meeting, where I celebrated the Twinning of the ACC Florida Chapter and the Spanish Cardiology Society. Special thank you to Juan Aranda, MD, FACC, and Vicente Bertomeu, MD, FACC, president of the Spanish Cardiology Society. I also can’t leave out the once in a lifetime opportunity to represent the ACC and CardioSmart in the Olympic Torch Relay in England. Meeting many other torch bearers, each with a unique story of community service, entrepreneurship for charity or health, or personal courage was heartwarming and inspiring.

Speaking of carrying the torch, ACC’s amazing members and staff continues to carry the College’s flame. Planning is already well underway for ACC.13 in San Francisco, with registration slated to open next month. We are also making significant headway on our College-wide digital strategy and new lifelong learning platform – both of which will launch soon. Just this week we also launched an amazing new live case series on CardioSource.org. Working with Mt. Sinai hospital, we will be live streaming complex cardiovascular cases at 8 a.m. ET on the third Tuesday of each month.  Cases can be viewed by visiting CardioSource and will be archived for future viewing.

This summer has been a busy one thus far, with even more meetings and excitement to come. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @WilliamZoghbi and follow ACC @ACCinTouch for the latest cv updates.

(pictured top to bottom: ACC Mexico Chapter meeting; Twinning of the ACC Florida Chapter and the Spanish Cardiology Society.)

This post was authored by John Gordon Harold, MD, MACC, president elect of the ACC.

While flipping through the latest issue of CardioSource WorldNews, I came across the Up and Coming Section featuring “Future Stars of Cardiology” like Patrick Calvert, MD, PhD, who has just finished at 1-year research and interventional fellowship at Hôpital Bichat in Paris, and Marc Dweck, BSc, MBChB, a cardiology specialist registrar and BHF clinical research fellow in Edinbergh, UK.

Several years ago I developed the International “Twinning Program” for ACC along with catalyzing the creation of the UK-Ireland Chapter. “Twinning” involves an ACC state chapter and an international chapter partnering to collaborate and share educational programs and resources, as well as participating in institutional visits, lecture tours and mini-preceptorships.

The California Chapter of the ACC and the British Cardiovascular Society (BSC) created the first “Twinning Program” and I helped implement the ACC-BCS Fellowship in Cardiovascular Imaging between California’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where I currently practice, and London’s Royal Brompton Hospital.

Last year Marc Dweck approached me during the BCS Meeting in Manchester and asked if he could come to Cedars for a Cardiac CT preceptorship. I arranged the opportunity and Marc spent several fruitful weeks at Cedars (read an article of his in a recent issue of JACC here). During the exit interview we discussed our mutual heritage. My ancestors were from Scotland, England and Ireland. I also shared that my Grand Uncle died fighting for the British Army during World War I. Marc mentioned that his wife had lost a relative in World War I as well. Upon returning to Scotland, Marc sent an e-mail several weeks later asking about some coincidences he observed as his spouse has a relative with the last name Harold. It turns out we lost the same relative in World War I, and I am a second cousin. I was completely unaware of this section of the family! The picture in CardioSource WorldNews of Marc’s family includes their most recent addition who was baptized in the same robe as my Great Uncle – as it has been passed on to Marc’s wife’s family. The robe was first used by the Harold family at York Minster in 1861.

I’ve also learned that Patrick Calvert who was also honored in the same CardioSource WorldNews article is the brother-in-law of Marc! He also stood on the ACC.10 dais behind me and I had no idea at the time that they were related. I had two relatives on the dais with me at ACC.11.

What a celestial convergence! In order to hopefully help us learn about these coincidences and foster these relationships moving forward, we are working on developing a Facebook group for the Celtic and British Cardiac Community for all cardiovascular professionals who have the Celtic and British background. It will launch in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!  Also be sure to check out the International Center on CardioSource, CardioSource.org/International.

Last year it was decided that the annual ACC Executive Committee (EC) retreat – usually held around this time of the year at the ACC’s “Heart House” headquarters in Washington, DC — be held in the city where the current ACC president resides. The rationale behind this move was so that the College’s senior leadership team, including staff leaders, could meet and interact in a different setting and engage, while also getting a pulse on local issues and topics.

With this in mind, last week the EC travelled to Houston, TX. We had a great meeting and I had the opportunity to host everyone in my home for some delicious Lebanese food, thanks to my wife Huda! The second day we visited the Methodist Hospital and the Methodist Hospital Research Institute where the team interacted with the hospital leadership. We toured the Methodist Institution of Technology, Innovation and Education (MITIE), fully dedicated to education and simulation. Importantly, we had a town hall meeting with more than 250 professionals, practitioners and trainees from around the Texas Medical Center regarding the future of health care and cardiovascular medicine. The panelists were the leaders of institutions from around the Texas Medical Center — which is the largest in the world and employs about 100,000 individuals – and included Marc Boom, MD, president and CEO of the Methodist Hospital System; David Fine, president and CEO of St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Care System; Ralph Brindis, MD, MPH, MACC, past president of the ACC and senior advisor for Cardiovascular Disease, Northern California Kaiser Permanente; Vivian Ho, PhD, the James Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at Rice University; and David Lopez, president and CEO of Harris County Hospital District. I had the opportunity to moderate the discussion of this extraordinary panel of experts. You will be interested in this very open discussion that transcends the Houston market and addresses important issues of our health care system, opportunities and challenges.

On another note, the ACC leadership team will be in touch throughout the year with our sister societies and specialty cardiology societies to listen and collaborate on cardiovascular health care issues of mutual interest. We plan to visit with them at their meetings or at Heart House. This week, John Harold, MD, FACC, president elect of the ACC, Tom Arend, interim chief staff officer and I will be at the HRS meeting in Boston and at the SCAI meeting in Las Vegas.

Moving forward, communication, collaboration and engagement are key to our effectiveness in the health care arena. We will be in touch…Keep in touch!

Look for more photos of the EC retreat and the town hall meeting on the ACC's Facebook page.