FMIGS – The Backbone of Our Organization
The close of another year reminds us to reflect on where we’ve been, where we’re going, and what we’re grateful for. In thinking about 2018 for FMIGS, I want to extend sincere gratitude for the opportunity to serve as its board president this year. It has been an honor and privilege to work with AAGL and its outstanding staff, as well as the truly amazing group of physicians on the board. This small community has become another family whose company I’m blessed by on a weekly basis, all of whom are an inspiration as we work together on our common mission of elevating gynecologic surgery through the education of our trainees.
2018 was another big year for the Fellowship. This year saw some changes in its committees. We expanded the Fellows Pelvic Research Network (congratulations to the authors of the first FPRN-MIGS publication!)1 to a larger Research Committee whose inaugural efforts include assembling a set of online resources for Fellows and creating a distance research consultation program. In addition, we now have a Young Alumni Network which has done a remarkable job keeping recently graduated Fellows engaged with our organization in horizontal and vertical ways. I think we can all agree YAN and the AAGL staff did a terrific job with this year’s FMIGS graduation, and I’m grateful for all the hard work that went into making the night a special one.
Congratulations to the 2018 Graduates!
Having outgrown our original roots, FMIGS has matured into a professional interest partner with AAGL, which allows us to lean on the experience and resources of our parent organization and fall under its guidance in a productive and symbiotic fashion. And, under the direction of the Liaison Committee, we aided ABOG in its application to the American Board of Medical Specialties to recognize a Focused Practice in MIGS with vetted membership and maintenance of certification.
We trained another round of surgeons at the Advanced Robotics Course in the spring and the Surgical Boot Camp in the summer. A newly-crafted Education Committee that will include members from both AAGL’s and FMIGS’s leadership has the task of creating an even more dynamic didactic program for 2019.
In many ways, the Fellowship is the backbone of our organization, training our future leaders for MIGS research, clinical, and educational goals. That MIGS was, yet again, the most competitive OB/GYN subspecialty in the NRMP match speaks to the importance of what we’re doing and where these remarkable young surgeons will take us in the future of gynecologic surgery.
With warmest wishes for a holiday season filled with peace and joy,
Matthew Siedhoff
Your 2018 FMIGS Board of Directors (l-r, back row, Noah Rindos, Nash Moawad, Ted Anderson, Javier Magrina, Matt Siedhoff; front row, Hye-Chun Hur, Nicole Donnellan, Amanda Yunker, Cara King, Gretchen Makai; not pictured, Franklin Loffer, Linda Michels
1Harvey LFB, Abramson VG, Alvarez J, DeStephano C, Hur HC, Lee K, Mattingly P, Park B, Piszczek C, Seifi F, Stuparich M, Yunker A. Surgical Findings and Outcomes in Premenopausal Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Oophorectomy: A Multicenter Review from the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons Fellows Pelvic Research Network. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2018 Jan;25(1):111-115. doi: 10.1016/j.jmig.2017.08.643. Epub 2017 Aug 15.
