A Roadmap to AAGL Leadership-You Are Invited!
The AAGL welcomes and most importantly, invites you to participate in our year-long programming and leadership positions. As a premier gynecologic minimally invasive surgical society that boasts more than 7,000 members from more than 94 countries, your unique voice matters. We count on each of you to contribute your experience and expertise to educate each other, support the advancement of our field, and pave the road leading to the future of AAGL.
Quite often, I am asked, “How do I get involved? Do the same doctors always get an opportunity to present at the podium? How can I increase my opportunity to be chosen as a speaker or for leadership in the AAGL?”
I present to you, a roadmap, or for our younger members, a GPS step-by-step guide for your greater involvement in the AAGL:
Read the Signs
Membership Matters. Maintaining your annual membership is very important so that you stay active in our database and receive notifications of programing and opportunities for involvement. These emails are road signs that will guide you on how to get involved and include updates about the Annual AAGL Global Congress, invitations to submit course topics and abstracts for the Global Congress Scientific Program, registration links for popular webinar trainings, the monthly publication of the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology (JMIG), nominations into leadership positions, and more.
Know Your Destination
If your goal is an elite destination, such as to speak at the Global Congress or to join leadership in the AAGL, your first objective is name recognition. Fortunately, there are many avenues in the AAGL to begin your journey to name recognition.
Submit an Abstract. First, plan to submit an abstract when the call for abstracts is issued each year in March-April. This year, 181 individuals received a speaking role as an oral presenter at the Global Congress because they received a high grade on the abstract they submitted. Another 327 individuals will have their abstracts presented through Virtual Posters, which are videos shown throughout Congress.
Both routes get your name listed in the Global Congress Scientific Program and build your experience. In addition, those who submit the highest scoring abstracts may be eligible to win a prestigious award from the Foundation of the AAGL (FAAGL), which means you will walk on stage at the FAAGL Awards Ceremony, be featured in their marketing and on their website, and have your face on a sign at the Global Congress. Talk about name recognition!
Join A SIG. Next stop in your journey, is to join an AAGL Special Interest Group (SIG) and most importantly, actively participate. AAGL offers eight Special Interest Groups (SIGs) including Endometriosis/Reproductive Surgery, Fibroids, Hysteroscopy, Oncology, Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, Pelvic Pain, Robotics, and Urogynecology/Vaginal Surgery – and you may become a member of more than one.
Join a SIG that speaks to your passions and engage in robust discussions, share experiences and expertise, and stay updated with the latest developments. After joining, reach out to your SIG Chair to introduce yourself and offer to help in any way needed. Each month, AAGL’s newsletter, NewsScope, features articles from one of our SIGS. This gives members of the SIG an opportunity to submit an article for publication in NewsScope on behalf of their SIG and again, adds to your name recognition. In addition, our SIGs presents a webinar eight months out of the year featuring members of the SIG. These webinars are very popular, often have over 1000 registrants, and are featured in SurgeryU. This is another way to practice your presentation abilities, showcase your expertise and, you guessed it, become a familiar name.
Find Your Way. Other useful ways to fuel your name recognition include submitting articles for publication in JMIG, becoming a JMIG reviewer, becoming a JMIG Social Media Scholar (application due September 16th), saying “yes” to as many committee invitations as you can, attending networking events, and participating on AAGL Connect (our own worldwide web).
Global Congress Faculty. If your goal is to be a faculty at the Global Congress, as your GPS guide, I advise you to watch for the invitation to submit a course for consideration. This invitation is sent to our membership by email in January each year and is what the Scientific Program Committee uses to select faculty and design the courses that make it into the Final Scientific Program. Begin planning now to submit a complete course about an engaging and relevant topic, including a course description, potential faculty, and presentation titles, so that you are ready to go when the invitation to submit courses is sent out for AAGL2025.
Leadership. Or perhaps you want to program your GPS for leadership in our association. Leadership opportunities abound in the AAGL such as serving as a Chair of a committee or SIG, or serving on the JMIG Editorial Board, SurgeryU Editorial Board, FAAGL Board, FMIGS Board, or the AAGL Board.
The not-so-secret premium fuel to generate nomination onto one of these coveted leadership positions is your active participation, as described above, which will create name recognition along with a reputation of service, character, expertise, and commitment to excellence in our field and our association. Self-nomination is also permitted for certain leadership positions so watch for notices in the AAGL MIGS Monthly email. Most leadership positions have a time limit of service, thereby enabling others the ability to seek positions as the time limits expire. Our leadership is not stagnate, it constantly evolves, and new voices and perspectives are critical to the health of our association.
Become a Familiar Street
Why does name recognition matter? If your name keeps popping up, it proves you are willing to do the work and that you have qualifying passion, knowledge, and clinical experience. You also begin to gain the presentation experience necessary to present on a larger scale, such as in one of the courses at the Global Congress, or to represent AAGL on a leadership level.
Ultimately, you begin to become a familiar street, one that our Scientific Program Committee (SPC), the team assigned to design the Scientific Program at the Global Congress, or our Leadership Nominations Committees can say, “Oh, I recognize this street, it consistently takes us to our correct destination, let’s choose this route to get us where we need to go.”
My Journey. As I look at my own journey from membership to Executive Board member and now as Medical Director, it started with having my abstract accepted as a poster presentation, followed by an on-podium presentation. I was then encouraged to publish my work in JMIG. Colleagues then nominated me to be a moderator as a subject matter expert in hysteroscopy. This was followed by becoming a Postgraduate Course speaker, live telesurgery surgeon, and frequent surgical tutorial presenter at the Global Congress.
These opportunities provided much visibility, allowing my peers to get to know me. By attending the Global Congress annually and getting to know my peers, I was nominated to run for a board position. Attendance at Global Congress is crucial, you must stay visible, vocal, engaged, and involved.
Also, don’t give up. I was nominated to a board position and did not win the first time – but I didn’t give up. I continued to participate and volunteer when needed and as I got to know the organization more, they also got to know me. I know that in our membership right now there are great presenters and great leaders who we have not met yet.
Conclusion. AAGL membership offers many roadmaps to participation in AAGL leadership. Furthermore, being a member contributes to great friendships, personal and professional growth, and contribution to AAGL’s mission.
I encourage you to find a road that fits your passion and get involved! Keep pushing your name forward, I look forward to getting to know you.
