Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Summer 2017 - 7

PCSO Business

AAO House of Delegates Report

Jim Linwood

Dr. Ronald Wolk
Delegation Chair, 2016-2017

"The Times They Are A-Changin' "
- Bob Dylan

In April, the 2017 AAO House of Delegates (HOD)
was held in San Diego in conjunction with the
AAO Annual Session. Although there were more
than 17,000 attendees at the AAO Annual Session, just a handful of that number gathered for
two days amid the lectures and activities to help
guide policy and direction for the AAO going forward. Representatives from the eight constituent
organizations came together to participate in
this important aspect of AAO governance. PCSO
is well represented in the HOD, as the delegates
are allocated proportionally to the number of
members in the region.
In total, the HOD considered 30 resolutions; some
significant ones are being adopted. These new
resolutions send a strong message that the
times are, in fact, changing. The most significant
document to be updated by the HOD as we enter
the future of our changing profession was the
AAO's Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional
Conduct. This document affords the profession a
degree of sovereignty from governmental regulations through self-regulation of the profession
and the practice of orthodontics. It is, therefore,
imperative that this document- which contains
Advisory Opinions- be periodically reviewed in
response to changes in laws or their interpretation by the courts and enforcement agencies.
The ADA HOD recently passed Resolution 65,
which changed the ADA Code of Ethics by striking a provision that required dentists who promote or advertise as specialists to limit practice
procedures to those announced within their specialty. In response, our AAO HOD passed a significant bylaws change to membership, striking the
requirement for "the exclusive practice of orthodontics," and making active membership in the
AAO based on education alone. This change recognizes that the demographics and modalities of
practice among our members varies on a broad
scale from those of the past. The AAO HOD also
passed a resolution allowing foreign-trained
orthodontists who have come to Canada not having graduated from an accredited orthodontic

Summer 2017  PCSO Bulletin

residency program to meet the requirements and
qualify for active AAO membership, provided they
have demonstrated competence by passing The
National Dental Specialty Examination administered by The Royal College of Dentists of Canada.
Seeking Input from NYM
New & Younger Members (NYM) are being more
fully incorporated into AAO leadership and governance through Resolution 18-17 MSO (S1-BT) (S2MSO) (S3-PCSO). This resolution encourages all
constituent delegations to the HOD to include a
NYM as part of its existing delegation, either as a
delegate or alternate delegate. Furthermore, the
AAO Board of Trustees will appoint a member of
the Council on New & Younger Members or an
appointed emerging leader to sit on appropriate
councils or committees of the AAO. These two
actions create opportunities for significant and
meaningful input from younger members, and
will allow the up-and-coming leaders of the AAO
to influence future policy.
Consumer Awareness Program Update
The consumer awareness program (CAP) has
undergone a makeover. The AAO has a new Director of Marketing, Ms. Katie Maassen, who comes
to the AAO with years of digital marketing experience for companies including NBC and USA
Today. Consequently, the marketing campaign
has been rebranded to a digital marketing program (DMP). The early results of this change are
very encouraging. This year's HOD made a decision to reduce the $800 annual assessment to
$600 for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. The delegates
heard the voices of AAO members and, while
exercising caution, were very excited about the
future of the new DMP. Membership funding
remains critical in order for the AAO marketing
campaign to stay on pace with well-funded competition for online presence.
Several policies were referred for further study,
reflecting a need for the AAO to be more nimble
in its governance and to embrace digital platforms in the future. These include live video

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Summer 2017