Crossing the threshold

Abstract

Last year, as Dr. Irwin assumed the Society’s presidency, he pronounced that SAM had crossed the threshold from adolescence into adulthood. As president-elect, I worked closely with Dr. Irwin on issues we both felt were important to SAM. We believe that our interdisciplinary partnership is laying a firm foundation of continuity in direction for the organization. The two themes of continuity and SAM’s adulthood frame my own remarks this morning. My vision for SAM as it moves into the 21st century is to increase its focus on public health issues, including public health practices that promote the integration of a youth development framework into clinical care, education and training, research, and advocacy efforts. I believe that SAM can and should play a pivotal role in furthering the science and delivery of positive youth development in both the health and service sectors. Finally, it is my dream that SAM members will not obtain their professional identity from the Society; rather, members individually and collectively will define SAM by their professional activities and accomplishments. Thus, it will be these activities that will advance and define the field of adolescent health as well as strengthen our interdisciplinary nature. During these times of financial uncertainty and international crisis we must use our professional identities as strengths, and responsibly unite on the behalf of youth so that each may reach his or her potential. Indeed, to meet my vision of a Society that is developmentally an adult, we must behave as a responsible and competent multidisciplinary professional organization that is committed to improving the physical and psychosocial health and well-being of all adolescents. To accomplish our mission, we must examine our assets. In addition, these resourcestressed times propel us to engage in strategic asset management. SAM’s human assets are numerous and I have taken the liberty of focusing on those assets that, in my opinion, require immediate attention, are particularly visible to the outside world, and are directly related to SAM’s mission. I believe that these assets include, in no particular order, SAM’S membership, our annual meeting, advocacy efforts, the Journal of Adolescent Health, and our office staff. One of our strongest and most visible assets is SAM’s membership. In his 1991 presidential address, Dr. Blum stated that we have come a long way from Dr. Gallagher’s society of the “Five Cities Club.” Today, we are approximately 1300 members strong. Each year, about 200 members join and about 180 existing members choose not to renew their memberships. The net result is a very small annual membership increase. How does the size of SAM’s membership base affect our financial resources? In effect, the Society cannot count on increasing its membership and likewise, the monies it generates from dues. This means that our organization’s activities must be carefully monitored for their costs, which directly impacts on our ability to meet and advance our organizational mission. There is an additional issue. In the current times, each of our member’s professional activity is carefully scrutinized by his or her home institutions and clinical practices, as we all have to meet “bottom line” projections in terms of detailed professional productivity standards. Gone are the days when individual members could easily volunteer their professional time and institutional or private resources. In the past, hospitals and universities were willing “silent partners” in supporting professional volunteer activities, as they were perceived as a credit to the honor of the institution. Now, SAM must use the time commitments made by its members judiciously, as they are scarce resources. At the Board of Directors-level, we have often entertained the notion of what SAM could accomplish with a larger membership. Certainly, it would add financial resources. A larger membership base JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH 2003;33:134–137