It matters

Abstract

I t is my great pleasure to have served as president for the past year and to have led this organization into our 25th anniversary meeting. The wonderful thing about anniversaries is that they give you not only a chance to reflect on what you have accomplished in the past but also the need to reflect on the future of our organization and our profession. This reflection has led me to state the answer to the question of where we need to go next as the title. Thus, you may have the answer to the questions that I will pose today, but the case I will make is both important and sometimes difficult, so it will be worth the journey. I hope that at the end of my talk, I have carried the argument. In preparing my talk, I had the great opportunity to interview Dr. Kim Maull, the founder of Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST), whowas very generouswith his time and told me about the history of the organization. I spokewith Dr. Carmona, our frame lecturer this year. Both of them spoke about their thoughts for the future of our profession. I was able to interview others who I do not have time to name, but they know who they are. I thank them all.