A great aspect of the Communities is that College leadership is reading it. When a new issue or policy, such as EHR, employment, volume outcomes, etc., comes under discussion in the Communities, the Board of Governors and Board of Regents have access to unvarnished comments from front-line surgeons. At times, these views are a revelation and, at other times, they are a confirmation of leadership impressions. It is increasingly common to see the President of the ACS, the Chair of the Regents, or a Governor chime in directly or subsequently bring the matter up in a leadership conference. I would say to those who post that their thoughts published on the Communities are like ripples in a pond. You never know what great wave may eventually land on another shore.
There are dangers of instant communication in a written format. More than once a rumor that is without basis gets started. It becomes surgeon legend and then is very hard to displace with fact. Because inflection and tone are absent from written words, what is humorous to one can be unintentionally insulting to another. I’ve noted, however, that in most circumstances of misunderstanding or errors being posted, the system is remarkably self-correcting. Within a few hours, days at most, someone points out the error or the misunderstanding, and this leads to a resolution of the conflict.
ACS Communities is not a perfect system. No doubt, as technology advances, the software and hardware will change. What I hope remains constant is a way in which practically at any time and as often as a Fellow wishes, he or she can have a voice in the affairs of the College. At any time, thousands of colleagues are at the Fellow’s fingertips in ways that bring us all together as individuals who belong to a great organization. Ultimately, it is about relating to one another on a more personal, individual basis with mutual respect and support.
Dr. Hughes, an ACS Fellow, is a general surgeon practicing in McPherson, Kan., and Editor in Chief of the ACS Communities.