Leadership
in the science, policy, and practice of
preventive medicine
Index
MISSION
To
serve as the leader for the specialty of
preventive medicine, which encompasses
general preventive medicine, public
health, occupational and environmental
medicine, and aerospace medicine.
ACPM seeks to improve population
health status through evidence-based
disease prevention and health promotion
research, policies, practices, and
programs.
Index
BACKGROUND
The
American
College
of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) is the
national professional society for
physicians who specialize in preventive
medicine.
ACPM’s 2,000 members are
engaged in preventive medicine practice,
teaching, and research.
Preventive medicine specialists
are uniquely trained in both clinical
medicine and public health.
They practice in a variety of
health settings—including state and
local health departments, federal
agencies, hospitals, health plans,
community and migrant health centers,
industrial sites, occupational health
centers, academic centers, private
practice, and the military.
ACPM is
governed by a sixteen-member Board of
Regents. In addition to serving as the
policy making body of the association,
the Board sets program priorities,
provides fiscal oversight, and assures
that adequate resources are available
and directed toward priorities.
Much of the work of the College
is carried out by volunteer-led
committees and task forces, which
recommend program directions and
policies to the Board.
ACPM
carries out its mission by:
disseminating preventive medicine
information, including sponsoring the American
Journal of Preventive Medicine;
offering continuing medical education
opportunities, including the Preventive
Medicine annual meeting series and
on-line CME Center; developing
evidence-based policy statements and
guidelines; advocating for public
policies consistent with the scientific
principles of the specialty; and
undertaking career development
activities for preventive medicine
specialists.
Several
continuing and emerging trends, combined
with ACPM’s upcoming 50th anniversary,
stimulated ACPM to undertake a strategic
planning process.
ACPM increasingly is asked to do
more with less resources as the demand
for prevention grows but as the pipeline
of preventive medicine physicians (and,
hence, potential members) shrinks.
This has driven the need for
strategic priority setting.
At the same time, the ACPM
leadership recognized the need for ACPM
to capitalize on a growing awareness by
policy makers, health care providers,
and the general public of the important
role public health and prevention play
in the health system.
Finally, the Board of Regents
believes that ACPM must enhance the
visibility of preventive medicine as a
specialty in order for ACPM to carry out
its core functions effectively and, at
the same time, create opportunities for
expansion.
This
strategic plan reflects the outcome of
an eight-month deliberative process led
by an ACPM Strategic Planning Task Force
and involving extensive input from the
ACPM membership.
The task force developed a
membership survey, hired a strategic
planning consultant, constructed a
process for conducting stakeholder
interviews, and forged the agenda for a
leadership and staff retreat.
The
plan identifies key ACPM strategic
priorities and objectives for 2004 to
2007.
Index
STRATEGIC
PRIORITIES AND OBJECTIVES
Two
key themes emerged from ACPM’s
planning retreat.
First, ACPM must reaffirm its
core identity with the specialty of
preventive medicine and as an
association of and for board-certified
physicians, especially those
board-certified in preventive medicine.
Second, ACPM should expand its
advocacy and outreach activities to
promote preventive medicine to policy
makers, other health professionals, and
the general public.
It was these two themes that
provided the fundamental framework to
define and operationalize ACPM’s basic
roles and strategic priorities, as
presented below.
Note
that not all of the goals and objectives
are of equal priority.
Further operational planning will
result in ACPM targeting resources more
intensely on some objectives versus
others.
In addition, several of the
objectives will require new funding from
external sources.
1
Market
the value of Board-certification in
preventive medicine to the medical and
public health community at-large and to
current and prospective physicians
1.1.
Increase the
attractiveness of preventive
medicine as a profession by
enhancing the visibility of the
specialty and increasing employer
demand for preventive medicine
physicians
1.2.
Operate a preventive
medicine jobs web site that
facilitates the job-seeking efforts of
preventive medicine physicians
1.3.
Help
preventive medicine physicians make
informed decisions about career paths
by conducting surveys of preventive
medicine physicians' job functions,
salaries, and the relevance of
preventive medicine training to job
performance
1.4.
Collaborate with medical
schools to enable medical students,
particularly MD/MPH students, to learn
about preventive medicine and the
value of Board certification in
preventive medicine
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2
Increase
the value of ACPM membership by
providing easy access to Maintenance of
Certification credit
2.1.
Ensure that all ACPM
educational offerings are approved for
MOC
2.2.
Market ACPM’s MOC
offerings to all ACPM members with
time-limited certification in
preventive medicine
2.3.
Use MOC to encourage all
preventive medicine physicians, and
particularly those with time-limited
certification, to join ACPM.
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3
Provide
high quality Continuing Medical
Education offerings that promote
excellence in preventive medicine
3.1.
Operate a Continuing
Medical Education program that exceeds
the requirements of the Accreditation
Council on Continuing Medical
Education
3.2.
Offer CME that covers
topics across the many competencies of
preventive medicine
3.3.
Continue to convene and
improve the Preventive
Medicine annual meeting, already
the premiere conference in preventive
medicine
3.4.
Continue to convene and
improve the Preventive Medicine Review
Course
3.5.
Market CME offerings in
systems-based practice and in other
general physician competencies to
physicians in other medical
specialties
Index
4
Strengthen
advocacy for preventive medicine
residency programs
4.1.
Seek to revise existing
Medicare policy to allow Medicare GME
reimbursement for preventive medicine
residency programs.
4.2.
Identify and pursue
additional federal support for
preventive medicine residency training
slots through Title
VII
and other legislation
4.3.
Promote the replication
of innovative models of preventive
medicine residency training that are
likely to attract physicians to
preventive medicine and/or that have
successfully obtained Medicare GME
support.
4.4.
Seek funding for and
develop a tracking system that will
monitor recruitment, placement, and
professional advancement of preventive
medicine residents and graduates.
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5
Develop
a Center for Preventive Medicine (CPM)
whose primary purpose is to promote
preventive medicine to non-ACPM members
5.1.
Develop a business plan
that outlines the CPM’s structure
and activities and that identifies
funding strategies
5.2.
Use the CPM to increase
visibility and credibility of ACPM
specifically and preventive medicine
generally
5.3.
Leverage the expertise
of ACPM members to offer unique and
useful information resources
5.4.
Use the CPM to build
support for policies that promote
primary and secondary prevention
5.5.
Use the CPM to build
partnerships with other preventive
medicine organizations
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6
Lead the
way for integration of activities among
the various preventive medicine
organizations
6.1.
Assume
the leadership of the Preventive Medicine Leadership Forum
6.2.
Pursue
progress and ACPM perspective on
cross-cutting issues such as strategic
planning, shared dues discounts,
maintenance of certification, joint
government relations, residency
funding, and AMA policy.
6.3.
Develop
partnership and office support
agreements with other preventive
medicine organizations
6.4.
Seek
involvement of other preventive
medicine organizations in the
Preventive Medicine meeting series
Index
