CEO Update, April 2024

I am writing this with The Beatles, “Here Comes the Sun,” streaming in the background. Ironic, given the grey skies outside and slow start to Spring for so much of the country. Yet, Spring does always come with a sense of renewal and hope.

We experienced that feeling of renewal and hope with our first microlearning effort this month. Dole Baker, MD, Wes VanderArk, MD, and I had the unique opportunity to pilot a new educational program. Building off our renowned Basic Course in Allergy & Immunology and our new Educational Stacks (Adding Allergy and OnBoard Staff), we brought the practica concepts to Gavin Gassen, MD and his staff. This hands-on experience help elucidate all the AAOA tools and resources.

Starting with our Practice Resource Tool Kit, we help Dr. Gassen and his team define which forms they would adapt for their practice — everything from the consent forms to the testing worksheets and antigen logs. For the hands-on component, Dr. Baker and Dr. VanderArk walked them through setting up their testing board, tutorials on testing, mixing, and shots, as well as the nuances of test interpretation, immunotherapy dosing, and more.

The experience was refreshing. To see folks so excited to learn new skills and define ways to add these skills to their patient care was really rewarding.

I applaud Dr. Baker, Dr. VanderArk, and the AAOA leadership for their commitment to our AAOA members and for thinking outside of the box to find news ways to support our members. Kudos and here is to more pilots as we work to augment our member support.

If your practice would benefit from personal assistance from seasoned AAOA leadership, let us know.