Thank you for reading this issue of the ABPM’s newsletter! I’m very honored to be writing this to you as the new Chair of the ABPM Board of Directors, a role I stepped into after the Board’s Interim meeting in August 2021.

First, I’m very grateful for Dr. Joe Ortega’s leadership of the Board over the previous two years. During Dr. Ortega’s tenure, the Board accomplished a lot, including launching the Clinical Informatics Longitudinal Assessment Program (LAP) Pilot, extending the Addiction Medicine practice pathway and thus allowing many more qualified physicians to become certified, and successfully navigating 2020 remotely proctored exams and virtual meetings, to name just a handful. Dr. Ortega set us on a great path towards many more successes and I am fortunate to follow him as Chair at this exciting time.

I started my tenure on the Board in 2014 and I’ve seen the Board grow tremendously during that time. You can learn a little more about my background later in this issue but since I became a Director of the Board in 2014 my dedication to advocating for Preventive Medicine specialties and subspecialties and to the promoting the value of board certification has only increased. As a Public Health and General Preventive Medicine physician directly involved in improving health on a broad scale, I am passionate about the practice of Preventive Medicine and the necessity of growing Preventive Medicine specialties. While Preventive Medicine might be small compared to other Boards, it is no less important – as we’ve seen so powerfully recently during the pandemic.

Every day, ABPM Diplomates show the power of Preventive Medicine through their dedication to improve the health of populations small and large. For some examples ABPM recently shared via LinkedIn, scroll down – from working with public health departments to overcome vaccine hesitancy, to studying the rise in digital addictions, to advising the public on work/life balance, and so much more, ABPM Diplomates like you are the often-unsung heroes of Preventive Medicine. We’re so proud of all you’ve done and we’d like to share your accomplishments with the ABPM community and beyond! Let us know what you’re working on – drop us a line.

Thanks again for reading – I’m excited to embark on this journey with all of you.

Wishing you all the best,

Wendy E. Braund, MD, MPH, MSEd

 

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