President's Message

J. Randall Curtis, MD, MPH
ATS President

The ATS is an interdisciplinary scientific and professional society that includes a broad spectrum of professionals from many research and clinical disciplines. I firmly believe the Society's interdisciplinary nature has been and continues to be one of its greatest strengths. But more importantly, I believe this interdisciplinary nature is the key to the Society's future because those professional healthcare societies that are interdisciplinary are inherently better positioned to advance our work at the bench, at the bedside and in the community. In this column, I will explain my rationale for this bold statement.

The Interdisciplinary Science of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep

The ATS is first and foremost a scientific society focused on advancing the best and most innovative science in the fields of pulmonary, critical care and sleep-and translating that science to the bedside and to public health settings to improve the health of the public worldwide.

There has been an increasing recognition over the past two decades that innovative and successful science is interdisciplinary science. Bringing together scientists and clinicians from different disciplines to address common problems has resulted in many of the most important advances in basic and clinical science over the past 20 years. Science, at its best, is a team sport and the team is stronger if it is diverse and incorporates difference disciplines. This reality was championed by Dr. Elias Zerhouni when he directed the National Institutes of Health, and it has also been supported by the current director, Dr. Francis Collins.

The ATS is in a stronger position to advance the science of pulmonary, critical care and sleep if our membership includes scientists from many disciplines who come together to solve the problems we face to improve the lives of patients and their families, as well as public health. ATS scientists cover the full spectrum-from the basic sciences through the clinical sciences to health services and health policy research. ATS leaders and members include geneticists, biochemists, physiologists, clinical trialists, social and behavioral scientists, health services researchers and many more. Our annual International Conference brings scientists from all these disciplines together in a way that advances our fields of study much more effectively than if these disciplines remained in silos and did not interact.

Jo Rae Wright, Ph.D., immediate-past president of the Society, embodies this principle. She is a molecular biologist by training and has spent much of her career studying surfactant. She was drawn to the ATS International Conference and the ATS because, unlike basic science meetings or societies, the ATS gave her an opportunity to interact with clinicians caring for patients. She feels this interaction has improved her science and allowed her work to have more impact on advancing health.

The Interdisciplinary Nature of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Healthcare

The ATS also incorporates clinicians from many different disciplines. Many ATS leaders and members are physicians, but we also have a strong and active Assembly on Nursing, which has played an important role in the development and direction of the ATS. In addition, we have recently formed an Assembly on Pulmonary Rehabilitation, which boasts a membership of doctors, nurses, physical therapists and respiratory therapists who practice in the clinical setting. There are also a number of respiratory therapists who have been active in the Assemblies on Critical Care and Clinical Problems.

Our healthcare system is increasingly recognizing that high-quality care is delivered by interdisciplinary teams. The healthcare system of the past-with physicians working in their silos and giving "orders" to other clinicians without their input-is disastrous for high-quality and patient- and family-centered care. If we are to be able to make the ATS a society that supports and advances high-quality care, the ATS must reflect the healthcare system-clinicians from many disciplines working together as well-functioning teams that are improving healthcare together.

The current ATS Board of Directors includes two nurses-Kathleen Lindell, Ph.D., R.N., who chairs the Assembly on Nursing, and Suzanne Lareau, R.N., M.S., who chairs the Assembly on Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Our board also recently included Mary Fran Tracy, R.N., M.S.N., a critical care nurse and former president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. These leaders provide a terrific example of how leaders from multiple disciplines enrich and advance the mission of the ATS.

The ATS International Conference: Where Today's Science Meets Tomorrow's Care

The ATS International Conference is a great example of the Society's interdisciplinary nature and activities. ATS 2010 in New Orleans, which will take place from May 14 to 19, is a perfect example. Our 2010 meeting will include outstanding basic science in symposia like Scientific Breakthroughs of the Year, which will focus on stem cells and regenerative medicine. "Year in Review" sessions will summarize recent scientific advances that will affect clinical practice. There will be a host of excellent sessions on nursing science, including one that features Dr. Patricia Grady, director of the National Institute of Nursing Research, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The President's Symposium on comparative effectiveness research will feature Dr. Carolyn Clancy, a health services researcher and director of the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality. In this short column, I cannot begin to summarize the interdisciplinary components of 30 postgraduate courses and more than 400 sessions, but suffice it to say that this year's International Conference highlights the importance of interdisciplinary science and interdisciplinary clinical care.

I firmly believe that the future of healthcare and health sciences must be interdisciplinary if we are to ensure that we do the most we can to advance health and reduce the burden of disease. The ATS is an interdisciplinary scientific and professional society that is well positioned to be a leader in advancing health and health sciences for the fields of pulmonary, critical care and sleep. By strengthening the interdisciplinary nature of our membership and leadership, I believe we will be in the best position possible to meet our mission: to improve health worldwide though advances in research, clinical care and public health.