Mark R Zaontz,
MD, FAAP
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Congratulations to us all! Pediatric Urology
has
taken a giant step forward as a specialty now
that the majority of our colleagues having taken
and passed the pediatric urology subspecialty
examination. This certificate of added qualifica-
tion further recognizes and defines pediatric
urology as a distinct specialty. We owe a great
deal of gratitude to our visionary members who
were relentless in pursuing this goal for our
specialty.
Healthcare is at a crossroads once again. We
must be proactive to protect the rights of our
patients and to allow doctors to practice medi-
cine in a responsible manner, without having to
practice reactive or defensive medicine. It is
important that we do our best to use evidence
based medicine in establishing clinical guide-
lines and treatment strategies. Pediatric urology
is recognized within the AAP as a model for
other sections, because of our collective and
unwavering pursuit of excellence in both the clin-
ical and research arenas. We must continue to
improve the quality of our care, as our
teachers
and mentors have done so effectively
in the
past. We must allow the "young lions"
room to
grow and to bring our field new and exciting dev-
elopments. We must encourage our
fellow
colleagues to take new leadership roles -
we
will welcome their energy and spirit. This is
how
pediatric urology will continue to thrive.
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This year's meeting in Washington, DC once
again presents an excellent venue, thanks to the
hard work of Israel Franco, our program chair,
and his program committee. As always there will
be provocative panels, cutting edge research and
great clinical papers. Dr Franco has assembled
an excellent group of quest speakers that will be
of great interest to all. Since the government has
committed itself to increased funding of research,
I would encourage everyone to attend the NIH
research funding seminar that Dr Franco has put
together. We have a great opportunity to advance
our research efforts farther today than ever before.
I would also like to thank Hans Pohl who, as al-
ways, has done a superb job as local arrange-
ments chairman, and has provided a wonderful
venue for our organization at the Smithsonian
Freer Gallery of Asian Art. My profound thanks to
our Secretary, Bill Hulbert, and to Kathy Ozmeral -
they are always on top of every situation. I would
also like to thank our Executive Committee which
has worked so hard on our behalf.
Finally, it has been a great honor to serve as your
chairman this past year. It is very humbling to
follow in the footsteps of so many giants in our
field. Thank you for this privilege.
Respectfully,
Mark R Zaontz, MD, FAAP
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