Fri, 01/31/2020 - 09:52
By: Kevin Kinback, MD
This new decade promises to be an exciting time of continued growth for the Clinical TMS Society. It has been my privilege as a founding member of the Society to work as part of many committees, and to witness our growth along with the leaders to have brought us to where we are today. Each member who serves on a committee or volunteers to help in any way, brings vital energy and valuable fresh ideas.
Many thanks to those who responded to our survey! Based on your input, we will be keeping the Magnet "shorter and sweeter," perhaps moving towards just one article and news updates in a monthly format rather than a more bulky newsletter. We also aim to provide content that readers find interesting.
I would like to highlight some of the accomplishments in the years since the Society was founded:
- Growing Society membership from under 200 to nearly 700 members.
- Leading the field of TMS education, offering the PULSES course several times a year, & internationally.
- Setting standards for TMS, such as the White paper and the American Journal of Psychiatry letter.
- Positively Influencing insurance payor policy on a national level (Noridian Medicare, Optum).
- Advocating for TMS patients to access care with insurance reimbursement, including new indications
- Hosting annual meetings with cutting-edge research, information and other TMS developments
- Raising TMS interest in early career psychiatrists: discount memberships, free webinars, PULSES scholarships
- Forming Affinity Groups for shared research and other interests
- Revising the Society website; bringing in a professional management team
- Remaining device-neutral, with transparency of potential conflicts of interest of directors and committees
- Promoting research and ongoing education, with poster contest awards, and stipends for presenting at APA
- Communicating with members in modern, new ways, adapting the Magnet and emailing monthly TMS updates.
Our many members bring diverse viewpoints, goals and experience to the Society. At times the debates can be heated or difficult, but always professional and exciting, and in the end we are at least able to at least agree on a reasonable consensus to move forward. The key to our continued growth and success is a commitment to listen to feedback from members and leaders, to respect all viewpoints and objectively consider that input. Regardless of our various goals and passions, we all share key aspects in common, namely a fierce commitment to helping our patients, educating and positively influencing TMS policy, and remaining pioneers in the ever changing field of TMS therapy.
My dream for the Society in this new decade is to stay focused to advance these mutual goals while celebrating our diversities. The next Magnet issue will be dedicated to a preview of the 2020 Annual Meeting in Chicago, so please click on at least one article to support our communications team!
Kevin Kinback, MD
Magnet Co-Editor