President’s Message: One Weekend in August …

Each August, the AAE, with the generous support of the Foundation for Endodontics, hosts APICES, our annual meeting for residents in conjunction with the AAE Educator Workshop.  This weekend is affectionately known as “Endopalooza”, and each year it is eagerly anticipated by residents and educators alike.  This year, the city of St. Louis was our host for the event, and despite near record heat – not to mention humidity, a great time was had by all.

Each year the Educator Workshop rotates between Department Chairs, Graduate Program Directors, and Pre-doctoral Directors.  This summer the focus was on our Graduate Program Directors, and it was very well attended with more than 40 directors making the trip.  The presentation topics were devoted to the application process, including the usefulness and relevance of the ADAT exam as well as the competitive and increasingly chaotic interview and offer process.  Despite efforts in the past to establish some structure to the process of interviewing and selecting residents, it remains unorganized, and from the perspective of the applicant, unfair.  We were treated to a presentation on the Match, which is used by all of the other dental specialties, Endodontics being the only holdout, and the information presented was detailed and comprehensive.  Whether we will garner enough support among the programs to make a move in that direction remains to be seen, but productive discussions were part of our meeting as well.  This feedback will provide the Educational Affairs Committee with valuable insight with which to formulate recommendations for some change and structure to improve the selection of residents going forward.

The program for the APICES portion of the weekend included a wide variety of presentations, beginning with the traditional “Get to Know Your Specialty”. This session includes the Presidents of the AAE, the American Board of Endodontics, the Foundation for Endodontics, and the College of Diplomates, and is intended to acquaint residents with the organizations that helped establish and maintain our specialty and the roles that each play in that critical support structure.  By highlighting the benefits of AAE membership, such as advocacy, continuing education, publications, and much more, we hope to encourage our residents to continue their membership not only after their program ends, but for the duration of their careers.  Other lectures included such topics as “Things I Wish I Knew in Residency”, Compensation for Endodontic procedures, Post-graduate life, “Ten Ways to Lose a Referral”, and just to make sure we had some scientific clinical information, Dr. Azim presented on the topic of Cervical Root Resorption.

Although these two meetings are held concurrently, the lectures are separate, given the two different audiences.  That is not to say that there is no opportunity for interaction.  A robust exhibit “hall” populated with a variety of vendors is open to both groups, and a lot of mingling occurred during the lunch break.  There were also evening social events that provided ample opportunity to catch up with old friends as well as make new acquaintances, and some bonding time over a mechanical bull …

APICES was the first of its kind – a meeting for residents, planned by residents, and it has been emulated by other specialties since its inception, but it has never been surpassed in its longevity or its impact on our resident community.  Even more remarkable is that attendance at this meeting is almost entirely subsidized by support from the Foundation for Endodontics.  The hotel accommodations and a significant amount toward airfare is provided for each of the residents in attendance – dependent upon their attending each of the lectures of course.  The value and importance of this early engagement extend far beyond the dollar investment required to make it happen.  By demonstrating the value of membership in the AAE as well as the philanthropy of the Foundation , we hope to inspire life-long participation and advocacy on behalf of our specialty and dentistry in general.  If you are eligible to attend either event, I would encourage you to do so as it is both informative and inspiring.  If you are not eligible to attend, you can still support this effort by making a contribution to the Foundation for Endodontics in appreciation for their support of “Endopalooza”  Next year’s host city will be New Orleans where we will undoubtedly “Laissez les Bon Temps Roulez”.  I hope that you can join us if possible.