STS Web Editor
Jeffrey P. Gold, MD

Strategic Plan

Strategic Plan for The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Introduction

STS members are confronted by a rapidly changing cardiothoracic surgery landscape. Unfortunately, many aspects of such change have the capacity to impact the specialty in a negative manner, as highlighted by the following types of interrelated factors:

The specialty has seen profound shifts in practice patterns. Cardiac specialists, particularly, have seen their patient base erode as cardiologists unilaterally recommend percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and implant record numbers of stents.
The economic viability of the specialty is threatened as malpractice premiums skyrocket and reimbursements atrophy even as procedures become more complex.
Workforce shortages are more likely as the number of applicants to thoracic surgery residency programs decline.
The general public's understanding of the cardiothoracic surgeon's role in treating cardiothoracic disease is at best misinformed; most individual patients have little or no understanding of treatment options.
Governmental policies continue to intrude on the role, scope, and economic interests of those in the specialty and their patients.
Innovations in technologies and procedures challenge each cardiothoracic surgeon to maintain his or her knowledge and skills in order to provide the best care possible to a patient base composed of older and sicker patients.

To address these and other elements in the changing environment of cardiothoracic surgery, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons launched a planning process to strengthen the Society's ability to serve members, advocate for their interests, and advance professionalism in the specialty, while also identifying short-term implementation priorities and processes. This roadmap for the future helps to ensure that STS - on behalf of cardiothoracic surgery and its current and future members - is aligned with and responsive to opportunities and challenges which will define the future of the specialty.

The Society retained a nationally known consultant to facilitate the planning process, which was initiated through major needs assessment telephone survey conducted among a cross-section of STS members. These and other data provided perspectives needed to formulate all facets of the Strategic Plan.

A Task Force composed of the STS Executive Committee and the Society's senior staff met three times to construct the Strategic Plan. Their efforts were supported by feedback and input generated from a larger group of STS leaders, including the Board of Directors and all Chairs of the Society's Standing Committees, Councils, and Workforces.

The Strategic Plan set forth in Section 2 contains a new Mission Statement, 8 Strategic Goals, and 41 Strategies that support achievement of the Goals. The eight Implementation Priorities and Tactics given in Section 3 identify short-term areas of opportunity for STS. As Sections 2 and 3 are reviewed, it will become apparent that the Task Force has developed approaches to reinforce and expand on existing STS strengths such as providing education, advocating in policy and legislative forums, nurturing the STS National Databases and advancing the Society's leadership role in the quality movement, fostering patient safety and facilitating research. The Strategic Plan explores new avenues to stability and security with strategies for expanding the scope of thoracic surgery practice, enhancing awareness of the thoracic surgeon?s role in disease management, ensuring thriving workforce numbers and strengthening the Society's ability to serve current and future members.

In addition to the Strategic Plan itself, the Task Force recommends several process issues:

All current STS programs, services, and activities should be assessed using the Mission Statement, Strategic Goals, and Strategies as evaluation criteria to determine if current initiatives are aligned with the Society's future directions. Programs, services, and activities that are not directly responsive to the Strategic Plan should be either redeveloped or removed from STS's program of work while those that contribute to the pursuit of the Society's Strategic Plan should be retained and strengthened. This assessment or audit process will help to ensure that STS continues to implement and deploy resources toward those programs, services, and activities that are directly aligned with the Strategic Plan.

STS should update its Strategic Plan on a regular basis to reflect changing opportunities and challenges facing members and the specialty, and to accommodate the Society's experience or performance in implementing key priorities. Further, STS should build an ongoing review and discussion of the Strategic Plan into Board of Directors meeting agendas so that it becomes a living document from a decision-making perspective. Finally, STS's processes to update and use the Strategic Plan should be viewed as a mechanism to build the Society's institutional memory and to educate new generations of volunteer leaders.
STS must constantly and effectively communicate its objectives, priorities, actions, and accomplishments to all members. Member understanding of STS's future direction and benefits is essential to building high satisfaction and retention levels, and enhancing the desires of members to be involved and engaged in the Society. While some of these communication processes can be focused toward print and electronic media, it will be critically important that STS volunteer leaders (at all levels) and staff become full participants in supporting STS's role and value to current and potential members through both formal and informal processes. In particular, STS leaders must be unified in their support of the Society and in their positive and common message to members.
STS must continue to protect and enhance core membership service and revenue generation activities. Stated differently, keystone activities of STS that yield high degrees of member benefit and satisfaction as well as the generation of non-dues income must be sustained over the short- and long-term. STS's pursuit of new initiatives must not compromise the ability to perform and strengthen those things - conventions, education programs, etc. - that continue to be the financial backbone of the organization.