NEWS Message From Our President
Continuing Education
Rabbits and Tigers During the limpid days of a midwestern August, in the quiet times of a vacation repose, I have time to reflect on those activities that ought to be undertaken when the academic and organizational year begins in earnest come September. When doing so, it has occurred to me that presidential responsibilities are somewhat akin to the pursuit of rabbits or tigers. When you are hunting tigers in rabbit country, you need not worry too much about the rabbits, but when you are hunting rabbits in tiger country, watch out for the tigers! A sense of which issues are, or will be, the "rabbits" and which issues are, or will be, the "tigers" is the essence of presidential leadership. Tigers bite and rabbits breed! The "tiger" issues will get your immediate and undivided attention whereas the "rabbit" issues can be too easily overlooked and then accumulate over time to the point of a disaster. Being able to recognize which beast (issue) you're tracking and through whose territory you're traveling is what will often determine whether success or failure comes of any venture. Not everyone on an administrative team will agree as to which issues are the "rabbits" and which issues are the "tigers" at any given time, nor will they ever be unanimous as to the geography of the hunt. To the ardent advocate of an issue, his or her particular issue will always be a "tiger" when in fact, in the context of the totality of the animal kingdom, it is really a "rabbit." In my view, it is the collective wisdom of the many, call them the assembly, board, committee or whatever, that will uncontestably prove to be the most certain and soundest of judgements in matters such as this. These group judgements, while not the quickest or easiest to achieve, nor necessarily the most creative, much to the discomfiture of those who see the world only in terms of "tigers," will ultimately prove to be the best of judgements in the long run. Any organization that has the time and good sense to exercise the collective process in identifying the species that are imitable to "rabbits" and "tigers" through its elected leadership has an endurable strength beyond measure. Expediting and facilitating the process of identification and enunciating the name of the beast as well as where it resides, be it "rabbit" or "tiger," is what I believe being your president is all about.
Michael A. Heuer, DDS, MS President
Loma Linda University School of Dentistry. University Avenue, Loma Linda, CA 92350. 714/824-4685.
Third annual review of endodontic biology. September 14-16, 1986. Fee: $280, full-time endodontic faculty $150, graduate endodontic students $50, includes course syllabus. Faculty: Drs. Jerald L. Jensen, Steven G. Morrow, James H. Simon, Mahmoud Torabinejad, Henry J. Van Hassel, Richard E. Walton, and Raymond Wuerker.
Temple University School of Dentis. try. 3223 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140. 215/221-2810.
Third Samuel Seltzer Endodontic Symposium: Endodontic Flare-ups. September 26-28, 1986, at the Hershey Hotel, Broad and Locust Streets, Philadelphia, PA. Presented by the Department of Endodontology and the Graduate Endodontic Alumni Society of the School of Dentistry. Fee: $295 before 7/30/86, $325 after 7/30/86, includes lunches and cocktail reception. Topics include: Biologic consequences of the endodontic intervention by Drs. James Kettering and Samuel Seltzer; the host microbial interface by Drs. Gunnar Bergenholtz and Goran Sundqvist; prevention and management of endodontic flare-ups by Drs. Larz Spangberg, Leif Tronstad, and Richard Walton; clinical perspectives: personal views by Drs. Patricia Dwyer, Kaare Langeland, and Donald Morse, and clinical perspectives by Drs. Harold Gerstein, Melvin Goldman, and Syngcuk Kim. For further information contact the Department of Endodontology at the address and phone number above.
Long Island Jewish Medical Center. New Hyde Park, NY 11042.
Dr. Darrell Zenk, right;makes a point during the AAE's Quality Assurance Workshop, February 7, 1986. The completed Quality Assurance Guidelines are currently under review.
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The Saul Kamen Seminar on the dental management of the mentally retarded and the developmentally disabled patient. November 16-19, 1986 at the Teaching Center Auditorium, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY. Sponsored by the Department of Dentistry, Long Island Jewish Medical Center and the Health (continued)