1999-2000 ASMBS President
Most Important Event
Creation of an Ethics Committee made up of past presidents.
I have a quick and easy statement—Ethics. In the last few years of my being on the council I brought up the issue but received negative responses. When I served as president, I was able to create the Ethics Committee. One of the ideas that put it through was that of determining that only past presidents would be involved in the committee. In my view, that was my most important accomplishment. In 1999 with our history of a small group that was, in my view, a hard working “clean” group, one could say that it wasn’t necessary, the “handwriting was on the wall” and Bariatric Surgery essentially exploded in numbers and we of the “working committee” have seen a reduction in problems. Curiously, taking this up at this time corresponds to my decision to resign. Ethics change very little over time, but I know that I am losing touch with the details as Bariatric Surgery continues to grow and improve over time.
Sincerely,
Latham Flanagan, Jr., MD