About CHEST

The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) is the leading professional association in innovative chest medicine. We advance the best health outcomes for patients with lung disease through education, advocacy, research, and philanthropy.

CHEST is the professional home for more than 22,000 pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine professionals seeking clinical education and connection to the worldwide chest medicine community.

Mission

To champion the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chest diseases through education, communication, and research.

Vision

To be the global leader in advancing best patient outcomes through innovative chest medicine education, clinical research, and team-based care.

Values

Our values are our guiding principles. They empower us to conduct our mission in service of achieving our vision.

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Our identity

COMMUNITY

Putting people first

Community is the cornerstone of CHEST. We strive to cultivate a welcoming atmosphere where clinicians across disciplines at varied career stages—who also fill different roles on the care team—can not only develop their professional expertise but also form friendships, find mentors, and have fun. Our leaders are committed to being accessible to all members. Members can become involved in special interest groups, leadership opportunities, committees, and more.

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LEADERSHIP

Driven by expert clinicians

CHEST is governed by a Board of Regents that provides direction and oversight for our strategy and objectives, including program development, financial review, and accountability on our organizational goals. Chaired by the President, our board is made up of volunteer clinicians who represent a wide range of specialties and types of medicine.

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HISTORY

A legacy of action

In 1935, a young man named Murray Kornfeld was recovering from tuberculosis when he had an idea for a professional society committed to educating clinicians and laypeople on chest diseases. He wasted no time hosting the organization’s first annual meeting and founding a monthly journal the same year. Fast forward to now, the meeting attracts 5,000 professionals annually, and the journal CHEST^® is one of the top critical care medicine journals.

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Our work

Education

We hear it from members all the time: No one supports chest medicine clinicians in their daily work like CHEST. Through our annual meeting, board review courses, simulation courses, CHEST SEEK™ study tools, and e-learning resources, we help clinicians provide the highest quality patient care.

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Advocacy

With a focus on legislative actions that improve access to health, we fight for policies that prevent and treat lung disease, empower clinicians, and save lives. Our policy agenda centers on practical solutions that reflect the needs of those who are directly affected by the issues.

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Research

In the fast-changing landscape of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine, we advance patient care through publishing rigorous clinical research. We help practitioners respond to today’s challenges through our three peer-reviewed scholarly journals and clinical practice guidelines.

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Philanthropy

Through our philanthropic efforts, we have worked to eliminate health disparities by addressing barriers to accessing quality health care. We’ve awarded more than $10 million in grants for research and community health programs, in addition to funding initiatives that help improve patient care.

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What we do descriptive heading