How to Start Your Leadership Journey With CHEST
April 14, 2023
Every member of the interdisciplinary team contributes to delivering the best possible patient care in their own way, and CHEST’s volunteer leadership is much the same. Without the perspectives, expertise, and skills of a diverse array of clinicians, CHEST could not deliver the education, products, and publications needed to positively impact the care of patients across the globe.
Now is your chance to help drive the organization’s mission forward—and build your own professional portfolio and network—as a leader at CHEST. Submit your application for one of the many open positions before Monday, June 5, to be considered.
Are you new to leadership or not sure where to go next? We spoke with Advanced Practice Provider (APP), Corinne Young, MSN, FNP-C, FCCP, Member-at-Large of the Asthma and COPD Section of the Airways Disorders Network, who shared her tips for starting your leadership journey with CHEST and the professional and personal perks you can expect from becoming a leader.
Where to begin
Many leaders at CHEST start by becoming involved with a Network, and Young is no different.
“Initially back in 2005 or 2006, when I first started going to CHEST, I felt like I was sneaking into a physician conference,” she said. “I didn’t know that other APPs went and if there was an APP presence. I accidently ran into another APP at the conference, and I just grabbed them and wanted to know everything about their experience and if it was like mine. Then we heard about the Interprofessional Network.”
Young joined the group and later expanded her leadership trajectory to include several other Networks that matched her clinical interests, including research. It was as part of the Network leadership that she first had the chance to provide input on sessions, posters, and other education at the CHEST Annual Meeting, as well as to influence content in the CHEST Physician® publication and on other platforms.
“That’s your first introduction into truly becoming part of CHEST—not just attending the meeting, not just as a publication you read, but as something that you are actually part of. Being a Network leader provides opportunities to get involved with the publications, the meeting, the fellows,” she said. And this involvement in CHEST’s communities can lead to even more opportunities to contribute to the organization.
“Because I was involved in those Networks, I got an invitation to sit on the Scientific Program Committee,” she said. “It was a chance to see how they actually design the conference and to have some input from an APP perspective on the topics that were relevant and the vetting process of the sessions.”
What to expect
For Young, one of the most impactful aspects of becoming involved as a leader at CHEST was the opportunity to not only advance her clinical expertise and skills but also grow professionally from being a part of a community of knowledgeable and motivated clinicians.
“Talk about imposter syndrome, try being an APP in pulmonary medicine, where no certification exists,” she said. “We want a way to vet our knowledge, to meet others who are in the same situation and gather knowledge from them. Personally, I’ve gotten a lot of satisfaction from that [part of it]. It’s steel sharpening steel; it’s a way to advance your career outside of the clinic setting.
“If you are looking to do a deeper dive into your career, further your education, and further yourself professionally, becoming involved with CHEST is how to make that happen,” Young said. “Getting involved with the Networks is a wonderful introduction into the organization, and it’s an opportunity to volunteer your time and meet others who are like-minded in wanting to expand not only their role but also their professional opportunities.”
Learn more about the open leadership opportunities with CHEST. Applications are due Monday, June 5.