Gather with fellow CHEST 2023 attendees on Sunday afternoon for an unforgettable Opening Session that honors Hawaiian cultural traditions and celebrates the CHEST community.
“As we kick off the meeting, we want to tell our own stories about how CHEST is important to us and why,” said CHEST President, Doreen J. Addrizzo-Harris, MD, FCCP. “We’ll also give everybody a glimpse of what we’ve accomplished this year and what we hope to do over the next several years.”
Stories and their importance are integral to Hawaiian culture, not just verbally but through mele (song), oli (chants), and hula (dance). CHEST is embracing those traditions by integrating various storytelling methods throughout the annual meeting, starting with the Opening Session.
The session will begin promptly at 3:15 pm in the Hilton Hawaiian Village’s Coral Ballroom with a cultural presentation. For safety reasons—and out of respect to the presenters—doors will close at that time, and additional attendees will not be allowed into the ballroom until after the presentation.
“We wanted to highlight the people and the culture and the land as much as possible,” said Aneesa Das, MD, FCCP, Chair of the CHEST 2023 Scientific Program Committee.
Following the special presentation and welcome remarks from Drs. Das and Addrizzo-Harris, CHEST members who earned the Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians (FCCP) designation in 2023 will take part in the annual convocation, and Dr. Addrizzo-Harris will recognize winners of this year’s CHEST awards. She will then address attendees as 2023 CHEST President before ceremonially passing the presidency to 2024 CHEST President, Jack Buckley, MD, MPH, FCCP, who will also share remarks.
The afternoon’s events will highlight the diversity of voices and experiences within CHEST that lends itself to collaboration, Dr. Addrizzo-Harris said. Chest medicine teams include physicians and allied health professionals who work together every day; those teams, on a broader scale, work with sister societies in the US and internationally to create greater understanding and expand education in chest medicine.
“We have so many different voices involved in the Opening Session of CHEST,” Dr. Addrizzo-Harris said. “We hope, through these efforts, we are able to highlight how this collaboration can help us enhance the care we’re giving our patients.”
Cedric “Jamie” Rutland, MD, FCCP, will close out the Opening Session with his keynote address, “Diversifying the Application of Medical Knowledge.” Dr. Rutland brings his own uniquely positive outlook to the meeting kickoff, sure to inspire attendees as they embark on taking in as much education as possible at CHEST 2023.
“While Dr. Rutland is a well-established national speaker, he is also a pulmonary critical care physician,” Dr. Das said. “He’s one of us, and his story is relatable.”
Read more about Dr. Rutland and his journey in chest medicine in CHEST Daily News.