ISGE VIDEOS

John J. Sciarra:  I am here with Dr. Franklin Loffer, who is the Medical Director and the Executive Vice-President of the AAGL, and he is also a faculty member, associate professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Arizona, which is the area, where he practices and what we would like to do over this interview is to talk a little bit about the AAGL working with other organizations, such as the ISGE for common goals.  So, I will ask Frank to give us his ideas about organizations working with the AAGL, as we are very interested.

 

Franklin Loffer:  AAGL is the first organization to become interested in gynecologic endoscopy.  It has found a large number of local societies and it has always been our endeavor to work with the local societies to advance the endoscopy.  We have a mutual interest.  The ISGE is not a local society.  It is an international society and likewise, with them, we feel we have anything we can do to work with them to be supportive of gynecologic endoscopy that would help us all in our specialties and also help the patients we treat.

 

John J. Sciarra:  Both the organizations, the AAGL and the ISGE have been really interested in advancing endoscopy worldwide; not only in individual countries of North America, but up everywhere and I would like to ask Frank what he thinks we can do together, whether it be training in the developing world or whether it be putting on programs together because the ISGE, I think is very interested in this area.

 

Franklin Loffer:  But we are clearly the two organizations in parallel with selves in many respects.  The ISGE has an international training program, which the AAGL does not have.  We certainly have a larger organizational structure behind us.  Our job is to

manage just us. Our meeting, which is held annually, in each November is the largest endoscopic meeting and therefore, attracts the exhibitors in large numbers.  It requires that just how we work together.  Many of the people who are involved in the two organizations are the same.  The players tend to be the same in all categories.  I think that we work together by being supportive of each other’s meetings, not competing.  The ISGE meets in the early part of the year and we meet in the later part of the year.  I think these are the two of the most obvious ways that we complement each other.

 

One of the things that the ISGE has never had is a permanent home because we have tended to sort of move as the secretary homes or the treasurer homes and AAGL has a permanent home in Southern California and my thought is always that it might be possible for the AAGL to offer the ISGE an opportunity to not necessarily move in with the AAGL, but for them to provide some of the services that we as a small organization cannot provide, but whereas a larger institution can provide very easily.

 

John J. Sciarra:  Do you think that ever would be possible?

 

 

Franklin Loffer:  Yes I do.  We are very fortunate of having our own building and our own staff, which numbers 15 full time people.  So, we have the facilities and we do support our organization.  We support the fellowship in the ASR and AAGL fellowships in gynecologic endoscopy.  We support ESGE and we support the foundation and those are all separate organizations, they are not part of the AAGL.

 

John J. Sciarra:  I think it is quite feasible that at some point if the ISGE we are looking forward to achieve in order to get permanent home that is tactically successfully accomplished.

 

I think that would be a nice change for us because it has been a quite costly for a small organization like the ISGE to keep changing its location and we have a lot of overlapping members, particularly in the United States, so it seems quite a logical thing for us to consider.

 

What do you think is the way forward for the two organizations to work together?

 

Franklin Loffer:  I think, although, there is a great deal of merits to what you are suggesting, but the problem, of course, is the ISGE does not want to see itself as being taken over.  That is certainly is logical.  It would be separate.  How can we accomplish this?

 

I think the initiative has to come from the ISGE.  I think for us it is the largest organization in the world to sort of assist you talk are not exactly appropriate.  As you know, from pat experience, we have been willing to listen and hopefully I am sure we will change this out.  As you well know, we have made efforts to work together.

 

John J. Sciarra:  Oh yes, I think that you have been very helpful in terms of trying to initiate a dialogue between the two organizations and I would like to see that it would continue and perhaps the new officers, you know, will take that seriously and take it forward.

 

I would like to thank Dr. Loffer for giving his time to the interview, and I hope that this is the beginning of the many opportunities for us to talk together.