Page 10 - JSOM Summer 2019

from the

SOMA PRESIDENTOMA PRESIDENT

GREETINGS to the SOMA membership. Not only do mem-
Membership and JSOM Readers, bers have access to everything
SOMA is producing, but you
he Special Operations Medical H can be part of the production.
Harold Montgomery, MSG (Ret)arold Montgomery, MSG (Ret)
T& Scientific Assembly 2019 Any SOMA member can step
(SOMSA19) was a phenomenal up to be part of SOMA’s com-
success. Thanks to all of you who traveled both mittees and leadership.
short and long distances to attend. If you made it to
SOMSA19, then hopefully you got a lot out of the Education is on the move for SOMA. We will be
event this year. The final attendee numbers are still be- launching a SOMA learning management system
ing counted but it looks like we had about 1,300 peo- (LMS) over the summer to provide members with ac-
ple with us in Charlotte over the week. Nearly all the cess to education content. The content will kick off
training labs were at maximum capacity and we even with video content recorded at SOMSA events and
squeezed in a few more at the last minute. Thank you will grow to include classes and courses focused on
to all the instructors and coordinators who made the Special Operations medicine. We need contributors
training labs happen. Thank you to our many main to this content from our membership (and potential
session and track leads and presenters who make this membership). This is your chance to step up and
event worth attending. Thank you to our vendors who build education content for your peers or the next
make the exhibition a landmark event to get together generation. We hope to provide units with the option
users, developers, and manufacturers. A special thank of using SOMA LMS education content to supple-
you to Dr Missy Givens and Dr Chet Kharod as the ment unit-level training such as nontrauma modules.
leads for the SOMSA program committee. We also hope to use the SOMA LMS as part of a
blended classroom for our SOMSA training labs. Us-
This year’s event is over, but we are already getting ing this methodology, we can offer portions of train-
ready for next year. As we move forward in plan- ing courses through the LMS that would follow up
ning for SOMSA 2020, we are evaluating the entire with hands-on applications or assessments during
scheme of the event’s program. Demand for training the training labs at SOMSA. This is a huge step for
labs has increased every year and we are looking at SOMA and is an opportunity for many to contribute.
our options for meeting this demand. We are explor-
ing courses of action that may include offering train- We need your feedback! Expect SOMA member-
ing labs throughout the entire SOMSA week and not ship and SOMSA attendee surveys over the next few
justprior to the Assembly. We have often heard that months. While it would be great to get one-on-one
attendees must choose between two or three high- feedback from every member or attendee, that’s just
demand training events. Our goal is to offer the labs not feasible. As such, we will launch several surveys
enough times to allow everyone to attend. We will to get your feedback on a variety of topics related to
still have main session events and specialty tracks, but SOMA’s initiatives and activities. We’ll try to keep the
we really want to emphasize the training offered at surveys short and topic focused to efficiently use your
SOMSA that is above and beyond what is offered at time but to effectively get your opinions. Your opin-
traditional medical conferences. There are many tra- ion and feedback drive our decisions on SOMA’s way
ditional conferences to choose from throughout the ahead. Take a few moments and give us your advice
year, but there is only one SOMSA. and opinion.

SOMA is much more than the Scientific Assembly or SOMA Board positions will open in the next year with
an annual event, though. It’s really about the rest of elections in the winter before the next SOMSA. This
the year and the opportunities that SOMA offers its is your chance to be part of the SOMA leadership

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