During the recent AGD2010 Innovation Through Involvement Conference in Chicago, more than 130 of the Academy of General Dentistry's (AGD) stakeholders participated in an opportunity to shape the future development of the organization.
New core purpose and value statements were established along with the production of an AGD2010 Strategic Plan. All attendees present helped provide the AGD with direction and made innovation a genuine priority.
"The AGD is experiencing a strategic rebirth. It is creating a dynamic organization, providing even better services and benefits," says AGD President Thomas A. Howley, Jr., DDS, MAGD. "This conference has invigorated and defined the AGD more than any other event since its founding in 1952."
The AGD2010 Task Force (2010TF), chaired by AGD Vice President Bruce DeGinder, DDS, MAGD was made up of AGD stakeholders from all over the United States and Canada. Responsible for preliminary work for the conference the 2010TF was dedicated to rejuvenating the AGD and bringing the association into the future.
"The members of the AGD are an extremely passionate group of general dentists," says Dr. DeGinder. "They spoke and we listened. They have set the goals and core values for this organization that will take AGD into the future."
This year, AGD completed an ambitious Organizational Marketing Research Initiative (OMRI), which took information from interviews, focus groups and telephone surveys to assess the needs and attitudes of general dentists.
"What has been made clear by the research is that general dentists share values such as: a commitment to lifelong learning through personal and professional development; integrity evidenced by ethical, honest and credible behavior; and excellence in oral health care," says Gerald J. "Jay" Donohue, Jr., CAE, CMP, AGD's executive director.
These values served as guidelines for creating the AGD2010 Strategic Plan which will be introduced to AGD's House of Delegates at the 2005 Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. this July.
"We are prepared to embrace the future and have now laid the foundation for strategic change that will benefit all," says Donohue.
The AGD is a non-profit organization of more than 35,000 general dentists dedicated to staying up-to-date in the profession through continuing education. A general dentist is the primary care provider for patients of all ages and is responsible for the diagnosis, treatment, management and overall coordination of services related to patients' oral health needs.
