Q&A: Heron Rodriguez, Co-Founder & Chairman of AIMS
Heron Rodriguez is the Co-Founder and Chairman of AIMS Summit and a Vascular Surgeon at Northwestern University in Chicago, where he is Professor of Surgery and Radiology at the Feinberg School of Medicine and Program Director for the Vascular Surgery Residency.
From training in Puebla, Mexico to building a decades-long academic surgical career in Chicago, his vision for AIMS rests on one deceptively simple rule: no technical shop talk. It’s a discipline he credits with turning a medical meeting into something else entirely, a place where surgeons, regulators, investors and Olympians end up in the same room, and where, he says, the value only grows the more senior you become.
As Chairman, what’s your vision for where AIMS is headed, particularly in engaging the next generation of surgeons?
The main mission of AIMS is to promote the exchange of ideas and projects related to innovation in healthcare, wellbeing for healthcare providers, and academic development between Ireland and the US. It is particularly important to engage the young physicians that will be the protagonists of the future of healthcare.
Why do you think AIMS matters now more than ever for trainees and young consultants?
The pace at which changes in technology are affecting the practice of medicine was unforeseeable in the recent past. It is very important that our residents and students are active participants in the conversations that we will shape how we adopt those technologies in our daily practices. Our students and residents are busy enough trying to learn how to be doctors. Therefore, it is of critical importance that they find appropriate forms where they can be exposed to the arrowhead of the implementation of technological changes.
How has AIMS evolved since you’ve been involved, and what’s stayed constant?
The mission of AIMS has not changed. We want to promote the exchange of academic ideas and projects, technological advancements, strategies for wellbeing and mentorship across both sides of the Atlantic.
While trying to fulfil the admission, aims has become melting point of sorts, were key opinion leaders in academic medicine, regulators from governmental agencies, investors and industry have come together to share ideas on projects.
What sets AIMS apart from other surgical education/networking opportunities out there?
There are plenty of medical meetings all over the world. What sets as a part and the street rule that we have been living by from the very beginning, he is at we avoid discussing technical topics in medicine specific to particular specialties. Instead, we have a broad approach that fosters collaboration and creativity. That has been the key to aims success.
What would you say directly to a trainee who’s unsure whether AIMS is “for them” yet?
I would simply say: Come and give it a chance. I have been surprised about the number of colleagues that after attending her meeting for the first time reach out to tell me this is hands down the best medical meeting I have ever attended.
What opportunities does AIMS offer trainees that they might not get elsewhere?
Exposure to leaders in multiple fields including academics, industry –medical and non-medical alike-, government delegates and even sports celebrities that are also physicians. The number of fruitful working relationships that have been born at our meetings continues to impress us every year.
Why should established consultants stay involved with AIMS rather than seeing it as something for earlier-career surgeons?
Because our learning and relational needs as academicians change as we become more senior. The need for technical information related our own field decreases whereas our need to foster fruitful relationships and our need to be exposed to new ideas increase. AIMS provides a platform to meet incredibly successful individuals from fields that we are rarely exposed to. Just think about this for a minute. During one of AIMS summits, you get the opportunity to interact with a former US Surgeon General, a Wimbledon star who is also a surgeon and a Wellbeing champion, the doctor in charge of keeping the best soccer team in history healthy, a decorated Olympian who is now learning no navigate orthopaedic residency, an entrepreneur whose company delivers medications via drones or Ireland Minister for Health. As I find myself in the later stages of my clinical career, I find these kinds of interactions to be much more valuable that the typical medical meeting where I hear all over again how to do an operation.
As Chairman, what’s your welcome message to anyone considering AIMS for the first time?
Thank you for joining us for the first time. I guarantee that you will learn, become encouraged and inspired to explore areas of your career that you may have not thought feasible or useful. Welcome to the AIMS community and I look forward to interacting with you personally.
If you had to sum up AIMS in one sentence, what would you say?
A medical meeting like no other you have attended.