A Message to Our Stakeholders

Medical regulators in the United States are, above all else, public servants – whose work impacts the health and welfare of patients and families throughout the nation. As healthcare has adjusted and adapted under the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic years, the state medical board community has adjusted and adapted as well.

As FSMB completes another year of service to medical boards and the COVID-pandemic emergency ends, it is appropriate that our new Strategic Plan was adopted by our House of Delegates in May 2023. As the U.S. healthcare community continues to emerge from the difficulties of recent years, this updated document will help chart the future of our organization with our member medical boards.

It is also appropriate that the first strategic goal of FSMB – and top priority – is state medical board support. Our plan stresses providing the highest level of service and support possible for the 70 boards that make up the FSMB. We serve these boards and their mission of public protection and recognize that helping them succeed is our primary purpose.

FSMB’s activities over the last year, many of which are detailed in this year’s Annual Report, demonstrate our commitment to this important principle. FSMB and the medical board community have emerged from the pandemic years stronger, nimbler and more interconnected. We’ve learned how much we need one another – and how much we have to offer one another.

We encourage you to explore the rest of the Annual Report website to learn more about the activities and accomplishments of FSMB and the medical board community over the last year. We’ll briefly mention here a few noteworthy developments:  

FSMB and Administrators in Medicine (AIM) were honored to co-host a first-of-its-kind meeting of member medical board Executive Directors earlier this year. Nearly 50 executives joined the gathering in-person or virtually for panels, discussions, and networking opportunities. The result was a rich exchange of ideas as opportunities for future FSMB offerings were identified, including training for new board members, support for Executive Directors on strategic planning initiatives, and research opportunities to identify best practices.

On a related note, FSMB hired a Vice President of Engagement and Member Services (Andrea Ciccone, JD) to engage our boards more fully on the myriad issues they face, both nationally and locally. As Ms. Ciccone and other FSMB leaders have crisscrossed the country meeting with our members in recent months, we’ve received extremely helpful ideas and feedback on how we can better serve our boards. We're looking forward to continuing this conversation in the year ahead!

There are, of course, strong headwinds that the medical regulatory community will continue to face: continued threats at the state level to medical board autonomy; uncertainty about the medical regulatory workforce; healthcare workforce supply issues; partisanship at the state and federal levels; a worsening drug overdose epidemic; ongoing issues with physician wellness; and the uncertain but potentially chaotic impact on medical education and women’s health in the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision.

One thing is for certain: The FSMB has accomplished a great deal in its 111 years, but it cannot rest on its laurels. With an outstanding Board of Directors and incredibly dedicated and hard-working staff, we are ready to move forward and stay engaged to help our member boards protect the 320 million citizens of our indivisible nation.

Sarvam P. TerKonda, MD
Chair, Board of Directors

Humayun J. Chaudhry, DO, MACP, MACOI
President and CEO