by Kelsey Herbers
Ted Anderson, MD, PhD, Betty and Lonnie S. Burnett Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was inducted May 5 as the 70th president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) during the organization’s annual meeting in Nashville.
The induction marks the first time in the organization’s history that an incoming president was inducted in his hometown.
Anderson serves as vice chair for Clinical Operations and Quality in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and executive medical director of Women’s Services for Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He has previously served ACOG in other roles, including treasurer of the Executive Board, chair of the Council of District Chairs, Tennessee Section chair, District VII chair and chair of the Junior Fellow College Advisory Council.
In his role as president, Anderson hopes to work with congress to support more research in women’s health care and to re-envision the system of delivery of surgical care to optimize patient safety and outcomes. He also plans to focus on improving the specialty’s system for training residents to meet that need.
His term will last one year.
“This is the highest recognition one could possibly achieve in our specialty, and I am honored and humbled to be able to serve in this capacity,” said Anderson. “This escalates the opportunity to improve the life of one patient at a time to being involved in programs that positively impact millions of women across the nation and worldwide for generations to come.”
As the nation’s leading group of physicians providing health care for women, ACOG encompasses more than 58,000 members and focuses on the improvement of women’s health through continuing education for providers, promoting patient education, developing practice guidelines and increasing awareness of challenges facing women’s health care.
