San Diego, CA -- Today Kenneth L. Noller, MD, of Boston, became the 58th president of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) based in Washington, DC. His inauguration took place during ACOG's Annual Clinical Meeting at the San Diego Convention Center.

During his presidential address, Dr. Noller expressed concern over the state of American medicine and cited the need for ob-gyns to become more active at every level of government and to participate on every insurance board, state board, and hospital board and in the initiatives of local medical associations. "Individually, and as ACOG, we are the voice of women's health-and we must make our voices heard. With our knowledge of the local issues and our understanding of women's health care needs, we can and must effect change," he said.

While reform of the medical liability system will remain a top legislative priority for ACOG, Dr. Noller also cited the need to continue to attract the best and the brightest medical students to the specialty. As president, he will create a new task force with the charge to examine current practice models and recommend more efficient and innovative ways to practice ob-gyn. "We need to learn how to practice smarter, not harder. We need to learn how to get more out of each hour, not simply to add more hours to our already busy days," he said.

In closing his address, Dr. Noller reminded his colleagues that "first and foremost, we are women's health care providers. We were trained to practice medicine, and that is what we do best. Each day our goal must be to provide the very best health care for our patients-we must now and always be their champions."

Dr. Noller is the Louis E. Phaneuf professor and chair of the ob-gyn department and a professor in the department of family and community medicine at Tufts University in Boston. He is also the gynecologist-in-chief at Tufts-New England Medical Center. Active in ACOG since 1979, Dr. Noller has served on numerous ACOG committees and review boards. He has chaired the Precis Advisory Committee, the committees on Gynecologic Practice and the Scientific Program, and the Clinical Document Review Panel-Gynecology. Dr. Noller has served on the editorial board of Obstetrics & Gynecology and as editor of Precis: Gynecology. He has held leadership positions in a number of professional societies and has served as president of the Boston Ob-Gyn Society and the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology.

Dr. Noller completed his medical degree at Creighton University in Omaha, NE, followed by his residency at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, MN.

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