UAB Department of Neurosurgery employees attended the 20th Annual Neurosurgery Executives' Resource Value & Education Society (NERVES) conference in Philadelphia, PA this April.

NERVES was established in 2002 for the purpose of helping neurosurgery practice managers and administrators strengthen their practices. NERVES is the only national neurosurgery organization of its kind.

The organization, which comprises more than 200 members, is led by a 15-person board, including two surgeons from the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies (CSNS). The CSNS, which is the socio-economic arm of the AANS & CNS, established NERVES to encourage and facilitate networking, resource sharing, and resource gathering among practice managers and administrators.

Neurosurgery administrators from private practices, hybrid or hospital-owned practices, and academic institutions come together to exchange best practices, meet with peer institutions, participate in presentations from high-level speakers in the fields of neurosurgery coding, transformational change, healthcare, and behavioral economics, legislative updates, co-management of and fair market valuation for practices, and neurosurgery anatomy and terminology.  

One of the many highlights of the conference included Department of Neurosurgery Executive Administrator Donna Bailer, J.D., LL.M., elected as NERVES president for 2022-2023. Her experience as a former committee member, Southeast regional director, board member, and officer has prepared her for this new role.

"I am following in the path of many great former leaders of NERVES and hope to use the experience I’ve gained to drive the organization to even greater achievements in the coming year. I already have a good sense of the areas that can benefit from my attention to detail and innate desire to maximize and improve our educational opportunities, survey participation, membership network, and leadership in the national Neurosurgery space," says Bailer.

When asked why it is critical for the department to be active participate in NERVES, Bailer notes the importance of building a network of colleagues who help push the business of neurosurgery forward.

“When we can talk to each other about the same issues we all face day-to-day and can share ideas and best practices, it enhances all of our abilities to run a neurosurgery business successfully for the benefit of our patients, providers, and staff."