Kathy S. Thomas, MHA, CNMT, PET, FSNMMI-TS
Although the COVID-19 pandemic continues to restrict large gatherings, nuclear medicine professionals worldwide are looking forward to the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s (SNMMI) annual meeting. This year, we will meet virtually to celebrate our profession’s many successes, share new advances, and explore presented scientific work and technology.
Although we’re meeting virtually, there are 2 events you won’t want to miss, including the Technologist Section’s 50th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday evening, June 12. The evening will include an entertaining interview with a board-certified internist and actor, Dr. Ken Jeong. Dr. Jeong has appeared in several well-known movies, including The Hangover, The Hangover Part II and Part III, and Crazy Rich Asians, as well served as a judge on The Masked Singer. He will discuss his show business success and then address presubmitted medical questions, offering his spontaneous (and hopefully appropriate!) responses. It’s an event that you won’t want to miss!
In this issue, 4 CE articles offer a wide diversity of topics, including the value of PET/CT in evaluating tissue oxygenation in radiation therapy planning and subsequent dose escalation (1); image quality recommendations for DaTscan imaging (2); the challenges with establishing a PET/MR facility (3), the first in a 4-part integrated CE series on PET/MR (with subsequent articles focusing on technology principles [part 2], protocols and procedures [part 3], and applications and clinical case studies [part 4]); and an essential review of basic infection prevention in the era of COVID-19 (4).
Kathy S. Thomas, MHA, CNMT, PET, FSNMMI-TS
Another don’t-miss event is the SNMMI-TS Award Recognition and Plenary Session on Tuesday, June 15, with inspirational speaker Dr. Sampson Davis. Dr. Davis is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and the youngest physician to receive the National Medical Association’s highest honor, The Scroll of Merit. This program will also highlight the many accomplishments of the Technologist Section and present multiple awards, including the JNMT Best Paper awards. Each year, published manuscripts written by technologists as the first author are judged in the following categories: Scientific Papers (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place), Continuing Education Article, Teaching Case Studies, and Educators’ Forum Article. You can find a complete list of the JNMT 2020 Best Paper Awardees at https://www.snmmi.org/AboutSNMMI/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=35346 … and don’t miss the September issue of JNMT, in which the best paper awards and photos of the authors will be included. So my question to you—is your name on that list? If not, consider sharing your expertise by writing about the clinical research performed in your department, or help educate JNMT readers by writing a continuing education (CE) article, or highlight an unusual finding as a teaching case study, or perhaps share a technique that has resulted in a successful outcome in the classroom—maybe next year we’ll see your name on JNMT’s 2021 Best Paper awards!
Educators worldwide have been challenged with translating inclass instructions to an online format in the restrictive COVID-19 environment. In the Educators’ Forum, several discussions present the adaption and impact of in-class instructions in nuclear medicine technology to online learning.
The Practical Protocol Tip (PPT) selected for this issue on 18F-sodium fluoride (18F-NaF) imaging (5) complements the discussion on 18F-NaF PET/CT imaging using an LYSO PET/CT System (6). The PPT provides an imaging-specific protocol that can be added to your department’s procedure manual.
I would also like to draw your attention to Shannon Youngblood’s discussion on bullying (7). We hear a lot about bullying in grades 1–12, yet how many of us consider this concept as it relates to technologists or students working in nuclear medicine departments? The discussion provides several interesting findings and summarizes the potential occupational hazards and health-care safety concerns related to workplace bullying in the medical field. It’s an important discussion, with conclusions that each of us should carefully reflect on from a personal perspective and as they apply in our workplace.
Don’t forget to explore the many scientific articles and teaching cases in this issue and the book review summarizing the newly published book Clinical Nuclear Medicine Neuroimaging (8). Also note the SNMMI Statements on COVID-19 and ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) lung studies and the effect of the COVID-19 vaccination on FDG PET/CT in this issue (9, 10).
As always, if you have suggestions or comments to enhance I am looking forward to meeting you virtually as we gather together for
