Message from the President

The recently concluded 48^th Annual Meeting in Toronto demonstrated once again that the Technologist Section can certainly provide excellent continuing education. It was gratifying to see how many of the rooms were full, even standing room only! I congratulate Denise Merlino and her team on an excellent job. The next annual meeting will be in Los Angeles, CA. Carol Bonanno will be responsible, along with the Scientific and Teaching Committee, for development of the program. Please let Carol or me know what you liked best about the last annual meeting, and what other educational offerings you would like to see developed. We look forward to your input.

With the development of the Education Master Plan, I am sure that the educational focus of our organization is on the right track. The potential to review highlights of the meeting via DigiScript promises to spread the wealth of educational offerings to all of our members. To sign up for the SNM Virtual Library, which contains more than 75 hours of lecture content, visit the SNM Web site at www.snm.org and look for “Hot Topics.” This educational activity is being offered for a limited time at introductory rates of $25.00 for members and $40.00 for nonmembers.

I am pleased to be serving as president of the Technologist Section this year. It is a year that holds promise and challenges. We are looking forward to the passage of the CARE Act and the institution of minimum educational standards for imaging technologists. This cooperative effort with the American Society of Radiologic Technologists and multiple other professional societies will help to ensure that all Americans receive quality imaging procedures and radiation therapy treatments. Please answer the call when we let you know that it is time to write your senators and representatives to enlist their support. In August, several of us gathered to work on the actual language of the federal regulations that will set the framework for educational standards in the imaging modalities. By working together with other societies on this initiative, we have already accomplished a great deal. There is still, however, much to do. With passage of the Act, each state will need to write legislation. Those states that already have legislation will need to review their language to see that the new standards are met.

While in Toronto, the Scope of Practice Task Force met under the direction of President-Elect Frances Keech. This group will produce a document in the near future that will define our practice and replace the Performance Guidelines. The Scope of Practice document will be essential as the states draft their legislation and identify those tasks that are within the purview of nuclear medicine technologists.

One difficult task that faces us this year is deciding what constitutes entry-level education for our profession. I know that this will touch nerves and cause much discussion and debate, but it is something that we need to address. The face of our profession has changed in many ways since I trained in a certificate program nearly 28 years ago. Educators will have ideas and administrators and clinical supervisors may have others. The decision will need to be made after we have a chance to examine and approve the Scope of Practice. When we agree on what constitutes our practice, all of those concerned will need to come to agreement about what type of education and what length of training are necessary to achieve entry-level competence in the field. After the Scope of Practice document is complete, I hope to begin this discussion. The leadership is well aware that other groups are discussing this subject as well. If we do not act on our own behalf, we may find that the decision has been made for us. That would not be in the best interests of our profession.

I am grateful for the number of people who gave me their business cards at the meeting and the number of e-mail messages waiting at home when I returned from Toronto. All of these technologists are ready and willing to perform some task during the coming year. There is room for all of you and any others who are interested in volunteering in their professional organization. I look forward to hearing from you.