TECHNOLOGIST News

Annual Meeting Registration Well Ahead of Last Year

Preregistration for this year’s 50th Anniversary Annual Meeting of the SNM is running about 30% ahead of last year’s annual meeting preregistration according to Jane Day, director of Meeting Services for the SNM. Exhibitor sales are also robust with 97% of space filled as of the beginning of February.

The Annual Meeting is scheduled for June 21–25 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, LA. Scientific sessions, continuing education, and such serious considerations are the main draw, of course, but the festivities planned for the celebration of the society’s 50th Annual Meeting may be making the decision to attend, and to register early, a bit easier. New Orleans is a city that takes celebrating seriously.

For more information on the festivities—and on the serious side of the meeting, go to www.snm.org or call Shawneece Hennighan at 703-708-9000 x1229. Preregistration closes April 28.

Corporate Friends Join with PDEF

The first meeting of Corporate Friends was held in January at the midwinter meeting in Hollywood, FL. Corporate Friends is a new corporate outreach program designed to advance the goals of the Professional Development and Education Fund (PDEF).

This annual membership program conveys a host of benefits and provides the Technologist Section with industry perspective and support. Initial reaction to the 2003 program was excellent with 8 companies quickly joining as Founding Members: Alliance Imaging, Amersham Health, BMS Medical Imaging, Capintec, GE Medical Systems, IDEC Pharmaceuticals, MDS Nordion, and Siemens Medical Solutions. Membership in the Corporate Friends program is $10,000 a year. Founding members commit to a 2-year membership. “We are thrilled at the early support for the programmatic goals of the Professional Development and Education Fund,” said PDEF Chair Mickey Clarke, CNMT, FSNMTS.

The first project that PDEF will undertake is to help increase the supply of qualified nuclear medicine technologists in the country. A pilot project is in the planning stages to increase minority recruitment through partnerships with strong college and university science departments in Alabama and Arkansas. Additionally, PDEF will provide grants and scholarships for individual technology students, promote best practices through small grants, and advance education through scholarships.

VOICE Credits from JNM

Some of the continuing education (CE) articles that appear in the SNM’s other journal, The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM), are approved for VOICE credit for technologists, as well as continuing medical education credit for physicians. While the CE articles in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology (JNMT) tend to be more technology-oriented, they are not the only source of continuing education credit for nuclear medicine technologists. Myocardial perfusion, radioimmunotherapy, and sentinel lymph node biopsy are just some of the topics that have been covered by continuing education articles in the JNM and that are now approved for technologist’s credit.

JNM articles that have been approved for VOICE credit are identified at www.snm.org (click Education then CE Articles Online), right below the current JNMT selections. SNM members can read the article online, take the examinations, and find out immediately whether or not they passed the test. Credit will be applied to member transcripts within one week.

VOICE BOX

This year, we head for jazzy New Orleans for an Annual Meeting you won’t want to miss! Our theme: 50 Years of Applying Nuclear Science to Clinical Medicine kicks off a year-long celebration which starts in New Orleans and continues through the 2004 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. In addition to a Mardi Gras parade, historical exhibits, and several exciting plenary sessions, the educational program is set, and technologists can look forward to many continuing education (CE) opportunities.

The Technologist Section program starts on Saturday, June 21, with several categorical seminars that include: PET Scan with the Experts, Nuclear Cardiology for the Technologist, Leadership Fundamentals, and a PET/CT tutorial.

The CE sessions begin on Sunday, June 22, and end Tuesday afternoon, June 24. There will be sessions on patient management, clinical uses of radioimmunotherapy, nuclear medicine reimbursement, advances in oncologic immunodiagnostic procedures, nuclear cardiology, radiation safety, and much more.

SNMTS also reviews and (when appropriate) approves the Physician/Scientist Program for VOICE credit. That means technologists will have MUCH to choose from each day.

For a detailed program preview, visit the SNM Web site: www.snm.org.

There are approximately 29 continuing education hours (CEH) available to technologists this year. The amount of credit each individual technologist earns at this meeting depends on the courses attended. Technologists must attend 80% of each session to claim credit. Note: VOICE Guidelines stipulate that “poster sessions, viewing exhibits, scientific papers or authorship of scientific papers” are activities that are not eligible for VOICE credit.

We look forward to seeing you in New Orleans!

For more information contact, Jannine Jordan, CE manager, SNM Education Department, at 703-708-9000 x1210 or jjordan{at}snm.org.