CENTRAL CHAPTER
Description and Goals
The Central chapter has 1,685 members consisting of technologists, physicians, and scientists from 6 states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Its primary goals are to increase membership, continue to meet the needs of members by developing several high-quality continuing education opportunities each year, develop new leaders through mentoring opportunities such as student representatives and the Leadership Academy, provide advocacy to support states within the chapter on medical and financial issues, and provide community outreach to educate the public on what nuclear medicine and molecular imaging are. One important unique factor about the Central chapter is the support and dedication of nuclear medicine physicians. The chapter has a wonderful group of nuclear medicine physicians, including the current SNMMI president, Dr. Gary Dillehay, who provides a tremendous amount of support and guidance to the chapter. In addition, the chapter offers a 4-credit-hour Saturday Road Show for all 6 states in the chapter. The Road Shows are held from September though November and average 40–70 attendees, depending on location. Finally, the chapter has an active outreach program in which volunteers attend high school classes and career days.
Annual Meeting
The chapter holds 2 annual meetings: The fall meeting (October) lasts a day and a half and provides members with 12 credit hours. The location of the 2 meetings alternates among states to ensure that all members are reached. The fall meeting averages 130 attendees. The 2-day spring meeting (March) is the chapter’s best-attended meeting, providing 12 credit hours and averaging 200 attendees each year. In addition to having amazing topics and presenters, the spring meeting offers a number of interesting and unique features, such as the opportunity for students, technologists, and residents to do oral presentations. Furthermore, the chapter has a student breakout session that includes student-focused lectures, an opportunity to question an expert panel, and a quiz bowl. The quiz bowl is a fun and interactive competition that brings together nuclear medicine technology students who form teams to compete against students from other programs throughout the chapter in nuclear medicine–related competencies. During the most recent spring meeting, the chapter was able to offer SAM credits to physicians and scientists.
Leadership Development and Fellows
The Central chapter develops new leaders through its student representative program. Program directors within the Central chapter are given an opportunity to submit an application for a student representative. From these applications, 2 students are selected by the Central chapter educators’ task force to serve for a 1-year term. During this time, each student representative attends governance meetings and is assigned a mentor and a committee on which to serve. As a result of this program, the chapter has been able to develop new leaders and create lasting relationships and members. The chapter has a total of 13 SNMMI-TS fellows.
NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER
Description and Goals
The New England chapter covers Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island and has about 860 members. Its primary goals are to increase membership, making the chapter more inclusive of all members, and to reshape the committees to be more in line with the SNMMI-TS. This year the chapter added a clinical trials network committee and emerging technologies committee as two examples. The focus of the chapter is on how to incorporate other ideas or job opportunities for students versus traditional nuclear medicine techs.
Annual Meeting
The chapter’s annual meeting moves around each year. This coming year it will be in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the last weekend of March. The meeting features a large student review session and student abstracts (both oral and poster) and a large vendor area.
Leadership Development and Fellows
The chapter develops new leaders by continuing to encourage the SNMMI TS Leadership Academy. In the past few years, the chapter has had a couple of attendees. It also focuses on students and getting them involved from day one as volunteers and in other roles. The chapter has had many leaders in the SNMMI-TS. This year alone, two of the top positions were from New England—April Mann and Leo Nalivaika. The small geographic area allows the chapter to be more creative and flexible and able to make decisions quickly. The chapter is the smallest geographically but not the smallest in numbers. The chapter has 9 SNMMI-TS fellows.
PACIFIC SOUTHWEST CHAPTER
Description and Goals
The Pacific Southwest chapter covers the area from Bakersfield south, all of Arizona, and all of Nevada and includes more than 600 members. Its primary goals are to increase utilization of its newly designed Web site, www.Nucgang.org, increase participation within the chapter, and institute a chapter procedure manual for each committee. A unique feature of the chapter is its use of GoToMeeting for the monthly meetings of its board of directors. This feature has allowed a significant expansion of leadership to more accurately represent the membership, because board members can reside in various geographical areas yet actively participate in the leadership. The chapter also telecasts its continuing education meetings, giving members access to the meeting without the expense of travel. The chapter is incorporated and operated solely by volunteer technologists.
Annual Meeting
The chapter offers 3 meetings during the year, with different objectives. The annual meeting, at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, will also be telecast to an audience at the Mayo Hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona, and at Mercy Hospital Bakersfield on December 7, 2013. Officers will be installed at the meeting, and the educational focus is always on “Back to the Basics.” This meeting draws more than 300 attendees. The spring meeting is designed to encourage participation by both technologists and students. It includes poster presentations and is on a yearly rotation among San Diego, Los Angeles, and Arizona. This meeting is also telecast to other locations in order to include more chapter members. The “Viva Las Vegas” meeting is designed for state-of-the-art and advanced nuclear medicine technology.
Leadership Development and Fellows
To develop new leaders, the chapter conducts a biennial 2½-day Leadership Academy with intense training with the aid of an outside expert in staff development. There are 8 SNMMI-TS fellows in the chapter.
PITTSBURGH CHAPTER
Description and Goals
The Pittsburgh chapter has over 150 active members representing professionals from Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Western Ohio. The organization monitors and addresses nuclear medicine issues at a local level while providing members the opportunity to network with other professionals. The primary goal of the chapter for 2013–2014 is to increase enrollment for new members and promote the engagement of existing members.
Annual Meeting
The chapter holds 2 meetings each year: spring and fall. The meetings are held at the Regional Learning Alliance at Cranberry Woods, 850 Cranberry Woods Dr., Cranberry Township, PA 16006. The meetings are designed for technologists, physicians, and students in the field of molecular imaging and nuclear medicine and for other health-care professionals who wish to enhance their knowledge of current and future market trends.
Leadership Development and Fellows
Continuing education and research activities are held throughout the year to encourage and enhance leadership. The chapter has 1 SNMMI-TS fellow.
SOUTHEASTERN CHAPTER
Description and Goals
The Southeastern chapter has over 1,700 active members representing physicians, technologists, students, and allied professionals from Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and southern Ohio. Its mission is to communicate with, support, and educate all members and associate members in all aspects of the practice of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. Its primary goal is to engage technologists to join the chapter and become more involved. It also aims to remain fiscally responsible, provide networking possibilities, continue to be the means of choice for continuing education opportunities, and support vendor friends. Unique aspects of the Southeastern chapter are its broad range of geographical features and strong presence on the national level.
Annual Meeting
An annual educational meeting is held once a year in the fall. The 2013 meeting was in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the 2014 meeting is planned for Orlando, Florida, at the Hilton Downtown Disney, October 9–12. The Southeastern chapter has a strong grassroots base—so much so that every state has its own organization and holds an educational meeting for its members. One of the unique features of the annual meeting is the holding of workshops before the actual start of the meeting. Topics rotate from one year to the next.
Leadership Development and Fellows
During the annual Southeastern chapter meeting, each state is asked to send a representative to sit on the tech section executive council of the chapter and participate as a voting member. Involving the state organizations in the business of the chapter is one way it tries to develop leaders. New leaders are also developed by actively engaging constituent state organizations and encouraging attendance at the Leadership Academy. The chapter has had its fair share of SNMMI-TS presidents, from the first TS president, James F. Cooper, to the present one, D. Scott Holbrook. Eight chapter members have held this office. The chapter counts many SNMMI-TS leaders among its members: committee member appointments and chairs, delegates, directors, executive board members, and even the present Editor of the JNMT. The chapter proudly claims 18 members as fellows of the SNMMI-TS.