A Look Back with a Hopeful Tomorrow

Tina Buehner

Tina Buehner, PhD, CNMT, FSNMMI-TS

Two years ago at about this same time, I had just learned that I was elected president-elect of the SNMMI-TS, an organization I love so much. I had so many plans and was so eager to get started.

The last 15 months have not been what anyone had planned. The changes, hardships, and challenges that people have had to endure are indescribable. I feel confident in saying that we will all remember it all for a long time—the good, the bad, the hope, the sadness, the triumphs, the front-line workers and essential personal, the camaraderie, the community, and the science and medicine. What a remarkable organization to be a part of this past year—we truly stepped up when our members and community needed us most, and we continued to hope and dream for better days.

During this past year we have worked effortlessly to provide additional resources for our members and to ensure that they are protected frontline workers. When vaccines became available in December, the SNMMI-TS collaborated with other imaging organizations to demand that nuclear medicine technologists be among the first to receive the vaccine.

With technologists on the frontline, in September 2020 the SNMMI-TS worked with the SNMMI COVID-19 Task Force to develop a Ventilation/Perfusion (V/Q) Lung Study Statement providing guidance on how to safely perform V/Q lung studies. In addition, the SNMMI-TS COVID-19 Task Force has continued to measure the impact of COVID-19 on technologists. Data from these surveys showed hesitancy among some technologists about being vaccinated. This resulted in two articles in the March-April 2021 issue of Uptake: “Facing the Issues: COVID Vaccination” and “What was Your Experience with the COVID Vaccination?” Data from the surveys also showed that our members needed more virtual continuing education options, so the SNMMI provided hundreds of FREE continuing education courses for technologists this past year. The SNMMI-TS Program Committee also planned a special Winter Program just for technologists.

Knowing that face-to-face connection was something we were all missing, we launched SNMMI-TS Tech Talks—a series of virtual, small-group roundtable sessions for Technologist Section members. Tech Talks were scheduled throughout the winter and spring and were centered around a hot topic or simply a social event to help connect the SNMMI-TS community.

The SNMMI-TS Quality Committee developed a onepage flyer to assist patients undergoing procedures involving venipuncture. The flyer offers guidance on how to prepare for such procedures and what to do in the case of a hematoma or extravasation.

Since November 2020, SNMMI has been in communication with Humana regarding its decision to deny coverage for PET/CT and SPECT/CT. Humana reversed its decision to deny coverage for PET/CT imaging of gastric and esophageal oncologic indications.

The SNMMI-TS PET/MR Task Force has spent the year developing a 4-part continuing education series that will be published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology. The four articles will focus on (1) the challenges with establishing a PET/MR facility, (2) technology principles, (3) protocols and procedures, and (4) applications and clinical case studies. The first will be published in the June 2021 issue.

While multiple pathways exist to enter the profession, a competency-based curriculum that includes a core education in science and math—along with an immersive clinical experience—is required of each pathway. Many institutions provide multiple pathways. The SNMMI-TS Educators Committee developed a comprehensive chart for each program that provides interested students with the important information they need.

This year, the SNMMI-TS launched an advanced leadership course that was offered to individuals who had previously graduated from the Leadership Academy. This eight-hour course prepared Leadership Academy graduates with additional career, leadership, and management training within four content areas: (1) diversity, equity, and inclusion; (2) promoting your department (and yourself); (3) situational communication; and (4) change management. The Advanced Leadership Academy will be repeated every five years.

Finally, although we did not get to celebrate our 50th Anniversary in New Orleans during the 2020 Annual Meeting as planned, we were eager to find THE perfect way to celebrate this centennial event. The SNMMI-TS secured Dr. Ken Jeong, Hollywood star, to headline the 50th Anniversary Celebration, held in conjunction with the SNMMI 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting. Jeong appeared as the Asianmobster “Mr. Chow” in the sleeper-hit comedy The Hangover. Jeong then reprised his iconic role in The Hangover Part II and III. A few years later, Jeong appeared in the Warner Bros. box office sensation Crazy Rich Asians, which earned the “Best Acting Ensemble” award at the National Board of Review awards. In February 2019, Jeong returned to his stand-up roots for his first-ever hit Netflix comedy special, Ken Jeong: You Complete Me, Ho. In television, Jeong was most recently seen as a judge on the FOX hit celebrity reality singing competition “The Masked Singer.” We could not be more thrilled for this once-in-a-life-time event!