March 2021
President's Message
Greetings all,
 
I hope everyone is having a safe Spring. This is a perfect time to shine a light on some unsung heroes who support the ACVR. For those who may not know, we (the ACVR) for many years have worked with the Pennsylvania Medical Society as our executive support team. Our team leader is Libby Dietrich, whose name you will see listed below in several of the announcements. Her team is responsible for much of the detail work that keeps the ACVR running. She and her team help us put together this newsletter, troubleshoot membership issues, organize Council meetings, help organize the Scientific meeting, and even answer the ACVR phone (yes, we have a phone line! 833-770-1540). Thanks to Libby and her team for their tireless work and professionalism in support of the ACVR. 

Assistant Examination Director Needed!
For many years, Dr. Stephanie Nykamp has done a fantastic job as Examination Director of both the ACVR and ACVR-Equine Diagnostic Imaging examinations. Many thanks for her herculean efforts, but it is time to find an Assistant Examination Director to help with some of these tasks. The Assistant Examination Director helps with many facets of organizing the Examinations. A more thorough explanation of assistant Examination Director duties can be found here.

Monthly website tip
The membership search directory is being updated. New search features will include searchability of member contact emails as well as searches for residents and non-diplomate "Friends of the ACVR" who belong to the various societies. Resident searches will be restricted to residents and diplomates. Friends will only be able to search in their respective society. Other search strategies will go beyond the membership directory, to include keyword searches of the entire website so that information about a given topic can be easily searched from the magnifying glass. Stay tuned for that as all of this functionality should be live over the next 2-3 months. 
 
Also, check out past ACVR conferences under the Event Recap link from the resources pages. There are plenty of great recorded lectures. Also, to keep the website fresh and updated, the societies are ALWAYS looking for an interesting Case of the Month. Submit a case today; it's real easy. 
 
While this newsletter contains a lot of recent ACVR information, for a more thorough and current list of important dates, be sure to check out the regular news feature on the website.
Important Maintenance of Certification Information
Howdy Folks! As you know, we have been working to develop a new methodology for you to document and track your activities for maintenance of certification (MOC). Libby Dietrich has been working hard to help develop a mechanism that is straightforward and user friendly. In the coming months, we will be launching ACVR Focal Spot in partnership with Docebo, a Learning Management System platform that will interface with the ACVR website and provide several useful tools for the ACVR Membership.

The initial and primary function of ACVR Focal Spot will be documentation of MOC activities. Each member will be assigned to an MOC Course based on their MOC year. Your progress through the Course will be based upon documentation and completion of assignments that will allow you to record your attendance at meetings, your participation in committees, and your other achievements that count toward your 100 points of MOC credit. These uploaded documents will be reviewed and approved by the MOC committee.

Notifications will be sent out strategically, reminding you to complete portions of your MOC Course and upload documentation. Once your 10-year MOC is completed, you will roll into the next Course. For example, a 2015 Diplomate completing the 2015 MOC Course will then be rolled into the 2025 MOC Course.

Those of you in MOC 2015 year will be added to the system first (thanks for your participation as test subjects!). MOC is a complex system, and along with the Docebo team, we are working hard to create something functional and simple for ACVR Members. We will appreciate any constructive feedback to make this as useful and simple as possible. As we continue to improve the process, more MOC Course years will be added. Additional functionality within ACVR Focal Spot will be introduced over time.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about this as we continue to move forward.

Sincerely,

Matthew D. Winter, DVM, DACVR
Chair, MOC Committee
ACVR Committee Updates
Veterinary Ultrasound Society Update 
Peter Noel, VUS President
I would like to encourage members to continue to sign-up for Discourse and submit studies for Case of the Month. For those having trouble accessing the ACVR website or Discourse, please contact Libby Dietrich (ldietrich@pamedsoc.org).
Council Report Deadline - March 26
A reminder to all committee/society leaders that your reports are due March 26th, so we can review them at our Council meeting at the end of April. Please upload your reports directly to your committee/society’s dropbox folder. If you cannot access the folder, need a copy of your charge letter, or have other questions, please contact Libby Dietrich (ldietrich@pamedsoc.org).
ACVR Diplomate Apparel & Accessories
Big thanks to the ACVR’s Public Relations Committee for designing and launching the Diplomate’s ProShop! We hope to have "non-Dip-specific" gear soon!

More information on ACVR Diplomate Apparel and Accessories can be found here.
Discount of Wiley Books for ACVR Members
ACVR Members can save 35% on titles from Wiley.com using our special promo code. To view the promo code, or for more information on this discount, click here! 
ACVR Job Board Notifications

ACVR will no longer be sending out weekly job board updates. Instead, ACVR members can opt-in to receive automatic job posting notifications to provide them with instant access to new jobs.
Click here to view the current jobs posted on ACVR's Job Board.
Renew Your Society Memberships
Society Dues: Diplomate - $30; Resident - Complimentary

Societies:
  • Ultrasound
  • LADIS
  • CT/MRI
  • Nuclear Medicine
  • ZEWDIS
Contribute to Next Months Insights e-Newsletter!
Email Brendan Leahy at bleahy@pamedsoc.org with your content ideas and contributions.