Despite the travel, and, let’s face it, life restrictions of Covid-19, the ACVR DI Preliminary Examination and RO Certifying Examination took place according to schedule at the end of August. The DI and RO examination committees worked double duty to ensure a secure virtual version of the exam to allow candidates to reap the fruits of their studies. Thank you to the exam committees for your hard work and to the candidates for your patience and adaptability under these extenuating circumstances.
The exam committees are on track to hold the EDI Certifying and DI Certifying Examinations later this fall, in order to delay certification of our new diplomates as little as possible.
As summer draws to a close, the ACVR is ramping up its fall activities. Registration is now open for the virtual ACVR Annual Scientific Meeting, being held October 19-23rd. Because the meeting is virtual, it will be recorded and registrants will have access to content for 60 days following the meeting. We hope to see you in even greater numbers this year!
Some highlights to look forward to:
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Monday: Dr. Kimberly Applegate will inform us on radiation safety in veterinary patients and Dr. Sarah Pownder will cover musculoskeletal MRI protocols.
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Tuesday: A focus on musculoskeletal MRI with Drs. Matt Brokken, Sam Franklin and Shannon Holmes.
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Wednesday: LADIS and ZEWDIS keynote speakers Dr. Kyla Ortved and Dr. Sophie Dennison…for those looking for something other than cats and dogs! Also, the RO track begins.
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Thursday: CT/MRI keynote Dr. Nancy Fischbein, and Drs. Silke Hecht and Michael Kent do a DI/RO double team on brain tumors.
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Friday: Dr. Charles Root will regale us with the annual talk on the History of the ACVR, Dr. Mason Savage will host the perennially entertaining Image Interpretation Session and Dr. Michelle Turek will educate us on ring gantry radiotherapy.
There will be a parallel track for the record number of abstracts that were submitted this year and a Virtual Exhibit Hall to meet with all of our vendors. Finally, both the DI and RO Business Meetings will be held on Friday and Society Meetings will be held daily.
On Tuesday October 20, there will be a track dedicated to technicians in diagnostic imaging. Please see the AVTDI website for more details on registration.
The ACVR Mentoring Committee is looking to do some matchmaking! This committee pairs junior faculty members with more senior ACVR faculty members who are willing to serve as mentors. The hope is that this mentor-mentee relationship can provide an avenue for input and advice on all topics related to an academic faculty position in veterinary radiology. If you are a junior faculty member (tenure or clinical track at an assistant professor level) interested in meeting an ACVR mentor, please contact committee chair Dr. Nathan Nelson who can start the matching process.
Thank you to Residency Directors for registering your programs and residents. The complete list of DI, RO and EDI residency programs has been updated. We are excited to see 54 new DI residents (44 academic and 10 private practice), 9 new RO residents (7 academic and 2 private practice programs) and a new EDI resident.
We continue the search for a new Treasurer, to begin in December 2020. This is a 3-year mandate with a paid stipend. The treasurer sits on ACVR Executive Council and duties include: working with the ACVR controller to oversee ACVR finances, creating bi-annual financial reports, summarizing financial activity at annual business meetings, overseeing dues and creating an annual budget. Please contact Dr. Nathan Nelson if you are interested or if you know of someone who might be.
Finally, the ACVR fall council meetings are being held on September 3 and October 8. There is still time to let us know if there are any topics you feel Executive Council should be addressing. Also, elections for 2 new ACVR council members will take place in early October, so please watch your email and Discourse for an invitation to vote.
Dr. Kate Alexander