August 2021
President's Message
Greetings all,

I will start with a reminder from last newsletter. If you are interested in volunteering for a committee next year, please contact me. I am happy to provide any details about time commitment, responsibilities, or direct you to someone on the committee of interest that can provide that information. Click HERE for a list of all the various ACVR committees. Thank you to those who have stepped forward.

Additionally, we need a chair of the Job Analysis Committee (click HERE for details). This committee periodically reviews the tasks performed by membership of the ACVR, which is important in determining Qualifying and Certifying Exam Objectives. The Chair and this committee will work with a company to help gather and analyze data for the Job Analysis Report. This is an important committee, so please consider volunteering as Chair or as a member.

My other news item for this month involves the ACVR Foundation. Many may not be aware, but the Foundation has faced challenges for some time. In short, Foundation donations have remained at a stable but very low rate. Donations were enough to cover expenses, but there has not been income to significantly grow Foundation operations or activities. Most donations were made by individuals during the time of dues renewal, but there few single, large value donations that many Foundations rely on. Moreover, essentially no donations were made from the public at large, meaning our Foundation maintained status as a private (rather than public) 501 3c charitable organization, which limited donation options from charitable trusts and other sources of large donor monies. As a result, little money had been dispersed by the Foundation towards its educational and research mission.

These struggles had been communicated to Council by the Foundation Board leadership. Over the last few years, Council and the Foundation leadership have discussed possible options to overcome these challenges, including hiring professional fundraisers and dedicated Foundation staff (a costly commitment) and unifying requests for corporate donations. When an opening on the Foundation board opened up, we put out a call for a new leader, including the need for someone willing to commit to the effort to address these challenges head on, but no volunteers stepped forward.

In light of these challenges, the decision was made to halt incoming Foundation donations, with a plan to spend down remaining funds on grants and continuing education events, as the money was originally intended. We would then look to dissolve the Foundation when those funds were spent, sometime in the future. It appeared to be the best option given the limited Foundation income that had no promise of increasing soon, without the dedication of significant resources (time and money) with no guarantee of success. 

This is unfortunate, but our Foundation appears to have had challenges similar to the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Foundation, which dissolved in 2017. This was not a decision that was not made lightly or painlessly, and we will be working with professionals to ensure that the process is followed correctly. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please contact me at the emails below.

And finally, hopefully everyone saw Dr. Drost's earlier message about the annual meeting (see the post HERE). If you have further questions, please contact me at the email below.

Sincerely,

Nate Nelson
ACVR/ECVDI AI Education and Development Committee – Dr. Kate Alexander
The AI-EDC has hit the ground running! We have put together a panel covering a variety of topics for the October ACVR Scientific Meeting in New Orleans. Thanks to those who chimed into the spring survey to tell us what you wanted to hear. Hopefully we will see many of you there!

As many of you know, AI is a hot topic! Recent articles on the topic of AI for radiographic interpretation have appeared in DVM 360 and on VIN. We took this opportunity to draft letters to the editors to promote the ACVR/ECVDI’s AI education and development initiative and express that we are available to provide accurate evidence-based expertise on AI in veterinary diagnostic imaging.

Finally, for those who might not have seen it in Discourse, in June, the AI-EDU worked with Veterinary Radiology and Ultrasound to endorse the use of CLAIM guidelines (https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/ryai.2020200029) for researchers, authors and reviewers with respect to AI research publications. The new VRU Editorial Policy can be found here.
Radiation Oncology at the 2021 ACVR Scientific Meeting
Please join us in New Orleans for the live, in-person Radiation Oncology (RO) sessions of the ACVR conference on Thursday October 21st (8 am-5:30 pm) and Friday October 22nd (8 am-5:30 pm).

Meeting highlights:
  • Keynote lecture by Dr. Ted Hong, Professor of Radiation Oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital of Harvard University: Abdominopelvic Radiation: Current Challenges and Future Opportunities 
  • State of the Art lecture by Dr. Alena Soukup, DACVR-RO, Equinox Healthcare: External Beam Radiation in Horses: Not an Unbeatable Challenge 
  • Continuing Education Lecture by Dr. Philippa Johnson, DipECVDI, Cornell University: MRI for Radiation Oncologists  
  • 13 RO scientific abstracts 
  • Varian sponsored luncheon featuring its new veterinary services 

Hope to see you in The Big Easy!  See the website for more information, meeting registration and to reserve your hotel room. Rooms are going fast, so reserve soon!

If you are unable to attend in person, pre-recorded content from the meeting will be posted after the conference for viewing and CE.

RO Program Committee:
Michelle Turek, Program Co-Chair (michelle.turek@wisc.edu)
Michele Keyerleber
Tracy Gieger
Michael Kent

5 Spots Left in LADIS Equine Diagnostic Imaging Course for August/September 2021
Large Animal Diagnostic Imaging Society of the ACVR is offering a virtual equine diagnostic imaging course for ACVR residents, diplomates, and post-trainees. The course will include didactic lectures covering image interpretation of all modalities and 6 hours of live small group case discussions in August and September.

  • The didactic content will be available for viewing prior to the case-based laboratory sessions.
  • The live/case interaction portions of the course will be held in two groups:
  • one prior to ACVR board examinations in three 2-hour blocks on August 12 from 2-4pm CT, August 17 from 2-4pm CT, and August 18 from 12-2pm CT, and
  • one following ACVR board examinations in three 2-hour blocks on September 23 from 2-4pm CT, September 24 from2-4pm CT, and September 28 from 2-4pm CT.
  • You will be contacted after registration to determine which session you will participate in. If one session becomes full then remaining participants may be pushed to the other session.

2021 ACVR Annual Scientific Meeting Registration is Now Open!
ACVR cannot wait to see everyone…you know face to face, in-person, not on a computer screen…down in the Bayou this October. Join us October 20-23 at the New Orleans Sheraton. Registration is now open!

A tentative conference schedule is available on our website, and can be found HERE!
What’s the difference between In-Person and Virtual?

The in-person goodness of an ACVR Meeting includes:
• My Peers,
• Exhibitors and corporate supporters that have stood by us through the years,
• the Interactive panel discussing Artificial Intelligence
• the smash hit Image Interpretation Session,
• Social events including the Welcome Reception and new Diplomate Introductions in the Exhibit Hall,
• the Forum focusing on my mental health, wellness, and interpersonal communication,
• Keynote Speakers representing ACVR societies,
• Abstract presentations,
• and everything I have missed about seeing my friends.

AND I get RACE – LIVE CE credits! 

Added bonus to my in-person registration fee: Access to recorded content that is published after the meeting.

Yay! Virtual attendance is an option.  

Some virtual material will be available starting October 20, 2021, while other material will be available after the meeting. The material includes:
• Recorded Keynote Sessions,
• Abstract presentations (available Oct 20),
• Access to Exhibitors and corporate supporters (available Oct 20),
• Recorded Artificial Intelligence Panel,
• and the ability to complete my CE needs on my own time frame.

AND I will get RACE – On Demand CE credits after completing my post-tests!

Reservation Phone Number: +1 504-525-2500
Toll-Free Number: +1 888-627-7033
Opt-in for Automatic Renewal
ACVR can now offer you the opportunity to make dues payment even easier! 

Visit your Profile Settings once you are logged into acvr.org. Check the box for Automatic Renewal.
Add your credit card information that will be stored securely with the processes company. No staff or administrators can see your private details. It is encoded and stored.
It is as simple as that!

Your membership dues will process automatically when they expire with the credit card on file until your card details change!
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 no longer sends 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
ACVR Calendar of Important Dates
January 31 - Resident Research Grant Application Deadline
January 31Residency Program Forms Deadline
June 1 - Resident Reporting for Residency Directors
June 30 - Diplomate Research Grant Application Deadline
August 25 – 2021 ACVR Certifying Exam
August 26 – 2021 ACVR Preliminary Exam
September 1 – Registration Rate change for ACVR 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting
September 20 – Room Block Closes for ACVR 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting in NOLA

To view a full list of important dates, click here.
Contribute to Next Months Insights e-Newsletter!
Email Brendan Leahy at bleahy@pamedsoc.org with your content ideas and contributions.