From the SIIM Chair: How to Improve a Great Meeting: Get Involved

Curtis Langlotz, MD, PhD, Chair

As I write this column, I am flying back to Philadelphia from our 2007 annual meeting in Providence. What a fantastic meeting! The visuals were stunning, with sun filtering through the translucent glass of the new Rhode Island Convention Center, clusters of colleagues socializing in the many open areas of the center, and shimmering reflections of the Providence WaterFire dancing across the river. Add those sights to an assortment of science, education, and social interaction, and you have the recipe for another great meeting.

I suppose it will not surprise you that I had a marvelous time.  What could be better than leading the premier organization in my chosen area of interest?  And, like everyone else, I had the opportunity to learn, to compare my informatics practices to those of others, and to interact with colleagues and friends.

What Makes Our Meeting Great?

But personal experiences can be misleading—particularly those of the Chair.  So, like others in the SIIM leadership, I did plenty of listening—assessing your reaction to our meeting.  The comments I heard in Providence suggest that SIIM 2007 was our most successful meeting ever.  Many individual attendees felt that the knowledge they gained in Providence would have a major beneficial impact on their practice.  And numerous vendors, both large and small, stated spontaneously that SIIM is their most productive meeting.  So please join me and the Board of Directors in thanking our program chair, Brad Erickson, and the SIIM program committee – Kathy Andriole, Rick Wiggins, David Avrin, John Carrino, Paul Chang, Steve Horii, Paul Nagy, Brad Richmond, and Chuck Willis – for another outstanding meeting.

Although our meeting is already top-notch, we are always looking for ways to improve it.  If you have any suggestions, or particular praise for aspects of the meeting we should expand, please contact me or a member of the program committee.

One of the most rewarding stories I heard this year, was from a SIIM member who had volunteered significant time to help develop our new certification program for imaging informatics professionals.  (Visit www.abii.org for more information.)  The first exam was given on Saturday afternoon in Providence.  The sight of over 100 individuals taking the test evoked in this volunteer an unexpectedly emotional response, triggered by the clear recognition that he had made a lasting contribution to his chosen field.  His strong feelings serve as a reminder of the unique and powerful rewards of service, which often draw us to participate in great organizations like SIIM.

Getting Involved Makes it Even Better

The rewards of service bring me to a question I am often asked as Chair:  How can I get more involved in SIIM?  The answer is simple.  Most of the real work of SIIM is accomplished in committees.  SIIM has seven standing committees that meet regularly in person or by phone: Research and Development, Finance and Administration, Publications, Marketing, Program, Online Communication, and Education.  These standing committees are supplemented by several ad hoc task forces that address more specific or time-limited topics.  These groups include the Open Source Task Force, the Educational Advisory Network, and the History Task Force.  For more information on these groups, visit www.siimweb.org and select “About SIIM > Committees”.  The best way for you to get involved in any of these committees is to express your interest to the committee chair, or to any other member of the SIIM leadership.

By volunteering for a committee, you will gain significant experience working with the SIIM organization.  If committee work is not your cup of tea, your experience can end there.  But if you do find this small investment of time rewarding, like many of us do, you could volunteer for another term as a committee member, sign up for another committee, or nominate yourself to be considered for committee chair.  Because our committee chairs are part of the routine deliberative processes of the Board of Directors, they gain direct experience with the leadership and organizational processes of SIIM.  If you remain interested and engaged, the sky is the limit!  I hope you’ll give it a try.

Getting involved in SIIM has another positive side effect: your fellow committee members will become colleagues who you can get to know better at the annual meeting, making your interactions there more frequent and rewarding.  I, for one, am already anticipating our meeting next year.  Seattle promises to be a scenic venue, with even more hotel space and food options than Providence, and, of course, plenty of opportunities to learn and grow.  I look forward to seeing you there!

Dr. Langlotz is Associate Chair for Informatics in the Department of Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania, and Medical Director, Information Services, at the University of Pennsylvania Health System.