Message from the MVCTS President

MVCTS PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Richard Siska

2006-2007

I would like to extend to you a belated welcome to 2007.  We had a fantastic meeting in 2006 at Iowa City , and we are currently working toward another one this fall.  I would first like share a little about myself.  I have just recently been hired to open a new Nuclear Medicine department at St. John’s Imaging Center in Rolla , MO.   This is the second opportunity I have been fortunate to  be a  part of in the last seven years, not to mention a vast learning experience.  I graduated at the University of Central Arkansas with  Bachelors of Science in Nuclear Medicine.  I have been a Radiologic Technologist for over 12 years, and a Nuclear Medicine Technologist for seven years.  I served as the President of the Southwest Missouri Subchapter in 2005, and represented the SNM-TS for the RT in DC in 2004.

The MVC-TS could not function without  a team of people working together.  We are always looking for fresh faces and ideas and  extend that invitation for all those who would like to be involved. Please feel free to contact any of the officers on our website at  www.mvcsnm.org.  I would like to welcome our current President-Elect Marci West to the team, she will  bring a lot of experience and wisdom to the table.  I would also mention that Tom Schlarman, our current Secretary-Treasurer has done a tremendous job for almost 2 years now.   I can not leave out Bill Hubble (National Council), Nancy Burch ell (Meeting Director), or Dave Perry (Executive Director) who basically put all our programs together behind the scenes.

I am excited that we now have set the date for the fall MVC meeting as Oct 12-14, 2007 at the Frontenac Hilton in Clayton , Missouri .  Now the hard work begins.  It is such a unique time for us in the field.  We are increasingly being bombarded with new challenges.  In some places in the U.S. there are shortages for Nuclear Medicine Technologists, and in other places the field is saturated.  The field is increasingly stretching its scope of practice into new modalities requiring new training, curriculum, and more specialized technologists.   Accrediting agencies are becoming more stringent, and the price of CE credit is increasing.  These factors make membership in the SNM-TS and the MVC-TS so important and valuable.  Technologist members have the opportunities to share viable information, gain new knowledge on cutting edge technologies, make new professional contacts, and  become future leaders of the field.  We must  continue to emphasize the importance of organizations such as these to our  new technologists entering the field.

As professionals I believe we have an ethical commitment to ensure continuity of care across the United States .   For at least 26 years there has been a movement to pass a national licensure to do exactly that - ensure continuity of care.  Several states already have licensures in place, but a

few are still holding out.   The CARE bill (Consistency, Accuracy, Responsibility and Excellence in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy (CARE) bill (H.R.583) was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, Jan. 19, 2007 by Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA 14th) and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.  The congressional budget office has already said this bill would not cost a dime, in fact it could save millions in Medicare and Medicaid revenue paid out each year.  I urge everyone  to contact their legislators and tell them to support the CARE bill.  You can go to www.snm.org, go to the government relations link and learn more about this important piece of legislation.

Finally,  I would like to extend to all the Subchapters of the MVC to keep up the excellent work.  We had 2 new Subchapters become operational in 2006. These are such important organizations on the local level because they empower those technologists who can not travel to the bigger meeting due to schedule, time, or money to  be involved.  I encourage all the Subchapter Presidents (and any member) to share all relevant activities and ideas with us by going through the website or contacting me at  ricksiska@hotmail.com.

Thank you,

Richard Siska, BSNM, CNMT

President, MVC-TS