By James B. Spies, M.D., MPH, FSIR
SIR 2014–15 President
Advancing a better understanding of
both the limitless potential of interventional radiology and its positive
impact on patient care will be a main focus during my term as president.
We are very fortunate to have a
solid strategic plan guiding our Society and the Foundation toward the ultimate
vision of making interventional radiology the first choice in image-guided therapy. The plan was forged through a highly
collaborative process that involved the many voices of IR and considered the
many facets of our specialty.
At a tactical level, SIR and the SIR Foundation will continue to organize their efforts around these five key goals:
clinical practice, outcomes data, revenue growth, awareness of IR and
innovation. As
president, my goal is to guide the Society in building on the incredible work
that has been done to date across all of these areas.
Specifically,
I am committed to helping SIR make significant progress with these critical
initiatives.
- Developing data registries to meet the quality monitoring needs of members and your patients: We have made great strides in the past year and will be testing systems in the coming year.
- Adopting program requirements for the IR/DR pathway and transitioning our current programs to that new standard: SIR fought hard to bring about ABMS approval and enthusiastically supports the changes that are coming in practice and in IR residency training. The program’s implementation will take time, and SIR is committed to ensuring its success. SIR will continue to need your support—and your feedback—as the training program unfolds.
- Starting the PRESERVE trial to study the safety and effectiveness of IVC filters currently in use in this country: Working with the Society for Vascular Surgery, our goal is to ensure the safest practice for patients in our efforts to prevent pulmonary embolus.
- Completing a review of our educational efforts and Annual Scientific Meeting: Our intent is to improve both to better meet your needs in this challenging health care environment.
- Enacting branding initiatives for SIR and SIRF: In another step toward achieving our vision of being the first choice for image-guided treatments we will use coordinated activities to increase awareness among key decision-makers about what IR is, does and achieves; to position SIR as the indispensible expert resource for the specialty; and to show SIR Foundation as the premier scientific body dedicated to advancing IR through research.
Strategy
and goals alone do not bring the Society closer to its envisioned future. That only
happens when governing—the work of the Executive Council—becomes a pro-active
process. Another goal of mine is to
change our governing operations to focus more on our strategic plan and better
monitor the efforts and communications of all divisions of SIR. What does this
mean? By effectively transitioning our current model to a new one that
leverages focused, proactive planning, greater role clarity and year-round
communication, strategy and governing will work even better together—smarter
and more efficiently—for you and for IR.
It
is an honor to serve as your president. At March’s successful Annual Scientific
Meeting in San Diego, we shared ideas with friends and colleagues—all under the
theme of “Convergence.” This appropriate theme speaks to IR’s multidimensional
nature in daily practice and as a global specialty. It also describes SIR’s collective
and confident actions—with you, with IR and with the Society and SIR
Foundation. I’ve been involved with SIR for my entire professional life, and I
encourage you to volunteer with the Society. Together, we will be able to continue
our forward momentum, enhancing our programs to ensure the growth of the
specialty, SIR and SIR Foundation.
