Can you tell us about your experience on the Annual Meeting Committee (AMC)?
Gloria Salazar, MD, FSIR
Gloria M. Martinez-Salazar, MD, FSIR: I have been on the AMC for 4 years and I am the workshop chair this year. We rotate in different roles, so next year I will step into Erik Cressman’s role as chair of the meeting.
The AMC is a big family who works together on and organizes every aspect of the meeting. We give each other input and help one another with ideas as to what should be in the programming in order to make sure we’re meeting the needs of every member, from medical students all the way up to very experienced interventionalists. Each member of the AMC has a lead role in various categories, but everything we produce has a bit of each of us in it. The AMC group’s dynamics are based on teamwork from beginning to end.
What will the workshop program look like this year?
GMS: Workshops are very successful at SIR. It’s a bit of a challenge, in fact, because we want to increase the number of workshops, which we’re working toward in the future. For 2024, the workshop topics are aligned with the Clinical Specialty Councils, same as the programming. However, there are always new technologies, procedures and devices, so the challenge lies in figuring out how to distribute topics evenly and determine the topic impact in terms of numbers and innovation. It’s an exercise in choosing the best possible combination of techniques, speakers and devices.
The workshops are different from other programming, because we work closely with our colleagues in the industry—so it’s extremely important for us to deliver the content needed for the workshops in a way that meets educational needs, particularly in how to properly use a device. This year, we will have some changes to the workshop program, but we also will have topics that we know participants wanted to come back. Some of the workshops were extremely well attended in previous years, so we're continuing with those. We will also be highlighting some of the newer technology, including those that have been in place for a few years now, because we feel there’s still the need for training on some of those newer topics and techniques.
How do you determine what is still new or innovative?
GSM: I think it takes about 2 to 3 years before topics are no longer considered innovative. Then you just kind of move on with the other stuff. My prediction is that we will have to improve and increase the number of workshops moving forward, given that the number of innovations we have nowadays is much more than it was 10 years ago.
For someone who may be new to the meeting or hasn’t attended a workshop before, is this an opportunity to get that hands-on experience and training with new devices and techniques that you mentioned?
GMS: Exactly. It’s a hands-on session. The workshop topics act as umbrellas—so if you attend a workshop on embolization, you’ll have an expert leading it, but then there will be 10 different devices that you can use for embolization. The workshops are an opportunity for the participant to put into practice the teachings that were displayed in the main programming. After programming, they can go to the workshops and learn more. Participants could either start doing those procedures, perfect their own technique or look at how to do the same procedure with different devices.
It sounds like it could also be useful for IRs who are already experienced or aware of these techniques but are interested to see how to use a certain device.
GMS: I think the beauty of the workshop structure is that you have assigned coordinators who are experts in their field. These coordinators have developed the technique or have published in the technique they’re teaching. The workshops are very dynamic and so the coordinator makes a huge difference because they are the orchestrator of everything. The interaction between the coordinator and participants is such a rich part of the workshop experience, because it allows for discussion and exchange of ideas. Someone who has been doing a technique for a few years can attend a workshop and be able to share their own experience with others and ask targeted questions. That’s so important—especially in IR, where even when you learn how to do something, there are often different levels or approaches to the same procedure.
Focusing on SIR 2024 in general, is there anything that you're excited about, either with the programming or the location?
GMS: This year we're going to deliver a program that is very focused on the exchange of ideas. This has always been a priority of the meeting, but this year it will be more center stage, because we are moving toward a model that has fewer sessions and more interaction from participants. The goal is to create more opportunities for high-level discussion and exchange of ideas. There will also be multiple discussions regarding future ideas for research, as well as how to take better care of our patients.
What excites me most about this year is that the AMC has developed a great workflow and cadence for the delivery of our programming and planning. The delivery resulted from all the changes that have occurred since the COVID-19 pandemic and the creativity that was required to host a virtual conference. We put on essentially two conferences in the following years. That was a major challenge for the AMC and SIR staff in terms of accommodating and creating the programming. For me, it’s very exciting to see that all of our hard work paid off. The back and forth and challenging situations enabled us to create programming that will be focused less on volume of sessions and more on discussion opportunities.
I am also looking forward to plenaries. A tremendous amount of research in the last couple of years has been led by interventional radiologists. I think it’s remarkable considering the amount of work that we do that overlaps with other specialties. The fact that we have many separate trials, not just one, that have IRs as the primary investigators is really exciting. I’m thrilled to see that reflected in our plenary sessions.
What is the biggest challenge that you think IR is facing right now, and how do you think the annual meeting can address it?
GMS: There are a couple of challenges. The most important thing is our patients. We still deal with patients’ lack of access to proper interventional care in this country and around the world. I think that SIR has been instrumental in understanding the role of rural areas and community IR, as well as the role of different practices—academic vs. private practice—and how we can help patients in areas that don't have interventional radiologists. That can reflect not only on mortality rates for diseases, such as postpartum hemorrhage or pulmonary embolism, but also translate to the elective world where patients are not being offered prostatic or uterine artery embolizations for prostatic hyperplasia and fibroids when they should be. I think that’s a major challenge in IR right now for all of us, regardless of where you’re sitting. SIR has done a lot of work in advocacy as well as awareness, but I think every meeting is an opportunity for us to exchange ideas about how we’re going to tackle this problem.
The second challenge facing IR is the realization that we have different practices. No practice does all things the same way as others, and our patient populations change depending on where you live. Moreover, there are discrepancies in whether you have administrative support or whether you have referrers in your area. That community vs. private practice vs. academic difference is something that I hope we will have a lot of discussion on, given the programming we’ve set up for this year. It’s always been a topic that garners attention at the annual meeting, but with every year we’re trying to ensure a better mix of speakers from different backgrounds and practicing areas, so we can have better discussions on what needs to be done to move forward.
Next year, you will be the meeting chair and that will also be the 50th anniversary. Do you have any plans or ideas that you’re considering to recognize that milestone?
GMS: I am very honored to be part of this historic moment for our society and to be leading that task. I have several ideas, but this year I’m working on connecting with colleagues outside and inside of SIR leadership to better understand what the educational needs are. We know what we should celebrate; and we should celebrate our legacy. We're working towards that.
But other than our legacy and celebrating the pioneers in the field, I would like to focus on how we can make an impact on the patient. This is an everyday task. I would encourage people to go to the conference and not only celebrate our legacy but also celebrate our specialty and how meaningful it is for us to go out and work every day. We would like the SIR leadership and its membership to feel that we as a specialty have done so much to advance the medical field. It will be a celebration of innovation that benefits patients.
Any parting advice for those attending SIR 2024, or considering attending?
GMS: This meeting is the brand of our specialty. It’s an amazing opportunity for all of us to connect, talk about issues and celebrate everything that we've done so far and move the agenda forward to the next thing. We want to challenge everyone to go, ask questions and connect. We want everyone that goes to this conference to show up and ask, “What is the next best thing in IR that will impact our patients?” It’s going to be very exciting, and we had an amazing time doing the programming. I think everyone is going to enjoy this meeting.
