Gloria Salazar, MD, FSIR
The special programs chair, a new role created for SIR 2022, develops programming that meets the needs of SIR member sections.
How did this new special programs chair role come into being?
Gloria M. Martinez-Salazar, MD, FSIR: It’s a result of the amazing work that has been done in IR (and SIR) over the last 20 years. I think the role speaks to the growth of IR in medicine and our society, as well as to the diversity that we are working toward with the Underrepresented Minority (URM) and Women in IR (WIR) sections. When we are inclusive and ensure the diversity of the pipelines into IR, we work from a broader base and are better positioned to pursue our mission of improving patient care.
Since I started as a member in 2005, it has been amazing to see the growth of diversity at SIR. In my role as a Latina doctor in IR and as a leader and chief, as well as an educator, we cherish diversity in a meeting like the SIR Annual Scientific Meeting. The hardest part is that we know who we know, but the talent we don’t know is the talent we don’t want to miss. Opportunities like the SIR annual meeting give us a chance to meet all those talented individuals. It’s at the heart of SIR’s values, goals and mission. Hopefully, if we showcase all the ways SIR supports a broad array of members, we will encourage younger attendees to enter the specialty—because they will know that both the specialty and the society embrace diversity.
Many sections got their start by gathering at the annual meeting, so it’s always been an important setting for them.
GS: Exactly—from programming for attendees, to the first meeting of the Association of Chiefs in IR. Although we do have amazing lectures at the annual meeting for all attendees, there’s value in having sessions that complement the main programming, covering topics that section members will be most interested in, since they will all be together in one location. For example, perhaps WIR members want to learn specifically about getting involved in research or industry. Or medical students may want to know more about what IR is in general.
How do you plan programming that meets so many unique, disparate needs?
GS: It’s all about careful coordination, where other Annual Meeting Committee members and SIR staff have provided helpful input. The challenge is that we want to include everything that is important (What is basic? What is advanced? What is new?), a program that doesn’t repeat content from the recent webinars—next-level programming. We also recognize that there may be interest in receiving content in different formats.
Will programming that doesn’t fit into the annual meeting be provided as virtual opportunities later in the year?
GS: Yes. It’s a win–win. We do want ongoing education, but we’ll also maximize the in-person annual meeting opportunities. We may even answer questions that were left out of those earlier virtual webinars.
Do you think the dedicated programming will help recruit new members into the sections?
GS: Yes. And that is so important—not only recruitment into the sections but also recruitment as SIR members in general.
What can you share about specific programming at this point?
GS: All sections will have some form of space at the annual meeting, though some will naturally have more tracks than others. For example, medical students will have both basic and advanced tracks. Some session topics historically are part of the main program anyway, so we want to avoid redundancy by instead providing interactive networking activity for some sections. We’re going to have a wonderful venue to provide programming in an efficient way that leads from one program to another. It will be interactive, with time for audience questions and hands-on activities. That’s one of the big differences from virtual platforms. And during social events, the members of different sections will have the chance to interact with each other.
Will the sections have their own receptions?
GS: Yes, but combined with the Opening Reception. We’ve grown so much that we have 7 different sections and other groups we want to showcase. We think having them all together, but with dedicated spaces in the same general area, will allow networking and engagement both within and between the groups. It will also be a great way for new attendings or Early Career Section members or medical students to connect with mentors. So many mentorship relationships have come out of these social events—it is a great way to give everyone access to the leaders, mentors and sponsors we very often need.
What would you say to those unsure about attending SIR 2022?
GS: I want to encourage everybody to join the meeting after the 2-year break. We are eager to see the community come together in beautiful Boston in June. It’s going to be amazing!
