What first drew you to interventional radiology and where did you receive your training?
Erik N.K. Cressman, MD, PhD, FSIR
Erik N.K. Cressman, MD, PhD, FSIR: Prior to going to medical school, I never intended to become a physician. In college, I reached the point where I was required to declare a major, and I needed one more class to have a chemistry major, so I declared it. In graduate school I studied organic chemistry because I enjoyed the challenge. Then I spent the next 5 years getting my PhD, and another 5 years working in industry.
Partway through my industry career, I saw an advertisement for a mini medical school from the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, just an hour and a half on Wednesday nights for 6 weeks. I signed up simply because I was curious and wanted to scratch the itch, but at the end, I could never shake the overwhelming feeling that I could be doing something more with my career. After much soul searching, shadowing physicians and talking with a career counselor, I realized I had a choice—spend the rest of my life knowing what I wanted to do but not have the courage to take the leap, or I could take the leap and hope that it would all work out.
When I made the leap into medical school, I didn’t know interventional radiology existed. I loved surgery for the first 3 days, but the instructors got tired of all of my questions. One night during my vascular surgery rotation, I followed a patient into IR and saw all the equipment and special devices, and how they could solve things without cutting someone wide open. I practically knocked over my buddy to get into the room, and I was happy to be a pair of hands wearing lead.
The concept of IR, and being no more than a few cells away from your target to do something without exposing the rest of the body, was incredibly appealing. I entered DR followed by an IR fellowship, all at Indiana University (except for my intern year, which was at Saint Vincent’s).
You’ve been chair of the SIR Foundation Research, Grants and Education Division, as well as having served on the planning committee for another IR annual meeting. How did you enter those leadership roles? What takeaways would you share from those experiences?
EC: I started out as a reviewer for the SIR Foundation Grants Committee—I don’t even remember how I ended up becoming chair of the division. I think it came from a combination of a track record of genuine interest as well as in the stewardship of the organization. It’s not that you need to deliberately politic to get everyone to know you, but at the same time it’s not helpful for you if you’re a complete unknown. If people see that you are a team player and you’re capable, willing, interested and really want to help, people will pick up on that and things will happen for you.
Can you share any details about the workshop programming at this point? Will there be any new kinds of workshop opportunities?
EC: We have a lot of exciting things going on with the hands-on workshops and there is a full slate of workshops covering all the usual topics. We’re not necessarily going to alter the format this year because we’re still getting back in person and want to ensure a smooth experience for everyone.
What experience would you like IRs to receive through participating in the various workshops?
EC: It’s an opportunity, particularly for trainees and occasionally for somebody in private practice, to explore areas that they have not previously gotten training or exposure in. These workshops are a great occasion to round out your own education or fill in a hole in your practice. And sure, you can go to weekend workshops or other things, but SIR has people who are very familiar with the materials right there at the meeting. You’re able to hold these devices in your hands, see them in real time without any pressure, and play, tinker, inspect and examine. I think that kind of exposure is incredibly valuable for any IR, at all levels of experience.
What are you looking forward to most about being overall meeting chair for SIR 2024?
EC: We’re taking things 1 year at a time. The one big thing I’m looking forward to is having a relatively normal calendar to plan the meeting instead of trying to cram everything in, knowing that we have a short window. Since the meeting in Boston was later in the year than usual, all the planning for this meeting in Phoenix was on an accelerated schedule. If you combine that with the change in personnel and roles, we’ve been doing a lot of adapting on the fly.
