Neither rain, sleet nor snow could put a damper on SIR 2024 in Salt Lake City.
For 50 years, the SIR Annual Scientific Meeting has been the hallmark event of the interventional radiology community. Over time, it has grown and adapted to offer access, education, networking and more. According to attendees, SIR 2024 was a perfect example of why this meeting has remained popular for so long.
“My first annual meeting was around 1996 in Seattle,” said Hirschel McGinnis, MD, FSIR, who hasn’t missed a meeting since. “I keep coming back because the overall content is so deep and vast, and the expertise of speakers can’t be surpassed.”
Attendees say the peer interaction is what makes the meeting. According to a post-meeting survey, networking was ranked as one of the most important aspects of SIR 2024.
“IR practice has changed so much—especially in the last 5 years—and the annual meeting gives me access to the human dimension so I can interact with my peers and take the pulse of the community,” Dr. McGinnis said.
SIR 2024 featured a diverse array of speakers, which stuck out to Nishita Kothary, MD, FSIR.
“We are most certainly seeing a generational shift,” Dr. Kothary said. “There were a lot of new faces on the podium, a lot of underrepresented minority representation and a younger energy all around. It’s an exciting time for IR.”
In addition to networking and meeting the next generation of IR, SIR 2024 provided a platform for the community to discuss pressing topics of the day, from the latest in pain management to AI.
Eleanor Lee, MPH, a second-year medical student, said a highlight of SIR 2024 for her was a workshop hosted by Daniel Y. Sze, MD, PhD, FSIR, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, on the ethics of AI in publishing. Dr. Sze challenged attendees to identify whether excerpts of papers were AI-generated or drafted by a human to illustrate both how difficult it can be at times to determine the difference—and the errors that AI can introduce.
"Large language models are used every day,” Lee said, “and it’s important for us to be able to identify whether something is peer reviewed or AI assisted. It not only impacts our research but also our treatment decisions.”
For Steven Citron, MD, FSIR, one of the key takeaways of SIR 2024 was the discussion around improving the triage process.
“With buy-in from physicians and administration, we need to define a process to triage consults/cases in a sound, clinically based fashion that works at each of our respective institutions to optimize patient care and shorten length of stay,” Dr. Citron said.
Brittany Palmer Nielsen
Brittany Palmer Nielsen
Brittany Palmer Nielsen
Brittany Palmer Nielsen
Brittany Palmer Nielsen
Brittany Palmer Nielsen
Brittany Palmer Nielsen
Brittany Palmer Nielsen
Brittany Palmer Nielsen
Brittany Palmer Nielsen
Brittany Palmer Nielsen
Brittany Palmer Nielsen
One of the best parts of the annual meeting in general, according to Stefan Muller-Hulsbeck, MD, FSIR, is that it brings together luminaries from across the globe to foster education. Dr. Muller-Hulsbeck said he particularly enjoyed the session on arterial interventions across the world, which featured speakers from the United States, Singapore, Germany and the United Kingdom who shared their experience and practice tips.
“The session had a great multidisciplinary faculty and was extremely well balanced,” said Dr. Muller-Hulsbeck. “Sessions like that are why I’ve come back to the SIR annual meeting for decades. I always experience quality content that covers all of the topics of IR. It makes me proud to belong to this community.”
For many, the highlight of SIR 2024 (in addition to the boba tea offered in the Expo and the unexpected snow) was the 2024 Dotter Lecture, delivered by Ezequiel “Zeke” Silva III, MD, FSIR.
“[The Dotter Lecture] was eye opening and really provided the education that our society needs to support future efforts and reimbursement models,” said Rajesh Shah, MD, FSIR. “For me, Dr. Silva’s talk was something that needed to happen, and should have happened a while ago, to educate members on important topics in reimbursement.”
Expectations and enthusiasm are high as members look toward SIR 2025 in Nashville, where SIR will celebrate its 50th anniversary.
“I’m excited for the 50th in Nashville. The energy should be fantastic,” said Dr. McGinnis. “I hope we see more content regarding the culture and demographics of IR. I’d like to see a discussion around how imperative it is to commit to diversity, equity and inclusion work in order to fortify the specialty for another 50 years.”
Did you attend SIR 2024? Comment your key takeaways from the meeting.
