The SIR Global Society Summit, which will take place on Saturday, March 23, at 3 p.m. MT, will be the first of its kind to provide a podium for IRs to inform their global partners on local needs and initiatives within the specialty. This forum will provide an overview of IR training and certification in different countries. Attendees can look forward to learning about the status, challenges and aspirations of IR around the world.
Constantinos T. Sofocleous, MD, PhD, FSIR, said the summit will focus on global synergistic efforts between societies in order to increase public awareness of interventional radiology and the value it brings to health care.
“The SIR Global Summit will convene leaders and representatives from many of the IR societies around the world to discuss their respective training and specialty status,” said Parag Patel, MD, MS, FSIR. Global societies such as CIRSE, JSIR, SAFIRE, PAIRS, KSIR, CCI, APSCVIR, SOBRICE and SIDI will be present.
“We will have several eminent speakers from around the world representing their national societies. The special focus topic for this symposium will be subspecialty and/or specialty recognition for interventional radiology around the world,” said Robert Morgan, MD, MBBS, FSIR. “I anticipate that this will be an excellent landmark session for SIR and our global IR colleagues.”
These representatives will report on the current status of their societies and plans for the future, while addressing the specific needs and challenges of their country. For example, Hiroshi Kondo, MD, of the Japanese Society of Interventional Radiology, will discuss how—although IR was approved as a subspecialty society by the Japanese Medical Specialty Board in 2022—there is still work to be done to standardize IR practice.
The first hour will focus on presentations, while the last hour will be dedicated to discussion. This format should provide the stage for learning and discussing how collaboration can strengthen the profession in order to improve patient care.
Dr. Patel said he hopes that a collective effort will ultimately raise awareness of IR globally, allowing IR to be differentiated from other medical specialties.
SIR Global Society Summit
3–5 p.m. MT
- Ibero-American Intervention Society (SIDI): Current Status and Future Directions in Central America
- Brazilian Society of Interventional Radiology and Endovascular Surgery (SOBRICE): Current Status and Future Directions in Brazil and South America
- Asia Pacific Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology (APSCVIR): Current Status and Future Directions in Southeast Asia & Oceania
- Chinese College of Interventionalists (CCI): Current Status and Future Directions in China
- Indian Society of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (ISVIR): Current Status and Future Directions in India
- Korean Society of Interventional Radiology (KSIR): Current Status and Future Directions in Korea
- Pan Arab Interventional Radiology Society (PAIRS): Current Status and Future Directions in the Middle East
- Society of African Interventional Radiology and Endovascular Therapy (SAFIRE): Current Status and Future Directions in Africa
- Japanese Society of Interventional Radiology (JSIR): Current Status and Future Directions in Japan
- Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE): Where is the EBIR: Can IR reach a Specialty Status in EU?
- SIR: IR as a full Clinical Specialty: Challenges and Opportunities
