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AME RIC AN AS S O C I ATI O N O F P H Y S I C I S TS I N M E D I CI N E We advance the science, education and professional practice of medical physics
AAPM Column VOLUME President’s 36 NO. 1
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011
AAPM President’s Column J. Anthony Seibert, UC Davis Medical Center
The past year had a significant impact on Medical Physics ……
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vents over the last year had great impact on our association and the profession of medical physics, which can be summarized in three words: New York Times. Mike Herman, as President, did an outstanding job by leading the AAPM charge, crafting several directed responses, taking the leading role in communicating the AAPM’s position and the medical physicists’ responsibilities in testifying before Congress on February 10. Three major events were sponsored by the AAPM as a result of his tremendous work and leadership: The “AAPM CT Dose Summit: Scan Parameter Optimization” meeting held April 29-30, in Atlanta; the “Safety in Radiation Therapy – A Call to Action” meeting held June 24-25 in Miami; and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) “Diagnostic Imaging Database Roundtable” and “Radiation Therapy Database Roundtable” held in the morning and afternoon of October 19, in Bethesda. These meetings, all rooted in the key issue of patient safety, brought together the prominent stakeholders, including technologists, physicians, physicists, government regulators, industry representatives, payers, and professional associations to improve the delivery of patient care and implement procedures in which catastrophic errors can be eliminated. There will be certainly more news as these initiatives continue, and the AAPM will certainly be proactive in the coming year. And recognition also goes to the AAPM headquarters Included in this issue: staff, who responded brilliantly to the challenges of planning p. 3 and implementing these meetings at the last minute. Thanks Chair of the Board President-Elect p. 4 to Angela and her team who make the headquarters. Executive Director p. 5 A whole-hearted thanks to Maryellen Giger, for her many p. 9 years of leadership and continuing service on the Executive Editor Treasurer p. 10 Committee, first as Treasurer for 4 years, and then through Education Council p. 12 the Presidential chain of command of our Association. She Professional Council p. 15 has given mightily for the AAPM, is a stalwart defender of p. 17 all medical physicists, and has a specific interest in the non- Leg. & Reg. Affairs clinical side of the profession, where medical physicists play Website Editor p. 20 important roles and have key positions in academic research, ACR Accreditation p. 21 government, and industry. Her directives in establishing Health Policy/Econ Issues p. 23 a Technology Assessment Institute is now well underway, AAPM History Interviews p. 27 with an active committee under the Science Council chaired Image Gently Update p. 28 by Bill Hendee. A plan was presented to the AAPM Board Image Wisely Initiative p. 30 of Directors at the RSNA meeting for the establishment of New Professionals SC Report p. 31 The Institute for Assessment of Medical Devices (IAMD), a p. 32 partnership of the Morgridge Institute for Research (MIR) a UNYAPM Chapter Report ORVC 2010 Fall Sym. Report p. 33 non-profit organization established for technology assessment Person in the News p. 34 across a wide area of disciplines, including medical imaging Obituary p. 35 and radiation therapy, and the AAPM. The IAMD mission