Abstract
Dr. Umberto Campia (UC) had the pleasure to interview Dr. Heather Gornik (HG), who is the President of the Society for Vascular Medicine and the Editor-in-Chief of Vascular Medicine.
UC: Heather, in your presidential address at the last Scientific Sessions, you highlighted in detail the impressive progress that SVM has seen in the last year under your leadership. Can you tell us which accomplishments you feel most proud of and what you feel are the greatest challenges?
HG: Thanks Umberto. First of all, I would emphasize at the progress has really been made by our entire Society and our leaders. I think one of the keys to our success has been engagement of more members on committees and in leadership roles. I am particularly excited about some of our newer ventures, including the stand-alone Fellows’ Course (with leadership of Drs. Raghu Kolluri, Mehdi Shishehbor, Ido Weinberg, and Mitch Weinberg over the past 2 years). Our newer committees have also generated a lot of momentum. The Clinical Practice Committee led by Jay Bishop has been highly engaged and will be rolling out what I believe is the first SVM Salary and Compensation Survey. The Next Generation Committee (with Christina Fanola and Yogen Kanthi at the helm) has had great energy and has done a series of in-person social and networking events and has been very active on Twitter. Beyond our programs, our finances are in good shape, and our budget has been balanced with growth in our assets for the past few years. All of these efforts, and more, are reflective of the hard work of our members, our Trustees, and my predecessors including our immediate Past President, Dr. Jerry Bartholomew.
As for your second question, I think the greatest challenge we face is membership growth. Our membership has been stagnant over the past few years, and this is frustrating to me, especially as we have such terrific programming. I’d like to think we offer our members value for their membership dollars, so it’s somewhat baffling to me that we are not doing better in this category. Our Board and membership committee are working on some creative ways to try to grow membership over the years to come.
UC: Our Society is a unique space for all healthcare professionals who are interested in the broad field of vascular medicine (quoting you from the Presidential address: “…from the mundane to the spotted zebra, PAD to FMD, and everything in between.” 1 ). What strategies do you think are most effective in promoting visibility of SVM and increasing its membership?
HG: As I mentioned before, this is really something our Board has prioritized for 2018-2019. We need to look at ways to retain the members we currently have through more engagement in our Society, advancement of doctoral members to fellowship in the Society (FSVM), and participation in our activities and leadership opportunities. I think our SVM Next Generation Committee and its success and enthusiastic advocacy for SVM is an important strategy for our long-term growth. We need members to not only pay their dues but to make SVM their professional home…one they encourage their generations of subsequent trainees to join. Our Membership Committee (led by Drs. Herb Aronow and Peter Angelopoulos) are looking at other creative strategies to grow membership, including international expansion.
UC: A fundamental aspect of SVM is the education of the next generation of vascular specialists. I have experienced first-hand the dedication and mentoring of senior members including Drs. Marc Creager, John Cooke, Jerry Bartholomew, Mary McDermott, Sam Goldhaber, Marie Gerhard-Herman, Josh Beckman, Raghu Kolluri, and you… (I apologize for the many I did not list!!). Can you outline the current initiatives and opportunities available to trainees who are interested (or may be interested) in vascular medicine?
HG: I can’t agree with you more about the strong tradition of mentorship in our Society. I too have benefitted so very much from senior SVM members and Past Presidents who provided advice, an interested ear, and sponsorship of me over the past 14 years. SVM is an organization where early career people can really thrive. I think a start would be participating in the SVM Next Generation Committee and attending our SVM Scientific Sessions (May 29-June 1, 2019). Trainees and early career researchers can submit an abstract and compete in our competition for the Jay D. Coffman Young Investigator Award, where the finalists present their research before the judging panel as well as a few hundred interested attendees. Each year, SVM also has a Fellows’ Course, which is a great way to introduce trainees to the Society. As you know, our journal, Vascular Medicine, welcomes submissions from early career authors…why not submit an interesting clinical image, write a review article with a senior colleague, or contact the editorial office about a topic for the “Vascular Disease Patient Information Page” section? The SVM offers a job board on its website (www.vascularmed.org), which can be the go-to place to learn about vascular medicine job opportunities.
I would also encourage trainees to reach out and seek informal mentorship from senior SVM members. Early in my career, I reached out to Past President Jeff Olin and asked if he would meet with me for breakfast at an ACC or an AHA meeting (I don’t remember) for some advice on starting my career in vascular medicine at Cleveland Clinic. As you can say, the rest is history…we immediately hit it off, and Jeff not only provided me some terrific pearls of wisdom on navigating the transition into my first job, but he subsequently became a great colleague, research collaborator, and dear friend.
UC: As you mentioned, SVM is projecting into the future with the #NextGen Committee and is using social media to communicate with current members and connect with earlier career members. Do you have any suggestions for those who may not be as familiar with what a hashtag is, so that all can take advantage of these new tools?
HG: Ha! I think the best way to do this is to find a millennial or a #NextGen Committee member and ask them to give you a Twitter tutorial. Drs. Yogen Kanthi and Guillaume Mahé did a great workshop on Twitter at our 2018 Scientific Sessions…rumor has it they are writing up a primer on social media for the vascular medicine specialist for future publication in VMJ. #Staytuned!
UC: Dedication to patient care and education is a main focus of SVM. Can you tell us more about the most recent initiatives and new ideas for the future?
HG: Look out for the PAD Toolkit, developed with support of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, in 2019. This effort was led by Drs. Jay Bishop and Elizabeth Ratchford and will be a comprehensive and practical resource on PAD.
Other educational initiatives include expanded Vascular Medicine journal CME offerings for 2019 including CME credits for selected review articles, as well as MOC credit. We will also be offering CME for our Twitter journal clubs (#VascMedJC). The Society and the Journal have worked with our CME provider, the University of Virginia School of Medicine, to streamline the CME process and make it more accessible. We hope more people will take advantage of free journal-based CME and MOC credits from SVM in the future.
Finally, I really want to highlight our 2019 Scientific Sessions, which have been planned by Dr. Raghu Kolluri and his committee. This is the most exciting educational event of the year for SVM, with diverse content, dynamic speakers, and platforms, and most importantly, the tremendous camaraderie of our Society. This is also our 30th birthday, so I encourage as many members as possible to attend.
UC: One of the efforts that SVM has pursued for several years (if not decades!) is the recognition of vascular medicine as a subspecialty by the American Board of Internal Medicine. What is the status and what obstacles do you think are still present?
HG: This is an ongoing struggle for all of us, as you know. I appreciate the tireless dedication of Drs. Josh Beckman and Suman Wasan (and others) to this effort over the years, and please know they continue to chip away. We are at a critical time in our subspecialty and for our Society to try to make this happen. We are working closely with the American Board of Vascular Medicine (ABVM) (Dr. Bruce Gray and his Board) to pursue multiple strategies to achieve recognition of vascular medicine as a medical subspecialty and recognition of our training programs. SVM and ABVM leaders will be coming together in the spring for an open, frank discussion about our efforts thus far and our collaborative future directions. One of the challenges we face as we ponder the future of our subspecialty is the heterogeneity of our members. Individuals come to vascular medicine practice from various pathways, including internal medicine, cardiology, and interventional cardiology, among others. The heterogeneity of our training programs is a challenge that needs to be very carefully considered as we pursue subspecialty recognition and formalize the pathway to becoming a “board certified vascular medicine specialist.” We anticipate a lot of reflection and discussion on this in the year to come.
UC: Thank you, Heather! From your answers I can really feel the enthusiasm of SVM’s leadership and the strong momentum that has developed in recent years. I am optimistic that, through the ongoing efforts, SVM will achieve these ambitious but vital goals and will continue to be a leading organization in the field and a home for all healthcare professionals who are passionate about caring for people with vascular disease!
HG: Great to talk to you Umberto, and thanks for all you do for SVM and Vascular Medicine.
SVM 30th Annual SVM Scientific Sessions
Mark your calendars for the 2019 Annual Scientific Sessions as we commemorate 30 years of SVM. The premier educational event in vascular and endovascular medicine began in 1989, and we will celebrate its pearl anniversary with an exciting program. All sessions will take place at the Ritz Carlton Tysons Corner in downtown McLean, Virginia, a few miles west of Washington, DC.
The 2019 Annual Scientific Sessions will commence on Wednesday, May 29 and feature three days of programming through June 1, including a variety of expert speakers, how-to workshops, abstract presentations, award ceremonies, and plenty of networking opportunities with colleagues and friends. SVM in Vascular Lab sessions during the annual meeting will provide intensive opportunities for education and vascular lab-specific CME for attendees. These sessions will be of particular interest to vascular medicine specialists, vascular surgeons, vascular technologists and sonographers, radiologists, and cardiologists who practice cardiovascular ultrasound, as well as vascular trainees in vascular and imaging specialties.
Visit www.vascularmed.org/AM19 for details.
Meeting Schedule:
