Abstract
Membership spotlight
The Society of Vascular Medicine (SVM) is a diverse community of talented scientists and clinicians dedicated to advancing vascular knowledge and care. In this feature, we shine the spotlight on two of our active SVM members and learn about their practice and Society involvement.
Integration of vascular in cardiovascular health
Rene Quiroz, MD, MPH, FSVM
Director of Vascular Services, Cardiology Clinic of San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Tell us about your current vascular medicine practice
My current vascular medicine practice involves mostly managing peripheral artery disease (PAD) in the atherosclerotic population. I work in a practice group of over 40 cardiologists. I run the non-invasive lab for our group, and I am also the director of the cardiac / peripheral rehabilitation program at our hospital. A portion of my time is spent raising awareness in detecting PAD both for our patients and for referring providers. My most recent project has been assisting in developing a pulmonary embolism response team (PERT) at our institution. This has involved incorporating a multidisciplinary team in a non-academic setting, which carries its own unique challenges.
What was your pathway to vascular medicine?
I was fortunate to be involved in aspects of vascular medicine both in a research setting prior to starting my residency in internal medicine and after my general cardiology fellowship. I had a formal pathway, where I trained for 2 years in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) / National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)-sponsored K12 program. Although most of my time is spent managing general cardiology patients, my training has allowed me to branch out to different areas of cardiology and incorporate vascular care as an element of overall cardiovascular health.
How have you been involved in SVM?
My mentors were always supportive of attending the SVM Scientific Sessions. My earlier research projects on pulmonary embolism were published in Vascular Medicine. I served on the Communications committee, and because of my interest in vascular medicine, I decided to become a fellow of the SVM. The Society has always been very welcoming, encouraging, and supportive of new members. Although it has grown tremendously over the past few years, it is a small enough community that people know each other well. I enjoy attending the Scientific Sessions as often as possible; it allows me to stay up to date on trends in vascular medicine and interact with old friends and colleagues. Attending both the Scientific Sessions and being involved in SVM is having access to a wealth of expertise in a relatively smaller community (particularly when compared to larger societies like American Heart Association (AHA) or American College of Cardiology (ACC)). SVM members have always been supportive of those with an interest in vascular medicine – including medical students and those in earlier stages of their professional career.
Who has been a great influence on your career?
I’ve been fortunate to have wonderful mentors in the field of vascular medicine. Fifteen years ago, Dr Sam Goldhaber took a chance on an inexperienced, recently graduated, international medical student in a masters degree program who wanted some experience in clinical research. I have always admired Sam’s work ethic, dedication, and unparalleled passion for his research on pulmonary embolism. In my later years of training, I had a balance of academic and clinic mentors at Boston University. Dr Joe Vita was my attending physician in my ICU rotation and encouraged me to apply for the K12 program in vascular medicine. Drs Naomi Hamburg, Rob Eberhardt, and Scott Kinlay were superb clinical mentors. Naomi has been instrumental in incorporating me into other societies; I currently work closely with the American Society of Echocardiography on their Vascular Council. There is a growing number of general cardiologists with interest in vascular medicine.
Cultivating a passion for vascular medicine
Khendi White Solaru, MD, MSc
Staff Physician, University Hospitals Harrington Heart and Vascular Institute; Assistant Professor of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH
Tell us about your current vascular medicine practice
My current practice consists of seeing patients with a broad spectrum of vascular disease from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and thromboembolism to PAD and spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD). I am just starting to build my practice as an early career member, so it is important that I am open to seeing the entire spectrum of vascular disease for now. My primary clinical interest, however, is PAD. I am also interested in preventing and treating the risk factors that drive PAD, which allows me to engage in my other interests of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and vasculogenic inflammation. Lastly, I’m interested in community-based intervention, which aligns nicely with my commitment to serving minority and vulnerable populations.
What was your pathway to vascular medicine?
For as long as I have seriously contemplated a career in medicine, I have always thought I would become a general cardiologist. I wasn’t exposed to the field of vascular medicine until midway through my general cardiology fellowship through a chance meeting with the person who is now my wonderful mentor. I quickly latched on to her, soaking up all the knowledge that she had to offer like a sponge. And I was pretty insatiable with my questions and curiosity about this whole new world of vascular medicine, with a nifty array of acronyms like FMD, SCAD, DVT, and CLI. I realized that my training on these subjects and others was not adequate to prepare me to appropriately diagnose and treat these patients. Even the best cardiology fellowships in the country will not have the bandwidth to teach this. So, I decided to pursue the additional step of vascular medicine training. Fortunately, I did my fellowship at a place that offered excellent training in vascular medicine (Cleveland Clinic), so it was an easy transition for me to make.
Who has been a great influence on your career?
My mentor, Dr Heather Gornik, has been the biggest influence on my vascular medicine career. She has taught me what it means to be a thoughtful leader, one who seeks to raise up everyone around her rather than simply manage others. By example, she has shown me what it means to teach with compassion and treat with understanding. She has encouraged me to be a better version of myself as a physician, researcher, and role model. By just being around her, I always know I can work harder. But seriously, I think it is really important to have highly successful female as well as underrepresented minority mentors and role models in academic medicine. I can only hope that I can be close to what she has been to me for someone else. I hope to grow the field of vascular medicine through mentorship. I believe you can change someone’s life by just sharing your story. I hope to share my experiences and interests with medical students, residents, and fellows to hopefully cultivate a passion in vascular medicine that they never knew they had.
How have you been involved in SVM, and how have you benefited?
I’ve been involved in SVM for a couple of years now. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience for me. There have been a few ways in which I have been involved that have really allowed me to benefit from the organization:
Fellows Course – I attended the Fellows Course in 2017, and it is something I recommend every fellow who is even remotely interested in vascular medicine should attend. It really opened my eyes to the depth and breadth of the specialty and provides an environment of high camaraderie where you can network with other aspiring or established providers in the field of vascular medicine, cardiology, surgery, radiology, and more. The cross-collaboration and cross-pollination of the specialties that intersect in vascular medicine is one of the coolest and most unique things about this field.
SVM Next Generation committee – serving on the Next Generation committee with some of the brightest minds I have ever had the privilege to work with has been an incredible honor. We work hard to increase awareness of both SVM and the field of vascular medicine.
Vascular Medicine journal – it has been wonderful to participate as a reviewer for SVM’s journal. I have learned a lot in the process and hope to continue to assist in any way I can.
Last, but not least, the SVM annual meetings are the best! I look forward to connecting with all of my colleagues and friends and learning a ton! It’s really great to be in such a small community where people truly get to know you, and we support each other.
What are the greatest challenges to vascular medicine practice from your view point? What are the greatest benefits?
I think some of the challenges in vascular medicine are also some of the greatest benefits. One example is the diversity of specialties within the field of vascular medicine, from internal medicine to radiology to cardiology. Vascular medicine is a melting pot of ideas and practices. This can also be a challenge when it comes to formalizing training pathways and determining how to distinguish vascular medicine as its own specialty.
SVM committee updates
Over the past year, the SVM committees have significantly advanced the goals of our community. Below is a brief update from some of our committees.
Audit, Finance, and Fundraising committee
Chair: Ido Weinberg, MD, FSVM
During the past year, the Audit, Finance, and Fundraising committee has focused on identifying sources of revenue for the Society. At our President’s encouragement, the committee has targeted fundraising in honor of the SVM’s 30th anniversary. We have also been encouraging people to donate to the Society in other ways, such as by preferring smile.amazon.com and linking to the Society as the beneficiary of their purchases through the site. As we do every year, the committee has reviewed the annual audit, which did not find any issues. In the year to come, the committee hopes to increase member participation in fundraising and donations, as well as to identify areas within our annual budget that allow for money saving, such as consolidating websites. The committee hopes to support the Scientific Sessions’ efforts through the auction and their event-related fundraising.
Communications and Publications committee
Co-Chairs: Ehrin Armstrong, MD, FSVM and Naomi Hamburg, MD, FSVM
The Communications and Publications committee has been very active in SVM’s publications. These include scheduling and oversight of the Vascular Medicine journal blue pages and review of external documents provided to SVM for possible societal endorsement. Over the next year, the committee plans to increase our scope of activities by promoting additional editorials for the journal and development of SVM position papers. The first of these new position papers will provisionally address vascular medicine training requirements.
Education committee
Co-Chairs: Gregory Piazza, MD, MS, FSVM and Aditya Sharma, MBBS, RPVI, FSVM
In the past year, the Education committee has been working extensively on an American Board of Vascular Medicine (ABVM) review book focused on multiple-choice questions to help in exam preparation. The committee also helped to organize the 2017 Board Review Course, which included both live and recorded content. In the coming year, the committee will continue to work on the ABVM review book, the goal being to have the publication available in both print and web versions. For our new initiatives, the committee is planning a 1–3 minute audio and video vascular medicine consult series. The committee plans to record the first few during the SVM Scientific Sessions this year.
Fellows Course committee
Co-Chairs: Ido Weinberg, MD, FSVM and Mitch Weinberg, MD, FSVM
In 2018, the Fellows Course committee successfully implemented the fourth annual SVM Fellows Course. The course emphasized patient-based learning in a variety of formats. Concise knowledge-packed primers and engaging hands-on sessions were integrated into the course over a wide variety of interventional and non-interventional vascular topics. In the year to come, the committee plans to substantially expand the course’s capacity. The committee is planning to cater to the individual needs and interests of our trainees by offering a variety of educational tracks tailored to specific interests – whether it be imaging, diagnostics and therapeutics (non-invasive), or interventional skill development. The committee also intends to further develop our hands-on programming in each of these tracks based on the incredibly positive feedback received in recent years. Most importantly, the committee hopes to recreate this year’s enthusiasm from industry, speakers, and attendees.
Membership and Credentials committee
Co-Chairs: Herb Aronow, MD, MPH, FSVM and Peter Angelopoulos, MD, MBA, FSVM
Over the past year, the Membership committee has been actively involved in a number of important recruitment and retention initiatives. These have included working closely with the Bylaws, Policies, and Procedures committee to redefine SVM membership categories and their respective requirements, and establishing a timeline for contacting non-renewed members, streamlining the process for member dues renewal notification, establishing renewal incentives, and developing a process to encourage transition from Associate to Doctorate and from Doctorate to Fellow member status. During the coming year, the Membership committee will be drafting a societal recruitment ‘elevator speech’, developing a non-member survey, exploring a dues structure revamp, and launching a mentorship program for early career members.
Next Generation committee
Co-Chairs: Christina Fanola, MD, MSc and Yogendra Kanthi, MD
The Next Generation committee has been extensively involved with numerous networking and career development opportunities over the last year. These have included specific events concurrent with the AHA and ACC meetings. Discussions at these events focused on challenges and successes in vascular medicine that span private practice through academics. The committee has also engaged significantly in social media, with the #SVMNextGen utilized in the SVM Scientific Sessions, and other national/international conferences, as well as cases where we draw an international crowd. At the 2018 SVM Scientific Sessions, the committee initiated a ‘Meet the Professor’ series, to be instilled in future SVM meetings. Senior members and founders discussed life lessons and their challenges and successes in the field over coffee with a younger crowd. The committee currently hold three meetings a year and discuss past and future challenges and improvements for broadening the exposure of vascular medicine to early trainees, while also providing resources for those in their early career.
Website and Social Media committee
Chair: Anne Albers, MD, FSVM;
Vice-Chair: Stanislav Henkin, MD, MPH
The Website and Social Media committee has been very active in the past year. The committee reviewed and posted video content from the SVM 2018 Scientific Sessions and promoted educational content from the Society (@SVM_Tweets) and its journal (@VMJ_SVM). The group now has 3166 Twitter followers with this effort! The committee has also promoted an SVM clinical case series, including genetic testing for aortopathy and livedoid vasculopathy. In the coming year, the committee plans to continue current programming and also promote SVM content on YouTube. The website is undergoing enhancement with a career development section that will highlight programs from the Scientific Sessions and tools for executive presence.