International skeletal society outreach in Argentina

From June 28th to 29th, 2013, the Argentinian ISS Outreach Program took place in collaboration with the Centro de Diagnóstico Dr. Enrique Rossi in the city of Buenos Aires. A total of 690 participants attended. In the following report, we analyze the actual radiologic situation in this South American country. Outreach programs in a country such as Argentina are extremely valuable, as they provide a great opportunity for physicians that cannot travel overseas an attend international meetings such as RSNA, International Skeletal Society, or ARRS.     

Community outreach and integration of breast radiologists

With the increased emphasis on patient experience and shift toward patient- and family-centered care in health care, balancing the daily practice of radiology and devoting time to community outreach and engagement can seem challenging. We describe various methods of community outreach and integration attainable by breast imagers and how these can be used to develop relations with patients and providers, improve patient access, and inspire future breast imagers. Engagement in community outreach by the breast imager can positively impact breast radiologists, their radiology groups, and patients.     

International Skeletal Society outreach 2013: Rwanda

It has been almost 20 years since the horrific events of the Rwandan genocide. Since that time, the country has made a remarkable recovery owing to good government and a great deal of aid. Health-care services are well organized, but remain short of resources and expertise. Musculoskeletal imaging (and treatment) is in its infancy. Given the huge strides that have been made in social order and stability, there is great hope for the future. It is proposed that future International Skeletal Society (ISS) outreach programs plan to make a meaningful commitment to developing expertise in specific hospitals.     

New direction in PACS education and training.

The picture archiving and communication system (PACS) is an image information system that has become widely installed. For its successful implementation, training has been found indispensable. A review of PACS training thus far shows major emphasis was placed on the use of display workstations. As an integrated system, the PACS is much broader than the display workstations, having many components that need connectivity and customization. With the many potentials of further development, a more comprehensive education program on PACS is called for and a PACS simulator as a standalone training and research tool is deemed necessary.     

Trends in radiologic technology education.

Allied health person-power education has for the past ten years shifted significantly from the hospital to college-based degree programs. Academically strong co-sponsored (college-hospital) programs offer considerable advantage for the health professional. Radiologic technology education generally has not kept pace with this trend. The need in radiologic technology education is not for additional training programs, but for better ones, and for continuing education for in-service personnel. Radiologic technologists should challenge their local institutions of higher education to provide for their needs and aspirations.     

Psychiatric education in aerospace medicine.

In order to facilitate curriculum design for psychiatric education in aerospace medicine, three groups of physicians were surveyed: experienced flight surgeons, student flight surgeons, and psychiatrists trained in aerospace medicine. Two measures were obtained: 1) an assessment of the usefulness of particular psychiatric skills and knowledge in the practice of aerospace medicine, and 2) a rating of the clinician's abilities in these areas. Results support the primary importance of interviewing and diagnostic skills. Student flight surgeons show deficiencies in the areas of administrative knowledge and in knowledge of the impact of the flyer's environment upon his mental status. These findings link psychiatry in aerospace medicine with the emphasis on understanding the man/environment interface and on the flight surgeon's organizational function of boundary control through decisions on fitness to fly.