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Regional Report
SMRT Rocky Mountain Chapter Regional Educational Seminar
February 19, 2011
Meeting Organizers:
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Lisbeth (Betsy) Sestina,
RT (R )(CT)(MR)(M)
Rocky Mountain Regional Co-Chair
Carrie Borders, RT (R )(MR)
Rocky Mountain Regional Co-Chair
Kendra Hassebrock, RT(R)(MR)
Rocky Mountain Regional Co-Chair |
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The
2011 Rocky Mountain Chapter Regional Educational Seminar was held on
Saturday, 19 February 2011 in the main conference room at Exempla
Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette, Colorado. A total of 50
attendees, including speakers and vendor representatives were
present. The attendees were provided with a wide variety of
educational topics and opportunities to network. |
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Attendees check in for the
Rocky Mountain Regional Educational Seminar |
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We would
first like to thank our meeting sponsors and vendors. In the economy
that we have all experienced over the last few years, we want to
make sure that we express our heartfelt appreciation for our
participating sponsors. We acknowledge and thank the following for
their participation: GE Healthcare, Hologic, Frank Shellock of
the Institute for Magnetic Resonance Safety, Education and Research,
Medtronic, QSUM and West Physics Consulting. |
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Natalie Serkova, Ph.D. |
The
morning began with breakfast and a very informative talk from Dr.
Natalie Serkova, Ph.D. of the University of Colorado Cancer
Center Imaging Core. Dr. Serkova spoke to us about innovations
in medical imaging including CT, MRI, MRS, PET SPECT and US. She
lead us through a terrific explanation on a variety of new
physiological and molecular imaging protocols, developed in animal
models and how this information is translated into the clinical
set-up for pre clinical trials. We also learned what is involved in
scanning at the 4.7T level, looking at cancer biomarkers and animal
models, PET metabolism, molecular imaging and translational imaging. |
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Dave Jordan, Ph.D. |
Dave
Jordan, Ph.D. of West Physics Consulting was next on the agenda.
Dave gave us an update on physics, QC tests, accreditation FAQ’s and
Updates and the latest overview on the ACR Breast Accreditation. We
appreciated his help in understanding requirements to ensure we are
current with our accreditation and documentation. |
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Cindy Comeau, BS, RT (N)(MR) FSMRT |
After a
short break, Cindy Comeau, BS, RT (N)(MR) FSMRT spoke to us
on the Key Elements in Performing a Cardiac MRI Study. We
learned about all the basics of cardiac imaging, including personnel
preparation, equipment considerations, patient preparation, a core
cardiac MRI protocol and reporting a cardiac MRI study. As always,
Cindy’s presentation was a wealth of information accompanied by
great images. |
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Kristan Harrington, M.B.A., RT (R)(MR) discussed how to deal
with issues revolving around pediatric patients. She discussed how
we can relate to our younger patients by studying the growth and
development milestones of children, pediatric sedation, pediatric
specific safety, SAR and sedation and imaging techniques. Her
expertise allowed us to better understand how to deal with our
younger and smaller patients.
Lunch was
a great opportunity for technologists to catch up with old friends,
make new friends, networking and sharing stories. We had a number of
raffle items, and just about everyone took home a gift. |
Co-Chair
Betsy Sestina, RT (R )(CT)(MR)(M) &
Speaker
Charles Stanley, RT, (R)(CT)(MR) |
Our
afternoon flew by with four great presentations from two prominent
figures in MRI technologist education. Our first presentation was
MRI UnSafety from Charles Stanley, RT, (R)(CT)(MR)-The
effects of Mass Media on Public Perception of MRI. We viewed a
number of TV and movie samples that were great examples of just
what’s out there and how misconceptions regarding MRI can arise.
Charles then followed with a great interactive presentation on
Communication Skills for Technologists. After learning how to
determine different types of personalities, we were presented with
the communication do’s and don’ts of each personality type.
Following our discussion, we were given a live presentation of the
concepts…great to learn by example, lots of laughs and great take
home ideas. |
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Bill Faulkner, B.S, R.T.(R)(MR)(CT), FSMRT |
The close
of our day was spent with Bill Faulkner, B.S, R.T.(R)(MR)(CT),
FSMRT, always entertaining. Bill’s first talk was MRI and
Patients with Implanted Devices. A variety of concepts were
presented with a great discussion on “Modern Pacemakers.” This was
the first documented presentation of new information being presented
to a group of technologists in the US. Bill encouraged us to look at
the paradigm shift that has occurred with aneurysm clips in the
past, and to be open to another shift in regards to new pacemakers.
We finished up the day with a great review on Contrast Agents. We
listened to reasons why we use contrast agents, different types of
contrast agent, gadolinium based agents mechanism of action and high
relativity agents. |
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A special thanks to Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center,
Lafayette, Colorado for their generous venue sponsorship and
fabulous IT support. Again, we would like to thank GE Healthcare,
Hologic, Frank Shellock of the Institute for Magnetic Resonance
Safety, Education and Research, Medtronic, QSUM and West Physics
Consulting for their generous support. Also, another special
thanks to Carrie Borders and Kendra Hassebrock for
their wonderful organization and great support. Their help was
instrumental in creating a successful meeting. It was a delightful
day.
Look
forward to seeing you all next year! We are already planning another
great program!
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Lisbeth
(Betsy) Sestina, RT (R )(CT)(MR)(M)
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