Communicating our Value. Improving our Future.
The theme for 2016 and the AAPM Annual Meeting is “Communicating our Value. Improving our Future.” I have observed over recent years that the importance of the Medical Physicist to both the imaging and treatment processes has lessened in many institutions. We are losing / have lost our place as key players on the diagnosis and treatment teams, often relegated to the role of technicians in the eyes of our colleagues and administrators. This is true in academic/research arenas as well, where grant opportunities for improvements in technology and process, areas in which we are major players, have been on the decline. We need to reverse these trends in order to survive and thrive.
AAPM can help medical physicists achieve better recognition by providing tools and guidance in promoting our value to our institutions and colleagues. Medical Physics 3.0, the Medical Physics Leadership Academy and the 2016 Summer School on Leadership are all venues that have this goal (among others). Our Annual Meeting provides opportunities for sharing/improving your scientific knowledge, clinical skills, and professional leadership. Involvement in AAPM committees and task groups enable you to help shape our future, clinically, scientifically, and professionally.
These opportunities, however, are only of value if you take advantage of them and work to incorporate them into your research, clinical practice, or interactions with your colleagues. I echo John Boone’s words from 2015; “I invite you — indeed I challenge you — to take advantage of the outstanding opportunities offered at this summer’s meeting to reinvigorate your professional, [clinical, and scientific] excellence.”
Bruce H. Curran
2016 AAPM President
Sessions of Note from the President
| Revitalizing Your Medical Physics Classroom: Some Examples and Thoughts From the Trenches | Sunday - 7/31/2016 | ||
| Education Council Symposium | 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM | Room: Ballroom A |
| The Medical Physicist Value Proposition for Tomorrow and Today | Sunday - 7/31/2016 | ||
| Professional Council Symposium | 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM | Room: Ballroom A |
| Preclinical Science | Sunday - 7/31/2016 | ||
| Therapy SNAP Oral | 1:00 PM - 1:55 PM | Room: 204 |
| John R. Cameron Young Investigator Symposium | Monday - 8/1/2016 | ||
| Young Investigator Symposium | 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM | Room: Ballroom A |
| Inspiring Leadership | Monday - 8/1/2016 | ||
| President's Symposium | 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM | Room: Ballroom B |
| Medical Physics Leadership Academy | Monday - 8/1/2016 | ||
| SAM Professional Symposium | 1:45 PM - 3:45 PM | Room: 201 |
| Grand Challenges in Medical Imaging and Radiomics | Tuesday - 8/2/2016 | ||
| Joint Imaging - Radiomics Scientific Symposium | 1:45 PM - 3:45 PM | Room: 207A |
| Optimizing the Treatment Planning Process | Tuesday - 8/2/2016 | ||
| SAM Practical Medical Physics | 1:45 PM - 3:45 PM | Room: Ballroom A |
| Connecting Radiation Physics with Computational Biology | Wednesday - 8/3/2016 | ||
| SAM Therapy Scientific Symposium | 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM | Room: 202 |
| NCI-Supported Research Activities | Wednesday - 8/3/2016 | ||
| Special Symposium | 12:15 PM - 1:00 PM | Room: Ballroom B |
| Learning from Medical Errors: A Partnership for Progress (Session 4 of the TG100 Certificate Course series) | Wednesday - 8/3/2016 | ||
| Joint Imaging - Therapy Symposium | 1:45 PM - 2:40 PM | Room: Ballroom C |
| Fostering a Successful Career in Research | Wednesday - 8/3/2016 | ||
| Professional Symposium | 1:45 PM - 2:40 PM | Room: 204 |
| The Zagzebski/Carson Distinguished Lecture on Medical Ultrasound: Image Guided Ultrasound Therapy | Wednesday - 8/3/2016 | ||
| Imaging Educational Course | 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM | Room: 209 |
| Challenges and Opportunities for Nuclear Medicine Theranostics | Thursday - 8/4/2016 | ||
| SAM Imaging Educational Course | 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM | Room: 206 |
| The Pursuit of Radiation Oncology Performance Excellence | Thursday - 8/4/2016 | ||
| SAM Professional Symposium | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Room: 204 |