News from the Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals (SICP)

A Letter from the SICP Director:

SICP UPDATE

Register Today: SICP Annual Meeting, July 28-30, 2011, Boston MA

Registration is open and available online at www.sicp.com. Please make your plans to participate in this much-anticipated meeting. Topics include: exploration of new techniques, case studies and student abstracts, skills & lab, wet lab, structural heart repair, and, of course, the SICP’s own RCIS Signature Review Course.

Education & Educators Committee

The Educators Committee breakout session is fast becoming jam-packed. We hope all educators will make an effort to participate in this session. Discussion topics include an overview and Q&A session with Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI) regarding the new test outline and communication with the educators. We are also excited to have a Q&A discussion session with the SICP’s representative with the JRC-CVT regarding benchmark selection and setting, how this is utilized, and how to prepare site visitors for their tasks. The educators’ session will also feature discussion on technology use in the classroom, SICP student participation, and legislative updates on a regional basis and how the education programs can help respond to issues for the profession. Thank you to Patrick Hoier, who has continued to be a driving force for the Educators Committee. The committee is open to all SICP Member Educators interested in participating. Please contact SICP at membership @sicp.com to be added to the list! We would love to have your input and contributions. 

Advocacy

Advocacy continues to be an important issue for the SICP and although slow moving in some areas, volunteers around the country continue to stay informed on their local issues. It is important that everyone remain vigilant in their own areas. Volunteers from all areas of the country are needed when it comes to monitoring and communicating advocacy efforts! Jim Lincoln, our Advocacy Chair, has done an exceptional job of uniting issues state to state; however, there are many more issues and slow-moving activity. We see lots of frustrations, so the more people we have working in this area, the better. We welcome as little or as much as you can offer in the way of volunteer time. If you are interested in participating in the advocacy efforts, please contact us today at membership@sicp.com.

As always, thank you to all the SICP members who continue to support the SICP. We appreciate your continued participation. Encourage others to join — the more united we are, the more we can accomplish!

Please let me know if you have any questions or wish to participate in any committee activities. We welcome your input and involvement. Email me at director@sicp.com.

Thank you,
Nicole Shore
Executive Director
Society of Invasive Cardiovascular
Professionals

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New Cardiovascular Horizons is June 1-3, 2011 in New Orleans!

The Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals is proud to partner with New Cardiovascular Horizons (NCVH) again this year. We will bring our Signature Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (RCIS) review course to New Orleans from June 1-3, and have three morning sessions scheduled. We have invited the program directors from top cardiovascular technology programs to present, including Jeff Davis from Edison State College in Fort Meyers, Florida; Sally Elliott from Sentara College of Health Sciences, Chesapeake, Virginia; and Darren Powell from Spokane Community College, Spokane, Washington. These sessions will prepare you to sit for the RCIS exam offered by Cardiovascular Credentialing International. The course will be an excellent review of the fundamentals of cardiovascular disease pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment.

In addition, the two-day Cath Lab Professionals Session at NCVH will include internationally known speakers covering topics of interest to both novices and seasoned cath lab professionals. Featured topics will include structural heart repair (including trans-catheter, aortic and mitral valve repair and replacement), cooling in the cath lab, new ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) guidelines, legislative issues, radial access, acute coronary syndrome, door-to-balloon (D2B) times and other cutting-edge topics related to cardiovascular laboratories.

An emphasis on state-of-the-art technology, fundamental practices, simulator training, and shared experiences of veteran cardiovascular professionals guarantees that the NCVH Cath Lab sessions will be relevant, stimulating and informative. The directors understand the importance of the all-inclusive approach to the audience, especially given the current trend of cross-training and cross-coverage in the consolidated suites of our hospitals (coronary, peripheral, and electrophysiology). A concerted effort has been made to design the meeting to reflect the real world that we are immersed in daily and focus on specific education that attendees will be able implement as soon as they get back to their labs.

For more information and available discounts, visit ncvhonline.com/sicp.

We hope to see you there!

Darren Powell, Jeff Davis, Sally Elliot and Regina Deible
Course Directors

____________________________

NCVH Discount for SICP Members
June 1-4, 2011
New Orleans, Louisiana

Now entering its 12th year, New Cardiovascular Horizons (NCVH) is the longest-running “head-to-toe” multi-disciplinary meeting to focus on peripheral interventions and limb preservation. Conference chairman, Craig M. Walker, MD, has set his sights on raising NCVH’s profile as the nation’s leading peripheral meeting.

“We want to create a medical educational program that will promote better understanding, diagnosis and treatment of PAD and venous disease,” said Dr. Walker. “We want to establish PAD as a marker of high risk for cardiovascular death and disability.”

Join us at New Cardiovascular Horizons for the SICP Signature RCIS Review Course, along with:

• 26 LIVE peripheral intervention cases performed from 6 different cath labs;
• 8 hours of advanced education for cath lab professionals;
• 4 hours of hands-on simulation training at the Tulane University Medical Simulation Center;
• 200+ lectures from world-renowned faculty.

SICP members receive a discounted registration rate of $299 for the entire 4-day meeting. Visit www.ncvhonline.com/sicp for details.

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SICP Important Dates: Register Today!

New Cardiovascular Horizons (NCVH)
SICP Signature RCIS Review Course
June 1-4, 2011 • New Orleans, LA

SICP’s 2011 New England Symposium & Annual Meeting
July 28-31, 2011 • Boston, MA

Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT)
November 7-11, 2011 • San Francisco, CA