SMRT Signals • June 2017 • Vol.6 Issue 2

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Titti Owman (R)(CT)(MR),FSMRT
SMRT President 2017-2018

Being elected President of the SMRT is a big honor and I would like to begin my first message to you, dear SMRT members, by saying thank you very much for the confidence you have shown by giving me this important assignment. It is truly a new and very special challenge for me since I am the first elected president of the SMRT from Europe and I believe that I am also the first president not having English as my first language. I do speak Swedish most of the time so please excuse me if my language sometimes is affected in a “Swenglish” way. Really big verbal mistakes can probably be avoided by current spell checking programs and hopefully the small ones will not be too harmful.

I am grateful that my SMRT friends and colleagues convinced me to accept the presidential nomination and after years of working with them I feel I am now prepared to handle the increased workload and to serve this terrific organization that really means a lot to me. To be the successor to our previous President Jim Stuppino is not an easy task and I can feel that the expectations are high since he did a terrific job and I am also grateful that he and several other SMRT friends helped me to prepare for this coming year’s duties. I believe in the strength and creativity that comes with successful teamwork and to find team-based solutions is very often the best way to find sustainable solutions. I do believe that Henry Ford was on the right track when he declared these famous lines:

Coming together is a beginning

Keeping together is progress

Working together is success

The SMRT yearly meeting was held in Honolulu, Hawaii a few weeks ago. In many ways a very successful meeting with a fantastic kick-off Friday evening started by the traditional Poster session where we learned a lot about the ongoing high quality research and clinical work of our members, MR-radiographers and technologists from all over the world! This striking international atmosphere was well reflected in the social event with the poster session, where many different languages were spoken. This event was highly appreciated and many new contacts and connections were established along with scientific and clinical discussions in the presence of our sponsors and supporters.

The meeting in Honolulu was the first 3-day SMRT meeting ever. It turned out to be a most welcome modification with an opportunity for our participants to earn extra credits and also to have access to the exhibition hall. This improvement was possible due to the productive and excellent collaboration between the SMRT program committee and ISMRM. More than 50% of the SMRT meeting registrants also joined the ISMRM meeting and at both meetings we could enjoy fantastic speakers delivering sensational talks and sessions. It was a truly and inspiring mix of research and clinical topics delivered including breakout sessions and plenary talks. I would also like to mention the Joint Forum where the topic this year was MR safety. A lot of useful and urgent information was delivered to an engaged and enthusiastic audience. We are all very grateful to this year’s Program Committee, led by Shawna Farquharson. They did a marvelous job and next year it’s time for Dora Zeidler and her team to create a program at the Paris meeting and with their combined experience and the support from our membership I am sure it will again be a wonderful SMRT event. We wish them good luck with their work.

This year was the second year our meeting was being streamed which created the possibility to follow it live. We are happy to find an increasing number of participants using this opportunity and most of our streaming participants were also engaged in the separate chat where it was possible to pose questions to the speaker at the podium via our dedicated moderators in the lecture room. A new and exciting meeting ingredient.

We are hoping to see an even larger number of members and presenters next year. For those of you thinking about contributing and submitting an abstract for our meeting in Paris (June 15-18, 2018) please go ahead and start your work. The sooner the better, and don’t be shy even if you have never done anything similar before. Just remember that there is always a first time, and you are welcome to contact us if you have questions. Your work may be richly rewarded and you will undoubtedly learn a lot during the process. There is also going to be a possibility to apply for a travel scholarship for SMRT members.

As already mentioned, many new and valuable personal connections were established during this year’s meeting, especially at the main social event, which took place at the Sky Waikiki where our participants could enjoy a stunning view and sunset over Honolulu and the ocean. A wonderful memory to bring back home along with updated MR knowledge and new SMRT friends and professional connections.

The possibility to meet colleagues face to face is of great value and I would like to thank everybody who was involved or participated in this unforgettable meeting!

The amazing and immediate result was that a large number of members have declared that they are interested in getting further engaged in SMRT activities and we also ended up with a record number of SMRT members that are volunteering for committee work. Sensational and certainly something we are very happy about and eager to follow up with.

If you are considering e involvement in our organization: Please get in touch with us. We are always welcoming new members to our SMRT family

The mission of the SMRT is to advance global education in the field of magnetic resonance.

According to the current SMRT strategic plan, soon to be renewed, the most important mission is to provide MR education. Previous and current SMRT Policy Board members and committees have certainly made unbelievable improvements regarding educational content and availability. What we can see today is the joint effort and teamwork performed by SMRT members and our home office staff. A new and updated eLearning Center that is easy to access. An incredible source of MR information regardless of what topic or what level of knowledge you are looking for. Our new eLearning offerings make it possible for you to find what you need to improve, maintain or refresh your professional competence. You can easily choose text or video based Home Studies and if you have not done so already: please visit our new website at smrt.org. After exploring the unique MR educational possibilities that SMRT now has to offer, don’t forget to tell your colleagues and MR-friends about it. Our MR educational offerings are available to everyone!

Welcome to SMRT e Learning! lms.ismrm.org

Knowledge increases by sharing, not by saving!

We are eager to share our knowledge and expertise with you, so please share your experiences with us!

Finally, I am very grateful for the possibility and privilege to serve as SMRT president and to be able to work with All of You! I assure you I will do the best I can to serve the interests of our society and its members.

Titti Owman, R.N., (R)(CT)(MR), FSMRT