July 2004 | Vol. 22/No. 7

President’s Message

A vision for our profession

by George L. Berdejo, BA RVT FSVU

I am happy to report that the Society for Vascular Ultrasound celebrated another successful Annual Conference in Anaheim in June. This year’s event, our 27th Annual Conference, was held in conjunction with the annual meetings of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), the Peripheral Vascular Surgery Society (PVSS) and the Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology (SVMB). There were over 1500 attendees from all four societies.

At the Opening General Session, I remarked that the time has come for diverse vascular organizations to share information and ideas freely. ‘Without vision, the people will perish…”. This is an excerpt from the Wisdom Book of Proverbs of the King James Bible. I believe this is especially true in healthcare – our Society must have a vision for health. One of the goals of the SVU is to establish a vision for our profession, this Society, and its members that will prepare us for the future. This combined Vascular Annual Meeting 2004 was a vision that became a reality through the collaboration and hard work of the four participating organizations.

Quite appropriately, Dr. Dennis F. Bandyk of the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL, this year’s Keynote Speaker, followed me to the podium with his predictions for the future of the vascular ultrasound profession. Dr. Bandyk called for vascular professionals to begin working collaboratively in “vascular centers.” The vascular profession is growing significantly in response to the increasing numbers of patients with vascular disease and I believe that the vascular ultrasound professional will assume an increasingly important role in the diagnosis, management, treatment and follow-up of these patients.

The Scientific Session papers were outstanding as were the invited speakers and the Poster presentations. The first Dr. Alex Chao, MD, Young Investigator’s Award for excellence in a scientific research paper in vascular technology was presented to Patrick Stone, MD, Chief General Surgery Resident at West Virginia University (Charleston Division) for his scientific paper on “Selective Use of Duplex Ultrasound Following Successful Thrombin Injection of Pseudoaneurysms.” Several other presenters were also recognized for their excellent presentations. More information can be found in this newsletter or on the website.

This President’s Message would not be complete if I did not mention the presentation of the 2004 Pioneer Award to Dr. Sergio X. Salles-Cunha and the Leadership Award to Immediate Past President Bonnie Johnson. I am proud to say that both have been personal friends and mentors and are certainly deserving of the recognition. I wish to extend my personal congratulations to both Sergio and Bonnie and to all the recipients of the various awards at this year’s Annual Conference. I also want to extend a hearty thank you and congratulations to Kathy Carter and Judy Fried, Program Chair and Co-chair respectively, and to Steve Haracznak, Executive Director of the SVU, and his staff. Without their hard work and dedication this event would not have been so successful. I urge you to plan now to attend the 28 th SVU Annual Conference at the 2005 Vascular Annual Meeting in Chicago, June 16-19, 2005.

In March, I shared with you the new SVU strategic plan, Vision 2005 developed by the Society's leadership. Under the quite capable leadership of SVU Vice President Michael Schwebler action plans have been created and implemented, and I'm pleased to report that significant progress has been made on all our goals, although much work remains to be done. The various initiative owners continue to work hard to realize the goals of Vision 2005 and will work alongside Mike and myself with a commitment to make the Vision a reality.

With this letter I would like to enlist the support of the membership to assist in the various projects outlined within the Vision. Please take a moment to look over the initiatives. All members have a place where they add the most value. Perhaps there is an area within the Vision in which you are interested in or possess expertise and you can lend a helping hand in order to allow us to move this agenda forward. Don’t allow assumptions, inexperience or fear to keep you from participating. Vision gives team members direction and confidence. The Vision is here and it is clear, but we need team members who make things happen. This would be a great opportunity for the uninitiated to become familiar with the activities of the Board of Directors and with its members. Please feel free to contact me by e-mail (gbrvtbod@aol.com) or phone (718-920-2016) or to call the SVU National Office if you are interested in helping with the Vision or if you have any questions.  

As the challenge escalates, the need for Teamwork elevates. In closing, I want to remind you all of our Membership Recruitment theme — Each One, Reach One. This Society is only as strong as its Membership and we need everyone on the team to contribute to its success. I wish you all and your families a blessed, happy and safe Fourth of July Holiday.

George L. Berdejo, BA, RVT, FSVU
President, Society for Vascular Ultrasound
The Voice for the Vascular Ultrasound Profession