August 2013 News from the Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals

SICP’s Signature RCIS & RCES 

Review Courses

October 5-6, Memphis, TN

November 9-10, Edinburg, TX

The SICP Signature RCIS Review Course is designed to review information for the Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI) RCIS invasive registry exam. This course will help you identify areas in which you need to concentrate your self-study, or will serve as an overview for those who are preparing to take the exam.

Topics will include, but are not limited, to: cardiovascular diseases, hemodynamics, calculations, 12-lead EKG, patient care & assessment, cardiovascular A&P, pharmacology, and radiation safety.

The SICP Signature RCES Review Course is designed to offer a review to the Allied Health Professional of information for the Cardiac Credentialing International (CCI) RCES registry exam. The objective of the course is to offer a comprehensive review of content assessed on the RCES registry. This review may enlighten areas of need as well as serve as a refresher for other areas.

Topics will include but are not limited to: cardiovascular diseases, hemodynamics, calculations, 12-lead EKG, Egrams, diagnostic electrophysiology, ablation physics I&II, and pacemaker/ICD implant & evaluation. 

The two courses will run concurrently. Please indicate which course you plan to attend when registering.

Registration - https://www.sicp.com/meetings-and-events

• Members $199
• Non-members $250 -SICP Membership is included with the cost of a non-member registration.
• Students $70 - online registration for students is not available. You must include a copy of your student ID or letter from instructor to qualify for student rate. 

Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals

1500 Sunday Drive · Suite 102

Raleigh, NC 27607

Phone: (919) 861-4546

Fax: (919) 787-4916

Save the date 

SICP will contribute to the Nurse/Tech Track at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference, San Francisco, CA, October 27-November 1, 2013.

Registration is handled through TCT; you may contact them directly for more information at the TCT website.

Educators Committee

Lois Schaffer and Stephanie Rank have continued efforts with the Educators Committee. Please contact SICP at membership@sicp.com to be added to the list!

Host a course

SICP is requesting involvement from all cardiovascular technology (CVT) schools. We would love to hold an RCIS/RCES Review Course at your school in conjunction with your CVT program. We ask that the program commit to providing two separate rooms for instruction, complete audio/visual needs, and adequate volunteers to help with registration and preliminary planning. We request that you provide contact information for area facilities and that you reach out to all your clinical preceptors. In turn, SICP will commit to providing speakers, handouts, registration support and promotional efforts.

SICP will conduct individual registrations for participants and will offer a significantly discounted rate to the host program’s student participants!

If you are interested in hosting a course at your program, please contact us ASAP to get on our calendar: director@sicp.com. 

Advocacy

Advocacy continues to be an important issue for SICP, and although it is slow moving in some areas, volunteers around the country continue to stay informed on their local issues. It is of the utmost importance that everyone be diligent and vigilant in your own areas. Volunteers in all areas of the country are needed when it comes to monitoring and communicating advocacy efforts! 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 at membership@sicp.com.

Chapter conference call

As part of our 2013-2014 Initiatives and Goals, SICP wishes to reach out and create more interaction with our chapters. 

We are inviting you to participate in the second Chapter conference call August 23, 11:30 am EST.  

Our first call was a great success. If you have interest in a SICP Chapter, please join us. 

SICP President Sally Elliott and President-Elect VP Patrick Hoier are very passionate about the Society and hope that we can assist chapters grow and prosper. 

Please contact director@sicp.com for call-in information.

SICP Chapters

We are seeking a Chapter Liaison! If are interested in chapter development and helping coordinate all the chapters, we need you! Chapters continue to succeed in some areas and struggle in others. The exact science of chapter development and maintenance continues to be a challenge for many. The only answer we can offer is — volunteerism. The more volunteers you have working, the better things will be spread out amongst the group and there is less of an opportunity for volunteer burnout! If you have a chapter in your area, get involved. If you wish to offer assistance but are unsure where to turn, please contact us at SICP — we’ll direct you. Email membership@sicp.com.

We are planning to start a Friday Call every other month for Chapters. If you would like more information on this, please contact membership@sicp.com.

News From the SICP California Central Valley Chapter 

By Leslie Pollard, SICP CCVC Secretary

In March 2013, our Chapter held an educational event featuring speaker Christopher Heard of Bracco Diagnostics, who spoke on the topic of contrast-induced nephropathy. Our members were delighted with the wealth of information we received and the eye-opening knowledge of how our daily practices can truly benefit our patients. There were approximately 40 professionals in attendance and the evening was an absolute success. 

In April 2013, we held our Quarterly Business Meeting, at which about 20 members discussed our Chapter’s future and the process of electing new officers this January. We also decided on many factors of how we can duplicate the success of another RCIS/RCES Review Course here on the West Coast this upcoming fall. We are optimistic about the California Central Valley Chapter’s continued success and growth as we proceed into the new year!

In May 2013, we had an outstanding turnout for an equally outstanding opportunity for a hands-on heart dissection lab, led by Keith Hollis of Boston Scientific. Our members were very pleased with the presentation and the amazing experience of dissecting individual hearts and exploring the anatomy of an animal heart.  

In July 2013, Mitzy Nelson from Medtronic discussed implantable cardiac monitors and their role in diagnosing unexplained syncope and cryptogenic stroke. We are looking forward to a wonderful summer and sharing knowledge for the betterment of our profession!

Note: The California Central Valley Chapter of SICP is hoping to be involved with the next conference call on August 23rd, if our caseload will allow it!

Re: First Chapter Conference Call a Success

Dear Nicole and staff at the national SICP,

The conference call on Friday June 28 was of great help to us here at the Georgia Chapter. The staff at the national chapter was very informative with regard to promoting our local chapter and committed to supporting us. While we are dedicated to our profession and the society, we struggle with recruitment, and general promotion and funding for chapter activities. The national staff was very interested in assisting and advising planned activities to assure the success of our chapter meetings. The information gained during the call gave me some guidance and ideas that I will take back to our core group. I look forward to the continuation of the calls and hope that more chapters will join in the conversation on how we can strengthen our profession and society. 

Elisabeth M. Frails BSRT, RCIS, MSA, Harry T. Harper MD School of Cardiac and Vascular Technology University Hospital, Augusta, Georgia