News from the Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals (SICP)

A Letter from the SICP Director:

Register Today! The SICP Annual Meeting is July 28-30, 2011, in Boston, Massachusetts

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, as well as the SICP’s RCIS Signature Review Course. Along with the Educators Committee breakout session (see below), we hope to have a Manager’s Retreat breakout session. We continue to value member input, so if you would like to participate, please contact us at membership@sicp.com.

Education & Educators Committee

The Educators Committee will conduct a breakout session at the SICP Annual Meeting, July 28-30, in Boston, Massachusetts. This session will feature a Q&A opportunity with the SICP representative to the Joint Review Committee on Education in Cardiovascular Technology (JRC-CVT), Jeff Davis, as well as a session with a representative from Cardiovascular Credentialing International. As a reminder, 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 legislation can move slowly, 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 are needed when it comes to monitoring and communicating advocacy efforts in all areas of the country! 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. The more people we have to connect, the better. We welcome as little or as much as you can offer in the way of your 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 ———————————————

SICP Chapter News

The SICP supports local chapters in several areas. We also support local groups that may not have grown to quite the chapter level — it’s all about networking and providing educational opportunities where available. We have listed several chapters below, as well as the pertinent contact information for those chapter representatives. If you are interested in becoming involved with one of these chapters, please contact the representative directly. If you are interested in starting a chapter in your area, please let the SICP know. Chapters provide a great way to network in your professional community, as well as to further advocacy efforts. We are pleased to announce the recently formed California Chapter. If you are in CA and are interested in participating in this chapter, please let us know at membership@sicp.com. It’s important to develop local participation at a leadership level, and we welcome all involvement. If you are interested in participating and growing as a person, as well as supporting your profession, please let us know! The SICP will often partner with chapters to provide discounted RCIS Review Courses. If you would like your chapter information listed in the next issue of Cath Lab Digest, please contact us at membership@sicp.com. California Chapter Contact: Ed Pezanoski, Edward.Pezanoski@sharp.com Carolinas Chapter Contact: Christopher Jolly, MS, RCIS, FSICP, chris.jolly@cpcc.edu Emerald Coast Chapter (Pensacola, FL) Contact: Rodney L Selvio, RN, lselvio@gmail.com Gulf Coast Chapter (Houston, TX) Contact: Lyle C. Muhammad RT(R), AAS, BBA, MBA, lcmuhammad@tmhs.org Illinois Chapter Contact: Zorka Musovic BS, RCIS, RCSA, FSICP, Zorka.Musovic@ShermanHospital.org Texas Riviera Chapter Contact: Pamela Hulme CCRN, pamela.hulme@christushealth.org Wisconsin Chapter Contact: Stephanie Hillmann RN, BSN, RCIS, stephanie.hillmann@aurora.org Founded in 1993, The Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals (SICP) was formed with encouragement from The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI). ———————————————

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 www. ncvhonline.com/sicp. We hope to see you there! Darren Powell, Jeff Davis, Sally Elliot and Regina Deible Course Directors ———————————————

Did You Know?

The Registered Invasive Cardiovascular Professional is recognized legislatively in the following states: Arkansas, Delaware, Maine, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas and Washington. Interested in joining the Advocacy Committee to help professionals in other states be recognized? Please contact us at nshore@firstpointresources.com. Any time you can commit is welcome!

Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals Fellowship – FSICP

Interested in becoming more involved with the SICP? Want to show your dedication and enthusiasm for the RCIS credential and the Society? Consider becoming an FSICP. The Society of Cardiovascular Invasive Professionals (SICP) requires that individuals who receive Fellowship status in the society meet definitive criteria. The established criteria are:

1. Have sat for, and passed, the Invasive Registry (RCIS) examination administered by Cardiac Credentialing International (CCI).
2. Active status with CCI and the SICP.
3. Five-year clinical practice in the field of cardiology, based in the cardiac catheterization laboratory or clinical workload of at least 1,800 cases.
4. Current staff position at an accredited healthcare facility, based in the cardiac catheterization laboratory.
5. The applicant must have made significant contributions to the SICP, or to the field of invasive/diagnostic cardiology (see below).

The last requirement may be fulfilled by publication in national journals, authoring or coauthoring a book/chapter, serving on committees or special projects for the society, or serving as an officer or committee chairman in a recognized national organization that has an overlapping interest in cardiology. This requirement may also be met if the applicant has been responsible for the organization of, or presentation in, educational programs on the national or regional level with a course curriculum relevant to cardiology. The Membership Committee will consider an applicant who believes that they meet criterion five by other means not specifically listed in the explanation of criterion five. The applicant should submit proper documentation to support Fellowship criteria one through five. This should include a copy of the applicant’s curriculum vitae (CV), relevant publications, letters of commendations or service, and any other documents thought to be relevant. Applicants should mail supporting documents and a letter of request regarding fellowship status to SICP. SICP reserves the right to request additional information. There is a $25.00 Fellowship Application fee. Request your application by emailing membership@sicp.com or going to www.sicp.com. The SICP looks forward to your application. ———————————————

SICP Signature Review Courses

Bring a Review Course to your facility in 2011! The SICP is scheduling their Signature RCIS Review Courses for the rest of 2011 and into 2012. The SICP offers quality and convenient education at an affordable price. We will work with your facility to create a program that meets your educational needs. Ask us how we can make this affordable for your facility and attendees. Contact SICP at meetings@sicp.com for more information. ———————————————

SecondsCount.org: Information and Tools for Cath Lab Professionals

As catheterization laboratory professionals, you are on the front lines of the battle for better cardiovascular care. Your role is somewhat unique in that many, if not most of you, are part of the medical care trinity of diagnostic support, technological science and regular access to patients. If you think about it, not too many other fields in the medical profession are as hands-on in so many areas as cath lab specialists. For those of you who have been in the cath lab profession for at least the past few years, you may have heard of an educational initiative established by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) called SecondsCount at www.SecondsCount.org. We encourage you to spend some time on the website and get an idea of the scope of available material, including articles, videos, patient testimonials and other information. Yes, there are probably thousands of websites, if not more, purporting to offer the latest in medical information. Of those, there are probably still thousands that focus on cardiovascular care. Yet despite this seeming abundance of riches of potentially life-saving and life-changing information, there is a danger: How are cardiac patients and their families supposed to differentiate the most valuable websites and information? Here is how SecondsCount.org is different and how it hopes to change not only the lives of cardiac patients and their families, but also the lives of many of you in the medical profession who try to find the best information to share:

1. The articles available in the “Explore by Topic” section are current, informative and written in a way regular patients can understand. Patients can email or print them to share with their doctors and families. The articles change as medical information on those topics changes.
2. The videos are specific, usually presented by actual physicians and of a manageable time length.
3. The patient stories, from those who have been through a cardiac episode, are both encouraging and compelling. Yes, it can happen to anyone. These are not actors.

SecondsCount.org was created to arm the medical community, and especially those in the cath lab profession, with an array of printed and video materials, free of charge, to share with your patients. We encourage you to visit https://www.secondscount.org/PatientPack and have some of these materials sent to your labs. Read through the brochures and share them with your patients. Play the DVD in your waiting room. Use the appointment cards to remind patients not only of their appointment, but that they have a clear, safe, informative place online to get the support information they need in order to play their part in the battle we all share against cardiovascular disease. SCAI is sponsoring SecondsCount.org as part of a public education initiative designed to inform patients and their families, as well as referring physicians, about cardiovascular disease and its treatments. The Society of Invasive Cardiac Professionals (SICP) has committed to support this effort and assist SecondsCount in reaching its important constituency of cath lab professionals. For further information, please contact: Eric Grammer at egrammer@SCAI.org. ———————————————

LGCNHS Cardiovascular Students Celebrate CVP Week 2011

Lauren Edgell, RCIS Lancaster, Pennsylvania This year, the students and faculty of the Cardiovascular Invasive Specialty & Electrophysiology Programs at Lancaster General College of Nursing and Health Sciences in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, celebrated Cardiovascular Professionals (CVP) Week all week long! Beginning on Monday, February 14th, college administration provided breakfast for the students as recognition of the field of invasive cardiology. On Tuesday, as a gift from the faculty, the students received sports bottles with Lancaster General College’s CVP Week 2011 logo that were filled with Hershey’s Kisses. On Wednesday, the students celebrated the importance of acute cardiac care by taking their Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) course. Students learned new skills and practiced life-saving techniques. On Thursday, the students completed the ACLS course by passing the testing stations in the morning. Afterward, the CVP week celebration continued with a party! Pizza and cake were provided, and the students watched the movie “John Q” (a story involving a heart transplant). It was an enjoyable week for everyone involved! ———————————————

SICP Important Dates: Register Today!

Central Piedmont Community College SICP Signature RCIS Review Course April 16-17, 2011 • Charlotte, NC Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) SICP Signature RCIS Review Course May 4-7, 2011 • Baltimore, MD Grossmont Community College SICP Signature RCIS Review Course May 20-21, 2011 • Grossmont • San Diego, CA 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 SICP Signature Review Course August 13-14, 2011 • Raleigh, NC Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) November 7-11, 2011 • San Francisco, CA