It has been a busy year for the New England Chapter of ARIN. NEC-ARIN has been full of activity achieving our mission to provide fulfilling and enriching educational opportunities while promoting high quality care in Radiology and Imaging Nursing. We held two successful conferences this year. In the spring, we hosted a conference at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center for 45 attendees. NEC-ARIN offered 4.5 contact hours on a variety of topics including Central Venous Access, Women’s Health in IR, Speaking up in Real time and the Value of Simulation in Interventional Radiology. The New England Chapter is fortunate to have strong board members who enlist their colleagues to support our mission. Speakers at this event included Yaralia Kelleher, MS, PA-C, Gloria Salazar, MD and Alexandra Penzias, DNP, ACNS-BC from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH); both located in Boston, MA.
In the spring, the NEC-ARIN board also participated in a strategic planning retreat. During the meeting, the board planned two years of conferences, discussed educational topics and reviewed and updated our by-laws. It was noted that the chapter has a strong financial outlook due in large part to our vendors who help support our endeavors and keep our conference fees low for our members.
Recently on November 3rd, NEC-ARIN held a conference at the Manchester Hotel, Manchester, NH. The Fall Conference was presented to a packed room. Our topics included Safety in the IR Suite: A Collaborative Approach by myself and Miriam Neuman, MD, MPH from North Shore Medical Center (NSMC) in Salem, MA. In addition, Sandra Mackey, MSN, RN Lahey Hospital and Medical Centers spoke about trauma in the IR suites and cardiac procedures with Karina Fournier, MSN, RN from Catholic Medical Center.
The fall conference continued with Beth Hackett, DNP, RN discussing the successful integration of hereditary cancer risk assessment. This was a three- part, hour long presentation with a genetic testing expert and a patient advocacy group discussing the patient impact of their choices. It was riveting and relevant to our audience.
We strive to provide topics that are impactful and appealing to a wide variety of interests. We have borrowed from ARIN national conference— Hot Topics. It seems to be an important way for our attendees to ask questions and share best practices. We have numerous returning attendees from all over New England and New York State. The feedback was very positive on all these presentations and the participants appreciated the wide variety of topics and speakers.
Our year has wrapped up with the annual Board elections. Thank you to our board members; newly appointed President Mike Gillespie, President-Elect Mary Sousa, Secretary, Petra Clarke, Treasurer, Beth Arsenault, Board members Colleen Robinson, Alexandra Penzias. NEC-ARIN appreciates the hard work of our board. Our chapter is looking forward to what we can achieve in 2019!
Colleen Wise RN
Past President NEC-ARIN
