Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease Council Communication

Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease Council Communication The Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease Council Board acts as the voice for ASE members involved in pediatric and congenital cardiovascular imaging. Our aims are to promote our field, provide educational opportunities, and be an advocate both within and outside of ASE. The council is a vital and important part of ASE, with 2,120 of the nearly 15,000 ASE members joining the Pediatric Council (15%) and 1,660 ASE members indicating that their primary area of practice is pediatric echo. In addition, of the 2,634 attendees at the 2008 Scientific Sessions, 385 indicated that their primary area of practice is pediatric echo. This year, as in previous years, travel grants to the Scientific Sessions will be awarded to 3 pediatric cardiology trainees. These travel grants are part of an ongoing effort by the council board to encourage pediatric cardiology fellows to subspecialize in pediatric cardiovascular imaging. Our hope is to provide interested fellows with a deeper understanding of the imaging field and facilitate the development of meaningful mentoring opportunities for trainees with established imaging faculty. Pediatric cardiology fellows in the first 3 years of training with an interest in cardiac imaging are encouraged to apply for one of the $1,500 travel grants and may visit the ASE Web site for more information. Further, we can all look forward to the 2009 Scientific Sessions in Washington, DC; Ben Eidem, MD, FASE, the council Scientific Sessions chair, and his co-chair, Leo Lopez, MD, FASE, are currently hard at work on the program. The congenital pediatric track will begin with an exciting full-day presymposium on Saturday, June 6, 2009, titled ‘‘Essentials of Preoperative and Postoperative Evaluation of Congenital Heart Disease.’’ This full-day session includes comprehensive reviews of pathology, imaging, and the surgical management of conotruncal, left ventricular outflow tract, and complex congenital heart lesions and is ideal for both the pediatric and adult echocardiographer interested in congenital heart disease. The pediatric track will begin in earnest on Sunday and will include many state-of-the-art sessions throughout the remainder of the program. Highlights on Sunday include a comprehensive review of diastology in both adult and pediatric heart disease as well as sessions detailing the expanding roles of transesophageal and fetal imaging in congenital heart disease. The 2009 version of the Pediatric Echo Bowl on Sunday afternoon will again be an entertaining highlight of our pediatric program. Monday’s sessions include the evaluation and management of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and left ventricular noncompaction as well as a case-based session on adult congenital heart disease. Tuesday’s highlighted topics include ‘‘cutting edge’’ imaging technologies, advances in fetal echocardiography, and controversies in pediatric cardiology. The program concludes on Wednesday morning with an in-depth discussion on the expanding role of noninvasive imaging in pediatric heart transplantation. Of special note, early morning ‘‘how to’’ sessions are featured in the pediatric program to expand the attendees’ knowledge and ability to utilize novel imaging modalities in their echocardiography laborato-

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ries—these sessions include Doppler tissue and strain rate imaging, cardiac resynchronization, and stress echocardiography. Oral abstract presentations and the Pediatric Council meeting are also ‘‘can’t miss’’ features of this year’s program. We look forward to seeing you in Washington, DC! Important challenges lie ahead in our field, including maintenance of fair reimbursement for the hard work we do each day and appropriate support (both in personnel and equipment) to get that work done. ASE is a committed advocate in addressing reimbursement, and it is critical for all members to stay informed and involved in advocacy. The council conducted a survey of echocardiography Peter Frommelt, MD, FASE laboratories at cardiac surgical programs to assess the staffing, workload, and technical issues. A complete reporting of the results will be in an upcoming issue of JASE. Overall, the volume of studies performed at laboratories continues to increase, particularly fetal studies, which rose an average of 17%. At the same time, staffing remains a problem, with 52 available positions at 30 participating centers despite the addition of 41 faculty in the past 2 years at those centers. Most centers require 2 to 3 years to fill an available faculty position. As a result, the number of studies per faculty member has risen to an average of nearly 1,800 per full-time equivalent per year. Sonographers are also very busy, performing an average of 1,200 studies per year. Most centers (84%) perform exclusively digital studies, with essentially all laboratories Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine compliant for study archiving. In addition, the council performed a survey of pediatric cardiology fellows to determine the interest in various specialties, particularly echocardiography, and the reasons for the shortage of available echocardiography faculty. Echocardiography remains the most popular specialty among cardiology fellows, accounting for approximately one third of all responses. The main reasons for the choices of fellow preference are academic interest, influence of a mentor, and lifestyle of a particular specialty. Most fellows (90%) with an interest in echocardiography wish to pursue a fourth-year fellowship in the area prior to practice. Although it remains popular, the number of fellows pursuing echocardiography remains below the number of positions available, suggesting that filling available positions will remain problematic. I know how busy everyone in our subspecialty is, and I’m continually both amazed and energized by the enthusiasm and good humor I observe in my pediatric colleagues despite the challenges. Keep up the good work. As always, please feel free to contact me ([email protected]) directly with any questions or concerns about the Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease Council.