- Email: [email protected]
Always Room to Improve
ACR CHAIR’S MEMO
PAUL H. ELLENBOGEN, MD
Always Room to Improve I smile when I remember the time at the AMCLC that Barry Pressman, MD, former ACR speaker and president, made a minor error at the podium. Afterward, he said to the ACR Council, “Only the mediocre are always at their best.” Do you want to be mediocre? Is that your aspiration? I played in a poker group with the same set of men once a month for about 25 years. Marty, the most skilled card player, often said, “There is always room for improvement.” We played 7-card stud but often with a wild card or a variation. Frequently, our games involved a community card or “flop” at the end. This was a chance to replace 1 card at the end, for an extra fee. If Marty had 4 aces, he would still buy an extra card, because there is always room for improvement. Another player could, for example, have 4 deuces and a wild card; 5 of a kind is a winning hand over 4 aces. A straight is good, but a full house is better. Unless you have that rare royal straight flush, there is room for improvement. Have you ever heard of a golfer shooting 18 for 18 holes? (If the object of golf is to take as few shots as possible, why play at all?) Even Tiger Woods has room for improvement. What about medical school? Fifty percent of the people in my class graduated in the bottom half of the class. My father would encourage me to study hard as a medical student; speaking for all patients, he wanted to be cared for by a doctor who had received a 100 on
all tests. There is always room for improvement. So, what can radiologists do to improve? How about Maintenance of Certification (MOC), for starters? If you have a lifetime certificate from the ABR in diagnostic radiology, radiation oncology, or medical physics, then you have the right to remain silent. But should you? I think not. Soon, you may be forced by state legislators or payers to participate in maintenance of licensure. To keep your license, you may need to show continued proficiency. I have been enrolled in voluntary MOC since 2008. The 6 competencies of MOC are medical knowledge, patient care and procedural skills, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement, and systems-based practice. The ABR’s MOC uses 4 components to evaluate these competencies: evidence of professional standing, lifelong learning and selfassessment, cognitive expertise, and practice quality improvement. Notice the terms practice-based learning and improvement and practice quality improvement. There is always room for improvement. MOC is not your only option for improvement. Do you read “Case in Point” every day on the ACR Web site? More than 6,700 of your colleagues, including me, subscribe and receive a daily challenge. Many additional online educational activities are offered by the ACR and
other radiology societies. And don’t forget about in-person, face-to-face, hands-on learning. The ACR Education Center opened in Reston, Virginia, in 2008. Since that time, more than 3,700 radiologists have attended at least one course. Have you? Why not? Many radiologists have returned again and again for additional courses at the center. And that’s not all. Do you attend the AMCLC? There is plenty to hear about and see, as well as lots of new information, especially on economic and advocacy issues. In addition, do you attend national meetings such as the National Conference on Breast Cancer®, sponsored by the ACR every other year, or the ACRIN® Imaging Researcher’s Workshop? The ACR Radiology Leadership Institute will launch this month at the Northwestern Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, Illinois. Participating provides an opportunity to really expand your knowledge base in areas such as finance, accounting, negotiation, conflict resolution, ethics, and professionalism. If you believe that leaders are born and not made, maybe you will change your mind. I am sure you can add to my list of suggestions above. One size does not fit all. Make your own “to-do list” of ways to improve, both professionally and in your private lives. As Nike’s motto says, “Just do it!” Avoid mediocrity; there is always room for improvement.
Paul H. Ellenbogen, MD, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, Department of Radiology, 8200 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas, TX 75231; e-mail: [email protected].
© 2012 American College of Radiology 0091-2182/12/$36.00 ● http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacr.2012.04.011
451
PAUL H. ELLENBOGEN, MD
Always Room to Improve I smile when I remember the time at the AMCLC that Barry Pressman, MD, former ACR speaker and president, made a minor error at the podium. Afterward, he said to the ACR Council, “Only the mediocre are always at their best.” Do you want to be mediocre? Is that your aspiration? I played in a poker group with the same set of men once a month for about 25 years. Marty, the most skilled card player, often said, “There is always room for improvement.” We played 7-card stud but often with a wild card or a variation. Frequently, our games involved a community card or “flop” at the end. This was a chance to replace 1 card at the end, for an extra fee. If Marty had 4 aces, he would still buy an extra card, because there is always room for improvement. Another player could, for example, have 4 deuces and a wild card; 5 of a kind is a winning hand over 4 aces. A straight is good, but a full house is better. Unless you have that rare royal straight flush, there is room for improvement. Have you ever heard of a golfer shooting 18 for 18 holes? (If the object of golf is to take as few shots as possible, why play at all?) Even Tiger Woods has room for improvement. What about medical school? Fifty percent of the people in my class graduated in the bottom half of the class. My father would encourage me to study hard as a medical student; speaking for all patients, he wanted to be cared for by a doctor who had received a 100 on
all tests. There is always room for improvement. So, what can radiologists do to improve? How about Maintenance of Certification (MOC), for starters? If you have a lifetime certificate from the ABR in diagnostic radiology, radiation oncology, or medical physics, then you have the right to remain silent. But should you? I think not. Soon, you may be forced by state legislators or payers to participate in maintenance of licensure. To keep your license, you may need to show continued proficiency. I have been enrolled in voluntary MOC since 2008. The 6 competencies of MOC are medical knowledge, patient care and procedural skills, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement, and systems-based practice. The ABR’s MOC uses 4 components to evaluate these competencies: evidence of professional standing, lifelong learning and selfassessment, cognitive expertise, and practice quality improvement. Notice the terms practice-based learning and improvement and practice quality improvement. There is always room for improvement. MOC is not your only option for improvement. Do you read “Case in Point” every day on the ACR Web site? More than 6,700 of your colleagues, including me, subscribe and receive a daily challenge. Many additional online educational activities are offered by the ACR and
other radiology societies. And don’t forget about in-person, face-to-face, hands-on learning. The ACR Education Center opened in Reston, Virginia, in 2008. Since that time, more than 3,700 radiologists have attended at least one course. Have you? Why not? Many radiologists have returned again and again for additional courses at the center. And that’s not all. Do you attend the AMCLC? There is plenty to hear about and see, as well as lots of new information, especially on economic and advocacy issues. In addition, do you attend national meetings such as the National Conference on Breast Cancer®, sponsored by the ACR every other year, or the ACRIN® Imaging Researcher’s Workshop? The ACR Radiology Leadership Institute will launch this month at the Northwestern Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, Illinois. Participating provides an opportunity to really expand your knowledge base in areas such as finance, accounting, negotiation, conflict resolution, ethics, and professionalism. If you believe that leaders are born and not made, maybe you will change your mind. I am sure you can add to my list of suggestions above. One size does not fit all. Make your own “to-do list” of ways to improve, both professionally and in your private lives. As Nike’s motto says, “Just do it!” Avoid mediocrity; there is always room for improvement.
Paul H. Ellenbogen, MD, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, Department of Radiology, 8200 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas, TX 75231; e-mail: [email protected].
© 2012 American College of Radiology 0091-2182/12/$36.00 ● http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacr.2012.04.011
451