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ASNC-Leadership Development Program Lets Early-Career Cardiologists Make a Difference While Expanding Their Skills, Network
- By: admin
- On: 01/12/2017 13:57:05
- In: Membership
ASNC's Leadership Development Program (LDP) opens a wide variety of doors for early-career nuclear cardiology clinicians, says Saurabh Malhotra, MD, MPH, FASNC, assistant professor of medicine (cardiology) and nuclear medicine at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo.
Since 2011-12, when he was one of four nuclear cardiologists selected in the program, Dr. Malhotra has had no shortage of opportunities to help ASNC advance its mission while furthering his own professional development. He has been welcomed by the Society's educational programs committees, including the Annual Scientific Session Program Committee; various guidelines-writing committees as well as the Member Relations and Health Policy committees.“Every one of these opportunities helped me stretch my own skills while supporting my specialty,” he says. “That dual purpose is important. Of course, I want to grow and further my career, but knowing I'm working on behalf of our field and our patients makes it more valuable.”
It's difficult to choose just one favorite ASNC experience, Dr. Malhotra says, but it's hard to beat joining his colleagues on Capitol Hill visits. “To be able to meet with Members of the House and Senate, and to impress upon them the challenges of the AUC mandate for clinicians and patients, … that was an amazing experience,” he recalls. “We were able to delay the implementation of the mandate until Congress and CMS took more steps to educate physicians and provide tools for seamless integration into routine clinical care. To have helped make a difference was amazing.”
ASNC designed its Leadership Development Program to provide experiences exactly like those Dr. Malhotra describes, says 2016 President Raymond R. Russell, MD, PhD, FASNC. “Like any opportunity, ASNC-LDP is what each participant makes of it, but learning to be an advocate for policies that enhance patient care, helping to shape our clinical standards and working alongside the field's pioneers … that's what we're aiming to offer today's young members so they'll become tomorrow's leaders.”
More information about ASNC-LDP eligibility and how to apply