Vivek Kalia, MD, American College of Radiology® (ACR®) Young and Early Career Professional Section (YPS) Social Media Liaison, contributed this post.
The ACR proudly supports and empowers radiologists — and future radiologists — at all career stages, from medical school to residency, fellowship and beyond. The ACR YPS is specifically dedicated to representing young and early-career professionals— those under the age of 40, or within the first eight years of practice after residency and fellowship training— within the ACR and its chapters.
The ACR YPS empowers early-career professionals through various initiatives and offerings, all of which are organized and managed by the YPS Executive Committee, a committee under the ACR Commission on Membership and Communications. This eight-member group leads with the shared goal of connecting young radiology professionals and helping those individuals navigate the resources of the ACR.
Since becoming the YPS Social Media Liaison in May 2019, I’ve enjoyed interfacing with the other young radiology leaders of the YPS Executive Committee. The best part of our committee is that we each draw upon a wealth of prior leadership and life experiences which help us bring unique and diverse perspectives to what we do. We are also an incredibly diverse group, culturally and in our practice settings, which adds a richness to our conversations and helps us balance needs of various groups we represent. In my particular role, it has been my great pleasure to serve as one of the faces of the ACR to the world – helping to curate content and educate members and trainees about what we do and events we’re planning.
Looking back, I’m incredibly proud of my Executive Committee colleagues. We’ve made considerable strides in outreach to young professionals who are interested in radiology and/or are early in their career through efforts such as webinars, podcasts and governance within the ACR. Through this incredibly trying year of COVID-19, we’ve maintained our programming and stayed very well connected with each other and with our constituents. I’d like to highlight a few key successes of ours this year.
The YPS webinar series kicked off with a joint session hosted by the YPS, ACR Resident and Fellow Section (RFS) and the American Association for Women in Radiology, “Job Hunting During an Economic Crisis.” We also hosted a YPS-Radiology Leadership Institute® Webinar: “Practice Leadership During COVID-19” and a YPS-JACR® Webinar: “Pandemic Impact on Private Practice Recruitment: 2020 and Beyond.” In case you missed these, you can watch the free recordings on-demand.
We also partnered with YPS member Cody R. Quirk, MD, on The Hounsfield Unit Podcast. The podcast features bite-sized, meaningful, relevant and honest discussions about topics affecting young radiologists in this country, such as addressing health inequities in our patient populations, wellness, and venture capital groups and radiology.
On the leadership front, ACR councilors Taj Kattapuram, MD; J. Paul Nielsen, MD; and Andy Moriarity, MD; sponsored Resolution 35, adopted by the ACR Council during ACR 2020. This resolution called on the ACR Bylaws Committee to amend the ACR bylaws to allow the RFS and YPS, as sections, to submit resolutions – allowing these sections to play a more active role in the ACR governance process. This was a critical step forward as the unique needs of trainees and early-career radiologists must be represented within the organization. A bylaws amendment to implement the resolution passed in 2020 will be considered by the Council at the upcoming ACR annual meeting.
Additionally, the ACR YPS Executive Committee drafted a resolution related to partnership-track associates of private practices, specifically addressing a recommendation for transparency and shared decision-making during outside-investor purchases of physician practices. This resolution, sponsored by councilors from the YPS and RFS, will be considered by the Council during ACR 2021 as Res. 25.
If you’re reading this blog and would like to join in our efforts, consider running for the 2021–2022 ACR YPS Executive Committee. We’re looking for dedicated, young professional volunteers who are ready to empower fellow YPS members to be involved in state radiology societies, amplify the voice of YPS members and foster leadership development.
Learn more about the ACR YPS, and then apply to join the YPS Executive Committee by April 20.
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