Valerie P. Jackson, MD, Education Fellowship

The Strategic Planning & Compliance Committee (SPCC) works to meet the continuous professional development needs of radiologists and other radiology professionals through participation and oversight of the Subcommittee on CME & SAMs Compliance and the Measurement and Assessment Subcommittee. To carry out its responsibilities, the SPCC helps to maintain the ACR Strategic Education Plan while also maintaining ACR accreditation to offer accredited continuing education activities to physicians, technologists and other radiology professionals. The SPCC works to identify and validate professional practice gaps among members to inform existing and new educational program development. Further, the SPCC reviews the outcomes methodologies most appropriate for the objectives and/or content being developed by the ACR.

The Enduring Materials Committee helps to guide the development and management of educational and continuing professional development programs, including programs that offer CME. Though some enduring materials-related programs have their own committees, the Enduring Materials Committee provides guidance or input on overall programs or products with CME. This includes programs ranging from clinical education to nonclinical topics.

The Committee on Skills Assessment oversees the expert test-item writers submitting state-of-the-art exam questions for the one-of-a-kind residency-based Diagnostic In-Training Exam, the Radiation Oncology In-Training Exam, and the RadExam. These psychometrically-sound exams complete the ACGME requirements for summative assessment. The exams offer residents an opportunity to evaluate their knowledge and to identify areas of deficiency relative to peers at the same level of training. The RadExam is assigned by faculty after each rotation; the In-Training Exams are scheduled annually to first- through fourth-year residents, as well as those in fellowships.

The AIRP Advisory Committee (AAC) is composed of faculty, residents and staff with the goal of helping AIRP be its best. AAC confirms all courses are developed, implemented, and evaluated in full compliance with all AMA/ACCME and ABR requirements as applicable.

Members of the Meetings Committee, along with the CoPLL chair, participate in planning and execution of CME session(s) for ACR annual meetings. The committee works with other groups across the college like RFS, YPS, Chapter Leaders Committee and RLI, to explore possible collaboration arrangements. They review evaluation and participation data to improve the next year’s sessions.

The Bulletin Advisory Group is jointly selected and agreed on by ACR publications staff and the advisory group chair. The group advises publications staff regarding the ACR Bulletin and its responsibility is to ensure that the magazine achieves its editorial and content goals, stays relevant, provides information that members find useful, and maintains its editorial direction. The group meets via conference call with publications staff and serves as a sounding board when editors, writers and contributing writers have questions.

The Learning Design Committee supports CoPLL educational initiatives by keeping ACR members up to date on education trends and providing resources to support them in becoming more effective educators.

The Well-Being Committee supports the ACR Radiology Well-Being Program. Volunteer members have helped to create well-being support guides, a resident curriculum, and other projects related to the well-being of radiologists, including support of the ACR’s Well-Being Index. Members recommend direction for the well-being program through regular meetings to discuss ongoing wellness concerns.

The Economics Committee has performed analysis and research on a number of topics important to both patients and the house of radiology. These efforts have been pointed at identifying and leveraging opportunities within payment policy. Such efforts have included developing, deploying and analyzing surveys on patient perceptions of their imaging experience; contributions to ACR publications; and drafting language included in the MACRA proposed rule comment letter.

The Education Committee encompasses work to address patient inclusion in various practice settings. The PFCC Toolkit was created to help with this work and offers resources for hospitals, private practice, and veterans’ hospitals, among others. Members continue to add resources/tools related to patient involvement in care and how to create a patient advisory committee for an institution. Radiology-TEACHES was developed to ensure appropriate clinical decision support and targets medical students. Currently, the committee is also working to create a portfolio of patient stories to share across ACR platforms like Engage to promote patient inclusion and improved patient care.

The aim of the Lung Cancer Screening Committee is to expand the adoption of lung cancer screening by evaluating LCS status, identifying challenges and barriers, and exploring solutions. We achieve this by collaborating on projects with other major stakeholders in the healthcare space. The LCS Steering Committee is committed to erasing the stigma endemic to the lung screening space. This includes using empathetic and person-first language when discussing patients. Keeping patients at the center of LCS outreach and projects is the main goal of the steering committee.

The Outreach Committee is essentially the “kitchen sink committee” encompassing work that doesn’t fit neatly into the operational committees. In practice, it has served as the conduit through which staff and members build relationships with patient advocacy groups and other organizations with an interest in PFCC. From presentations at meetings to webinars and social media outreach, the committee has wide-ranging interests and impacts. Notable is the two-year relationship with the AHA Physician Alliance. This group also supports the other PFCC committees with communication and dissemination. The Social Media Subgroup is under this committee.

The Patient Engagement Committee works to create and promote patient-facing information and resources about radiology and radiology exams. This committee identifies opportunities for outreach to patients and patient advocacy groups to ensure patient-centered care by improving patient understanding of radiology and radiology exams and the role of the radiologist. This committee is currently working to promote the patient-friendly summaries of the ACR Appropriateness Criteria to increase patient engagement and understanding of radiology and radiology exams and improve the patient and family experience during imaging care.

The Population Health Management Committee (PHM) supports PHM-related activities across the College and has developed its own initiatives. We have sought to educate ACR members on the role radiology can potentially play within a PHM framework. We are also building a PHM Toolkit which will help guide radiologists on how to become more involved in PHM.

The Quality Experience Committee supports the Quality & Safety Commission and staff by adding the PFCC perspective to ongoing programs and projects, e.g., Patient-Friendly Summaries of the ACR’s Appropriateness Criteria (AC), patient advocate member of the lead AC Committee, patient speakers at Q&S meetings, patient-focused R-SCAN project.