June 14, 2000
From the desk of the MRS RFS President:
It is my honor and pleasure to serve you all as president of the Massachusetts Radiological Society Resident and Fellow Section (RFS) for the upcoming academic year 2000/1.

First I would like to thank our immediate past president — Mark Hansberry, MD — for the wonderful work he has done for this section (you can view his message from the past academic year by clicking here). I thoroughly enjoyed the inspiring teamwork preparing things together with him in my function as his/your secretary throughout the academic year. The new team will continue in this spirit. We are fortunate to have Mark Mullins from the Massachusetts General Hospital as our new secretary on board who has kindly agreed to dedicate effort and precious free time to the cause of the section.

In addition I would like to thank MRS in general and the members of the executive committee in particular for the continued support of our section.

This young section continues to evolve at a dramatic pace. During the past academic year we were able to establish a sound infrastructure which will greatly facilitate future endeavors of the section.

At the new Massachusetts Medical Society headquarters in Waltham we have been provided with prime meeting space for our business meetings throughout the academic year. We have enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and good catering during our meetings. Teleconferencing and AV technology is available there for us to use, and the premises are very accessible from all parts of the state due to its proximity to route 128 and the Massachusetts Turnpike.

In March 2000 this website was launched simultaneously with new MRS website. It was set up for and by residents and fellows and designed with the invaluable support by the resourceful Davina Pallone from designwrench information arts. It includes many informative and interactive features and will serve as the communication hub for Massachusetts Residents and Fellows.

Representatives from the Resident and Fellow Section have regularly participated in the meetings of the executive committee of the MRS. Recently the RFS president was furnished with full voting privileges at the executive committee meetings. I can assure you that the voice of the residents and fellows is heard and respected, and we are being treated in a most collegial and benevolent manner.

One of our foremost goals is the active participation of as many residents and fellows of this state as possible. Individuals undergoing general or subspecialized training in radiology in Massachusetts form a powerful group of nearly 300 physicians. We share concerns about our education, work hours and other job related issues, have to cope with board examinations, need to understand our professional responsibilities and are faced with attempts by other interest groups to change the structure of our training. The exchange of information about these issues is a crucial step to improving the individual and overall situation of Radiology residents and fellows in Massachusetts. Through involvement with the section one can acquire many non-interpretational skills directly and indirectly which prepare you for "Life after Residency" — the real world. Satisfied members of the RFS benfit from continued membership and participation in the Massachusetts Radiological Society after training.

Looking beyond the borders of our state, nurturing the exchange of information and ideas with other state RFSs will be another goal of the upcoming academic year and may allow us to discuss some of the above issues at a national level. You may be aware that the American College of Radiology actively encourages the formation of state chapter RFS all over the country. However, many states still do not have resident and fellow representation. We will actively seek a dialog with other state society RFSs. It is my hope to be able to assist other sections with their organizational efforts and, on the other hand, to learn from their experiences.

In a few weeks many new residents will enter the exciting field of Radiology and the RFS will organize a welcoming party at one of Boston’s premier clubs. Check this website for details. I look forward to meeting many of you in a relaxed atmosphere on this occasion and hope that you will be curious to get involved more closely with the work of the section afterwards. You can join MRS for free and I strongly encourage you to do so, no matter what year of training you’re in. Every level resident and fellow has to contribute very specific and helpful information to the regular meetings. These business meetings are very informal, like a get-together of friends from a "larger residency program" chatting about everyday issues, networking, exchanging a lot of useful information and ideas but also tackling more complex political issues. During the meetings we also organize the very informative annual Spring and Fall forums which have attracted many residents and fellows in the past. We also tell each other about cool cases and ­ of course — the latest gossip.

Generally dates, directions, etc. are available on our website on the Calendar page. Send your email address to rfs@massrad.org so we can add your name to the RFS distribution list that is used to circulate announcements. Minutes of the business meetings are made available to everyone through this website and all are welcome to peruse. Please send an email to rfs@massrad.org a few days prior to the meetings so that we can order enough supplies for everyone. If you are unable to attend you can suggest items of discussion by email or send comments.

The officers of the section represent you at the state society meetings / executive committee meetings as mentioned above as well as at the annual ACR meeting which is a congregation of all state radiology society chapters.

Last but not least, I encourage you to actively contribute to our website which contains many interactive features. I would love to hear your suggestions for improvements, to see contributions to the Reading for RadRes section, and to check your comments on current educational and political issues. The website will be a mirror of the livelihood of our membership. So get online, our departments are swamped with computers at your disposal!!!

Best Wishes,
Christoph Wald MD PhD
cwald@csi.com

Send questions and comments to:
rfs@massrad.org

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