Join the APCR - A message from the APCR Membership Committee

Radiology residency program directors have a national association, the Association of Program Directors in Radiology (APDR), and now program coordinators have the Association of Program Coordinators in Radiology (APCR). We are a national organization and have received the approval of both the APDR and the Association of University Radiologists (AUR). We are associate members of the APDR.

In becoming an association of program coordinators, we have created a support network across the country. With the use of E-Mail and telephones, we are able to maintain consistent contact with each other. As program coordinators, we periodically find ourselves in situations (such as RRC reviews, guideline changes, etc.), where input or advice from other coordinators can be extremely helpful. On many occasions, an example of evaluation forms or core lectures were needed, and communication within our organization has proved vital.

Why become a member of our association? It gives your job the importance and recognition it deserves. There is also a nonverbal prestige that accompanies becoming part of a national organization. Annual meetings, held in conjunction with the AUR and APDR, are extremely beneficial not only for your program, but also for you and the program director. As program coordinators we become partners with our program director, assistant program director, and residents. Therefore, attending AUR meetings as members of a national organization, we can provide crucial information for our residency programs.

Portions of the AUR meetings are devoted specifically to program coordinators. You can see the 2005 and 2006 APCR sessions at http://www.apdr.org/apcr/sessions.htm Note the variety of subject matter and the quality of our faculty. As associate members of the APDR, we are also welcome to attend many open sessions at the AUR that are of interest to coordinators.

A national association offers a network of information shared just by being part of the group. If you have had the opportunity to attend one or two meetings, you have met other program coordinators, and, when you call or e-mail them, they know you. Our annual meetings have become somewhat of a reunion, and we would like to extend an invitation for you to become a part of the APCR. Becoming a member will prove evidence to your program director, university or hospital, that you not only value your position as a program coordinator, but also seek to improve the program by increasing your knowledge.