The ACR will be the Premier Educational Source for Rheumatology Professionals.
Publishing Journal Content that is Paving the Way for Therapy and Cure
Arthritis & Rheumatism and Arthritis Care & Research continued to attract and publish top-notch clinical and basic research that is useful for those who treat patients and those who are working toward finding improved therapies or cures for rheumatic diseases.
The journals instituted "e-Pub ahead of print" at the beginning of 2010. In this system, articles are placed online almost immediately upon acceptance. Although these articles have not yet been copyedited or assigned to a specific issue, they have passed peer review. E-Pub ahead of print allows important findings reported in the journal to be made available much more quickly.
The websites that contain the full text of the journals were completely revamped and upgraded by the journal's publisher, Wiley-Blackwell. The new portal, Wiley Online Library, was launched in July.
As a follow-up to the ACR's recently completed organization-wide strategic planning, the Committee on Journal Publications began the process of developing a strategic plan that more specifically focuses on the challenges and opportunities that are unique to journals.
The next editor of Arthritis Care & Research, Dr. Marian Hannan DSC, MPH, was announced after an exhaustive selection process. Dr. Hannan's editorship will begin in mid-2011.
The journals' mutually beneficial relationship with Wiley-Blackwell will continue: a new contract, covering the period 2012-2016, has been negotiated and signed.
Enhancing On-Demand Education
Within 24 hours of virtually every live session at the 2010 ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting, recordings of the sessions were made available through SessionSelect. Over 600 hours of educational content is now available through SessionSelect.
Rheumatology Image Bank Delivers Value
Over 100,000 visitors have benefited from the Rheumatology Image Bank which now includes over 1,500 images and features notable images from the annual image competition. Over 16,000 images have been downloaded and the most frequently downloaded image to date is Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Interphalangeal Dermatitis, Fingers.
Helping Rheumatologists Navigate ABIM Maintenance of Certification
The ACR maintains its commitment to helping all rheumatologists understand and navigate the American Board of Internal Medicine's Maintenance of Certification program. The ACR has designed several online self-assessment tools and offers an exam preparation course to help make the process manageable.
Over 120 physicians enrolled in the ACR's complimentary Practice Improvement Modules—AIM: RA and AIM: Gout—the ACR's Web-based self-evaluation of practice performance tools, which are approved for ABIM Maintenance of Certification points and CME credit. To assist members, the ACR is working to ensure that AIM is interoperable with the Rheumatology Clinical Registry.
A new edition of CARE was released in September 2010 and over 180 new subscribers logged in within 30 days of its release. CARE is an online self-assessment tool designed to assess the rheumatology knowledge base of physicians. A new CARE edition is released each year and is valid for three years. Over 200 case-based questions are available through CARE 2008, 2009 and 2010. CARE is approved for ABIM Maintenance of Certification points and CME credit. CARE 2011 is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2011.
The 2010 Rheumatology Maintenance of Certification Course attendance expanded to 150 attendees. This interactive course is designed to help meet the needs of rheumatologists preparing for the ABIM Rheumatology Recertification Exam and to promote physicians' lifelong learning as an annual in-depth review of the diagnosis, management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The 2011 course will be held March 18 – 20 in Fort Worth, Texas.
The 74th ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta Exceeded Expectations
Over 14,000 attendees from over 100 countries gathered in Atlanta, the city the ACR calls home, for the 2010 ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting. Two pre-conference days featuring six pre-conferences, including the sold-out ACR Review Course and Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Course, kicked off this year's meeting. Over five days, more than 300 scientific sessions and over 2,000 abstracts were presented.
Plans for the 2011 ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting, which will be held November 4 – 9 in Chicago, are currently underway.
Smaller Meetings Tailored to Meet the Defined Needs and Interests of Members
The ACR continued working toward its goal of providing members with quality targeted learning opportunities that respond to defined practice gaps and members' educational needs. In 2010, several small meetings were offered to achieve this goal.
The ACR's Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Course for Rheumatologists debuted in Rosemont, Ill. Under the guidance of expert faculty from around the world, attendees performed hands-on scanning of live models to enhance technical proficiency for the diagnosis of normal and abnormal clinical conditions. The sell-out course was repeated as a pre-conference course at the 2010 annual meeting. The 2011 course will be offered in Chicago on April 16 – 17 concurrent to the State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium and again as a pre-conference course at the 2011 annual meeting in Chicago.
The 2010 Winter Rheumatology Symposium hosted over 150 physicians, trainees and health professionals. The 2011 symposium was held January 22 – 28 in Snowmass Village, Colo.
The 2010 State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium welcomed over 450 attendees, including 111 fellows. In addition to the general sessions and musculoskeletal ultrasound workshops, an ARHP Advanced Practice Skills Training Course was offered. In 2011, the ARHP course, Integrating Immunology and Biologics into Clinical Practice, will be offered as a pre-conference to the State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium.
Educational Products and Programs Tailored for Rheumatology Health Professionals
The Advanced Rheumatology Course, formerly the Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant Postgraduate Training Program, continues its success. The course generated over 290 registrants and 132 graduates since its December 1, 2008 launch.
This novel program allows physicians, fellows-in-training, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other clinicians interested in rheumatology to have a flexible, affordable way to build competence in the care of persons with rheumatic diseases. The Web-based program consists of 19 modules organized into three tracks: adult, pediatric and combined. To keep the online program current, three modules are revised annually. In 2010, the program unbundled allowing the purchase of individual modules.
Development of a new online education offering, Fundamentals in Rheumatology Course, began in 2010. This online course will consist of five modules providing information on rheumatology assessment, management, biologic infusion and preauthorization of medications. This course is for nurses and other clinicians new to rheumatology and will launch in 2012.
Strengthening the ACR's Presence at International Meetings
In 2010 ACR leaders travelled to the 2010 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology Congress in Hong Kong and the 2010 Pan American League of Associations for Rheumatology meeting in Santiago, Chile, to share knowledge with our international colleagues. Planning for 2012 APLAR Congress in Damascus, Syria, and 2012 PANLAR Congress in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, is underway.
Improving CME Planning
The Committee on Education developed and refined policies and procedures that ensure compliance with the updated criteria for accreditation. This process involved orienting planning committees and training staff. Measuring outcomes to demonstrate performance improvement is one of the tenets of the new criteria. The ACR continues to innovate by offering quality educational programs through which it seeks new opportunities to assess learning outcomes and continues to be a leading provider of CME for rheumatologists.
Patient Education
Among the most frequently visited pages of the ACR website, the patient fact sheets are a valuable resource for patients, rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals. With over 65 complimentary fact sheets including six new topics, patients can have instant access to information related to diagnosis, treatment and living with rheumatic diseases. The ACR is currently working on translating over 40 fact sheets to Spanish—responding to the needs of non-English speaking populations.
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