Sep. 20, 2016
The Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists is delighted to have the opportunity to welcome a colleague from the ASRT to speak at our annual conference. The ASRT Foundation’s International Speakers Exchange Award is a great learning opportunity for our members as well as for ASRT members.
It offers recipients from both organizations the chance to present in a different country and learn from their international colleagues, and it supports a collaborative atmosphere within the profession through cultural exchange and scientific networking. It helps build bridges between countries by sharing best practices and trends from other parts of the world. These presentations allow conference attendees to see their profession from a different perspective.
Radiologic technologists around the world have a lot in common, but because the United States and Canada have such different health care systems, there is a lot that we can learn from each other. While the equipment is pretty much the same in both countries, how it is used can vary based on how health care is funded. Sharing best practices across borders can reveal better ways to deliver the same service. It’s good to see what each other is doing and learn from that information.
We tend to face similar issues in the profession, regardless of how different our health care systems might be, and we can share how we handle those issues. For example, in Canada and in the United States, appropriateness is a big thing — the right care, provided by the right providers, to the right patient, in the right place, at the right time, resulting in optimal quality care. Working collaboratively through opportunities like the ASRT Foundation ISEA helps share ways of addressing these common challenges. Sometimes things that are adopted in one country are eventually adopted by the other, and having a close relationship makes it easier to replicate the changes that were made to address the issue at hand.
Recipients of the award as well as conference attendees take the knowledge they gained from each other back to their immediate networks and share what they learned. This is a great benefit for the profession as it helps spread the latest research and best practices throughout the R.T. community.
We are committed to this learning opportunity and place great value on the open flow of knowledge between our countries. 2017 marks the 75th anniversary of the CAMRT, and we are excited to have another speaker from the ASRT at the conference, which will be held in the nation’s capital, Ottawa. In 2017, Canada also celebrates 150 years as a nation — and Canadians will gather in their capital for a year of celebration. We hope you will consider joining us for this very special occasion.
Applications are being accepted for the 2017 International Speakers Exchange Award. If you are interested in this opportunity, submit your application by Oct. 1.