Applications for RLI Scholarships STILL OPEN!

The WSRS Board is seeking nominations for scholarships for the Radiology Leadership Institute for 2025!

These scholarships provide the recipients an opportunity to enhance their leadership skills in our ever-challenging health care environment.

Online Application Available Here

Course offerings include:

RLI Kickstart Your Career: Career Confidence Collection

The Career Confidence Collection is a comprehensive, on-demand learning series designed specifically for radiology residents and fellows preparing to transition into their first job and long-term career. This resource equips trainees with real-world knowledge, expert perspectives, and practical skills to make informed career decisions, secure the right job, and thrive from day one.

Through engaging sessions led by experienced radiologists and industry leaders, residents will explore a wide range of vital topics including how to compare private practice and academic settings, evaluate and negotiate job offers, succeed in interviews, and navigate first-year expectations. Additional presentations address critical areas often overlooked in formal training—such as personal finance, wellness and burnout, professional networking, difficult workplace interactions, job crafting, and finding effective mentors.

By diving deep into both strategic planning and day-to-day challenges, the Career Confidence Collection empowers residents to build a strong professional foundation—not just for their first role, but for a dynamic, rewarding career in a rapidly evolving healthcare environment.

 

 RLI Presents: From Peer to Leader – Practical Skills for the New Radiology Leader

From Peer to Leader – Practical Skills for the New Radiology Leader is an on-demand leadership development series created for radiologists stepping into their first leadership roles or preparing for future advancement. This program offers practical, real-world guidance on the skills new leaders need to succeed—delivered by experienced radiology professionals who’ve faced these challenges themselves.

Topics include how to develop and communicate strategic plans, transition successfully from peer to supervisor, manage conflict and difficult personalities, and balance clinical duties with administrative responsibilities. Sessions also cover high-impact skills like interpreting budgets, building a personal brand, leading change, and navigating complex negotiations.

Whether you’re learning how to establish authority, earn respect, or drive initiatives forward, this program equips you with actionable tools and insights that will support your leadership growth today—and for years to come.

 

2025 RLI Leadership Essentials Program

The RLI Leadership Essentials Program offers interactive education that equips residents and fellows with foundational leadership and non-interpretive skills needed to maximize early-career success. Presented as 8 topics over 4 months, participants will view two recorded lectures each month (on their own schedule) and participate in one live Q& A session held mid-month at 4pm ET. Topics include Rookie Leadership, Effective communication skills, Artificial Intelligence, Mentorship, Personal finance, Work-life integration, and Making yourself indispensable. Content is geared towards residents and fellows, but all are welcome.

 

 2026 Leadership Accelerator Course 

 

The RLI Leadership Accelerator course is designed for mid-career physicians to provide an understanding of what it takes to succeed as a leader in the hospital boardroom, gain critical skills in radiology operations, negotiations and finances and be seen as an effective radiology leader by other departments. The 9-week virtual sessions are held each Thursday from 7:00-8:30 pm ET. The agenda and faculty lineup will be available summer 2025.

 

Scholarships are available to support member participation in the ACR Radiology Leadership Institute events/courses of the applicants’ choosing. Deadline to apply is June 30, 2025; applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

Online Application Available Here

Applicants must be members of WSRS in good standing. These scholarships are  available to all members, including residents and fellows. Please help us spread the word to fellow WSRS members who would benefit from this great opportunity!  

If you have any questions, please contact the WSRS Executive Director, Jena Rehm, at jena@wsrs.org.

Thank you,
WSRS Board of Directors

Vertebroplasty, Kyphoplasty Coverage in Washington

WSRS members:

Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty have become well-accepted, minimally invasive procedures used to treat vertebral fractures, whether due to osteoporosis or metastases.  These procedures are covered by Medicare and many private payers throughout the country, including here in Washington.

However, the Health Technology Clinical Committee (HTCC) in Washington recently decided that these procedures would (again) not be covered by Medicaid (Apple Health), PEBB (for state public employees), and SEBB (for school employees).  This draft decision can be found here: 

Draft Decision   

If you wish to make a comment on this decision, please do so by TOMORROW (Feb. 20).  Input from those of you who frequently perform these procedures would be particularly helpful.  Information and guidelines on making public comments can be found here:

Public Comment

Thank you for your consideration.

Olympia Day on the Hill 2025

MEET, EDUCATE, & LOBBY MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE ON RADIOLOGY INTERESTS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2025 

7:00 AM – 5:00 PM (PDT)

OLYMPIA, WA

Advocacy in Action

Deadline to Register: Friday, January 4, 2025 (no exceptions)

Join WSRS and your colleagues for our annual Day on the Hill at the State Capitol in Olympia, Thursday, February 6, 2025. This is your opportunity to meet one-on-one with lawmakers to advocate about radiological and medical interests in our state. At Day on the Hill, you’ll connect with state elected officials and policymakers who represent you, your patients and your business to discuss the important policies and issues being considered by the Legislature and that matter most to our industry.

 

WSRS Slate of Candidates

Dear WSRS members,

 

Please join us on November 2, 2024, at our WSRS Annual Meeting at the Woodmark Hotel in Kirkland, Washington.  In addition to a full day of informative talks, we will be conducting elections of WSRS officers and several members of our Board of Directors at our society business meeting.  The following slate of WSRS members has been nominated and approved by the Board for your consideration:

 

To serve as President for a 2-year term starting on November 2, 2024:  Dr. Ed Kim (Seattle, WA)

To serve as Vice-President for a 2-year term starting on November 2, 2024:  Dr. Rachel Gerson (Seattle, WA)

To serve as Treasurer for a 2-year term starting on November 2, 2024:  Dr. Mariam Shehata (Mountlake Terrace, WA)

To serve as Secretary for a 2-year term starting on November 2, 2024:  Dr. Jennifer Kohr (Seattle, WA)

To serve 3-year terms as Councilors starting in June 2025:

Dr. Erik Kilgore (Ridgefield, WA), nominated to serve a 2nd consecutive term

Dr. Jonathan Medverd (Seattle, WA), nominated to serve a 2nd consecutive term

Dr. Baiju Shah (Tacoma, WA), nominated to serve a 1st term

Dr. Ed Kim (Seattle, WA), nominated to serve a 1st term

To serve 1-year terms as Alternate Councilors starting in June 2025:

Dr. Shamus Moran (Seattle, WA)

Dr. Jacob Thomas (Federal Way, WA)

Dr. Alfonso Urdaneta-Moncada (Seattle, WA)

Dr. Sean Wo (Seattle, WA)

Dr. Timothy Ng (Vancouver, WA)

Dr. Chen Yin (Spokane, WA)

Dr. Jennifer Kohr (Seattle, WA)

Dr. Nicholas Krause (Seattle, WA)

 

YPS representative/alt councilor:
Dr. Benjamin Godwin (Seattle, WA)

 

WSRS is always interested in bringing in new engaged members to our Board of Directors to ensure a diversity of perspectives.  If you are interested, or even if you are just curious and have questions, please feel free to reach out to our Executive Director, Ms. Jena Rehm.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Jennifer Favinger, MD

WSRS President

 

Travel Scholarship to the WSRS 2024 Annual Meeting!

The WSRS Board of Directors is pleased to announce a scholarship opportunity for practicing radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists, radiological medical students and radiology residents/fellows who live at least 100 miles from Kirkland, WA to be able to attend the 2024 Annual Meeting.  

Who is eligible:

  • Practicing radiologists and medical students or residents/fellows.
  • Attendees living/practicing at least 100 miles from the meeting location.

Expenses covered by scholarship:

  • Flights to and from the meeting city or car mileage if driving (reimbursed at $0.655 per mile)
  • Transportation to and from the airport at home and in the meeting city.
  • 1 night hotel stay at the meeting location.
  • Meals during the travel period (up to $75/day)
  • Total not to exceed $750 per selected applicant, reimbursement of expenses paid with valid receipts.

How to receive scholarship funds:

  • Fill out the brief WSRS Meeting Scholarship Application
  • Send application to WSRS Executive Director: Jena Rehm – jena@wsrs.org
  • Deadline for Application submissions is October 18th!

 

We hope to see you in Kirkland for the 2024 Annual Meeting this November!

Submit a Nomination for the Gold Medal Awards of 2024!

Each year the WSRS board honors a Washington State radiologist, radiation oncologist or clinical medical physicist with a Gold Medal Award recognizing outstanding service to our profession demonstrated throughout the recipient’s career.  This medal is presented the WSRS Annual Meeting by the President of the society.

Please consider taking a moment to nominate someone you know that should be recognized for their service by clicking the button below. 

Nomination Form

CALL TO ACTION: Write to Legislators TODAY to Add Raising Medicaid Reimbursements to 2024 State Budget

With only 2 weeks remaining in the current session, please take a few minutes to complete the call-to-action messages to legislators below.

For the past year WSRS and WSRS PAC, in partnership with WSMA, has invested heavily with contributions and time to promote boosting Medicaid professional services reimbursement in WA state to Medicare levels. Currently at approximately 55-60 cents on the Medicare dollar for most imaging services, raising these reimbursements is long overdue. The Covered Lives Assessment (HB2476 & SB6309) leverages federal matching funds to create a budget neutral solution that makes good financial sense for WA state. It is not too late to act! Please lend your voice for inclusion of the Covered Lives Assessment to the state budget. Write to House and Senate budget chairs and your district legislators as instructed below. 

Sincerely,

Jonathan Medverd

WSRS PAC Chair 

Act today: Ask your legislators in the House and Senate to add the covered lives assessment to the 2024 state operating budget. Send a message through the WSMA Take Action website

Take Action HERE

We ask that you also email budget chairs Rep. Timm Ormsby (D-Spokane) and Sen. June Robinson (D-Everett). You can use the following message as a template. Thank you for taking action today.

I’m writing to ask you to support adding HB 2476 and the covered lives assessment to strengthen the Medicaid program into the final budget package.

Designed to be cost-neutral to the state, the covered lives assessment in HB 2476 will draw down federal funds and allow Washington state physicians and advance care practitioners to provide more health care services to Medicaid enrollees. By increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates for professional services delivered by physicians, physician assistants, and ARNPs, we can make meaningful improvements in access to care. This bill is a lifeline for our Medicaid patients and an opportunity for independent physician practices to keep their doors open for communities throughout Washington.

Please support patients with meaningful access to the care professionals they deserve.

ACR Bulletin: Breast Health Legislation: Washington State’s Practical Approach

Advocating on behalf of patients at the state capitol can help radiologists make a significant impact on lives while improving effectiveness of the specialty.

Under a new Washington State law that took effect on Jan. 1, 2024, patients who need medically necessary breast imaging no longer have to pay out of pocket, eliminating cost-sharing requirements that often caused people to skip the exams. The ACR Bulletin recently sat down with Peter R. Eby, MD, FACR, FSBI, section head of breast imaging for the Virginia Mason Medical Center Department of Radiology in Seattle and chair of the ACR Breast Screening and Emerging Technology Committee, to discuss his personal experience as a physician advocate who participated in getting the legislation passed.  

Can you share your motivation behind advocating for this legislation, and what specific challenges did you encounter during the process?

The motivation was rooted in helping women access care when they need it. We as physicians recognize that some individuals are underinsured or face high deductibles, forcing them to make tough choices between spending on necessities like food, rent, utilities and getting follow-up care after screening mammograms. 

We also understand that delays in cancer diagnosis can result in increased expenses or poorer outcomes. For example, discovering a lump in the shower shouldn’t force individuals to choose between a clinical diagnosis and putting food on the table. Our aim is to eliminate out-of-pocket costs for diagnostic breast imaging, ensuring patients receive evaluations as soon as possible. The fear of out-of-pocket costs should not deter anyone from seeking timely diagnostic care, especially when it comes to potential breast health issues. 

The legislative effort for diagnostic imaging unfolded in a single year, focusing on copay. While supplemental screening bills had been introduced in prior years, it did not gain universal backing as the diagnostic parity bill and lack of universal support, in turn, made it difficult to garner buy-in from legislators across all districts. The key difference was that the diagnostic screening bill garnered more support from legislators, as it could benefit anyone, regardless of their risk level, in all districts.

The fear of out-of-pocket costs should not deter anyone from seeking timely diagnostic care, especially when it comes to potential breast health issues.

—Peter R. Eby, MD, FACR, FSBI

An important lesson we learned from observing this bill written, advocated for and passed suggested to us that we have the option and power to introduce something. The diagnostic imaging bill was introduced by Komen and we joined that effort. When legislators reached out to us in prior sessions, we provided education and offered suggestions for correcting high-risk language or describing the patient population. However, those earlier bills didn’t gain traction to get out of committee. 

Another notable difference in this last session was the full support from the medical community, along with support from other medical societies such as the Washington State Medical Association and the Komen organization. The sponsors were bipartisan, with clear bipartisan support evident from early testimonies. The primary resistance came from insurance companies, prompting discussions with fiscally conservative representatives about the anticipated costs. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner was also involved, stating that the fiscal impact would be borne by insurance companies and not the state budget, making it considerably easier to pass.

Did you encounter any unexpected developments in navigating the legislative landscape?

The process went fairly smoothly. Some legislators wanted to make tweaks, but we weighed in consistently to ensure clinical accuracy.

What strategies or alliances did you find most effective in building support for the legislation, both within the medical community and among policymakers?

The Washington State Radiological Society (WSRS) conducts an annual visit to Olympia, Washington. We try to bring WSRS members from as many districts as possible to meet face-to-face with senators and representatives. This particular bill was one of three measures that we identified as key pieces of interest, and during these visits, we aimed to connect with legislators to build support, answer questions and address concerns.

Were there any lessons learned during your advocacy efforts that could be valuable to others looking to pursue similar legislation?

Having prior examples of language that’s been vetted and refined in other states was incredibly helpful. It’s important to get the bill drafted well in advance. In Washington, our legislative sessions are either short or long, starting in December and extending to February or March. Showing up with a draft bill in December for the first time is not a viable approach. Our lobbyist always encourages us to check in with legislators during the summer to build and maintain relationships with our legislators during less busy times of the year. This proactive engagement keeps the legislation on their radar and allows for any necessary adjustments or refinements. 

Leading with how the legislation benefits the patient and staying focused on that message is crucial during these meetings. Share scenarios and patient stories to emphasize the real-world impact and necessity of the bill. A key factor that significantly influenced the success of our legislation was the support of the committee chair. Having the committee chair’s backing held considerable sway and played a pivotal role in advancing the bill.

When providing testimony to committees, be aware of the required format and logistics, ensure that you have a clear understanding of the proceedings. Once you have your turn to speak, be efficient with your time, as you typically have only a brief window to convey your message. In your testimony, make sure to clearly state who you are, who you represent and your district. A little practice can go a long way, and it’s important to get these details right to avoid wasting your precious seconds. 

Remember that making your points concisely and in the right order is essential. Learn from each experience and refine your approach for subsequent rounds of advocacy. Collaboration with experts and stakeholders can also enhance the effectiveness of your advocacy efforts because it allows you to enhance your messaging or to re-state important points.

The first time I was providing testimony to the committee, our lobbyist scheduled me for expert testimony and I was given a two-minute window. Virtual testimony turned out to be an efficient process, but I must add that two minutes go by quickly. Just to introduce yourself and your affiliation eats up 15 seconds, so you have to get to the point right away. For the second round of hearings, I was more efficient in preparing my notes and conveying my points. There are always opportunities to submit written testimony as well if you need to elaborate or give detailed explanations. 

What advice would you give to other colleagues who are passionate about advocating for legislative change?

Two things about legislative involvement stood out to me personally. First, it absolutely can be done. This process showed us that we can get involved and help make it happen, impacting people’s lives on a daily basis. Once you see it happen, there’s more excitement about what we may achieve as WSRS. Second, I’ve published and spent energy on papers, I’ve worked closely with incredible radiologists, and I am proud of my achievements. However, this bill will likely have a more significant impact on patients’ lives than any paper I’ve ever published. 

I keep thinking about that impact and contribution to the women of Washington and their families. The bill was passed and took effect 90 days after it was signed. What’s interesting is that it is not widely known. 

Raising awareness is crucial, and we’re working on that aspect now. We’re partnering with breast cancer events and institutions, conducting Grand Rounds and presentations, and speaking to primary care doctors to spread the word. The post-legislative work, often overlooked, is essential in ensuring the legislation’s real impact on those it was designed to help. 

The entire legislative experience this year was a powerful reminder of the importance of our advocacy efforts in improving healthcare access.

AuthorEugenia Brandt,  ACR senior government affairs director

Women Radiologists Winter Brunch 2023

Where: The Historic Sorrento Hotel Penthouse
900 Madison St, Seattle, WA 98104

When: December 10, 2023 11-1:30pm

What: Connect, learn and have fun with colleagues in our community! This festive event, open to all women in Radiology, including radiology trainees and interested medical students. Brunch and cocktails will be provided.

The Washington State Radiological Society is proud to host our annual winter gathering and networking event for women radiologists. We invite you to connect with women leaders in our community from various career backgrounds to discuss tips, insights, and obstacles surrounding their careers. Residents, fellows, medical students and attending physicians are all welcome to attend. Please join us in person for socializing as we near the end of the year.

Please register for this event on our website by clicking the button below no later than December 3, 2023. Please also share and feel free to invite your fellow female radiology colleagues! Registration will include a full buffet brunch, refreshments, and valet parking.

Register Online