47th Annual Meeting and Exposition
December 10-13, 2005

Georgia World Congress Center
Atlanta, Georgia

Special Interest Sessions

Training Program Directors Workshop
Thursday, December 8, 12:00 noon – 6:00 pm

Program directors are constantly adjusting and adapting to changes in both medicine and academia as they strive to build more effective training programs in hematology. This year marks ASH’s second annual workshop for training program directors, an event where they can learn from outside experts and from each other.

Two plenary sessions and two mini-workshops will provide outstanding opportunities for training program directors to address the most pressing issues facing them and share best practices in critical areas. Additionally, program directors who complete this program will be eligible for up to 4 AMA PRA category 1 continuing medical education (CME) credits.

Linda Burns, MD, Chair of ASH’s Committee on Training Programs, will chair this workshop. Lunch will be provided.

In order not to conflict with other elements of the annual meeting, ASH has set aside Thursday afternoon, December 8, for the workshop. Please note the date and make your travel plans accordingly.

Please complete the registration form and return via fax to 202-292-0260 to guaranteee your placement in ASH's Training Program Director's Workshop initiative!

The traditional Training Program Directors Breakfast will move to a lunch timeslot this year – mark your calendars for Sunday, December 11, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm.

The ASH Committee on Practice sponsors this forum to address current topics important to the practicing hematologist. The program will feature presentations on hematology practice models in other countries as well as a report on this year’s ASH advocacy efforts in reimbursement and other practice-related issues. Of particular interest will be updates on the implementation of the Competitive Acquisition Program (CAP) for Medicare Part B Drugs, the impact of the average sales price (ASP) methodology on clinical practice, and new congressional and American Board of Internal Medicine requirements concerning “pay-for-performance.”

Dr Archie Prentice will discuss the wide variation in the definition of hematologist (in terms of training, accreditation, and practice) in the United Kingdom and across the European Union, and the potential of fusing various models to create a more comprehensive model of hematology practice.

Dr Miguel Pavlovsky will describe the development of hematology as a specialty in Argentina, where anticoagulation clinics are supervised by hematologists, all bone marrow transplantation programs are directed by hematologists, laboratory-based practices are directed by hematologists, and hematology programs continue to grow and thrive.

Dr Christiane Saltiel will discuss hematology practice in Venezuela, including the Law of Transfusion and Blood Banks that statutorily requires hematologists to be responsible for directing blood banks and apheresis services, as well as new laws under deliberation that will affect hematology practice.

Ms Mila Becker will provide a report about the Society’s practice-related advocacy efforts throughout the year and updates on legislation/regulations that will affect reimbursement for hematologists and establish new performance measurement requirements.

A reception for practitioners will follow the program.

ASH invites all interested meeting attendees to this presentation highlighting training and research opportunities for minorities under-represented in hematology. The event will feature the research of the 2005 Minority Medical Student Award Program participants as well as high school students participating in the NHLBI Minority Research Supplement in the form of poster presentations. Representatives from the NHLBI, NCI, NIDDK, and NIA will also be in attendance to provide information about their various training and research offerings.

In addition, plans for a program to increase the number of under-represented minorities in the field of hematology with academic and research appointments will be further detailed.

Please join us to learn about these exciting opportunities!

All ASH members interested in becoming involved with the Society’s advocacy efforts are invited to come and learn about the issues that will top ASH’s 2006 advocacy agenda. In addition, ASH staff will demonstrate just how easy it is to use the Society’s online Advocacy Center – with a few mouse clicks, hematologists across the country are now able to provide federal policymakers with information on how public policy issues affect them and the patients they treat. Please join us!

The explosion of information on the Internet has led to powerful new searching technologies to help make order out of chaos. Blood has partnered with Stanford University's HighWire Press to provide robust search capabilities within Blood's online journal site. This session will explore how to use the searching and alerting features in Blood Online to mine the scientific literature. Participants will also be introduced to new searching and automatic alerting features available from the HighWire portal, which allow powerful searching and browsing of hundreds of online journals plus Medline.

ASH is again offering two simultaneous didactic sessions during lunch (meal provided) on Saturday and Sunday. These sessions are designed to offer trainees an overview of timely and relevant career-oriented issues. Because of the popularity of these sessions, attendees are strongly encouraged to arrive before the sessions begin. Seating is limited, and no additional persons will be allowed in the rooms once the sessions are filled.

Please note that these sessions are for trainees only; only those with blue name badges will be granted entry.

Session Topics:

SATURDAY

Giving an Effective Presentation
Omni Hotel at CNN Center, International Ballroom A-D
Speaker: David Ginsburg, MD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

How to Write a Paper for Publication in a Journal
Omni Hotel at CNN Center, International Ballroom E and F
Speaker: Sanford J. Shattil, MD, Blood Editor-in-Chief, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA

SUNDAY

Career Opportunities in Hematology
Omni Hotel at CNN Center, International Ballroom A-D
Speakers:
Hal Broxmeyer, PhD, Walther Oncology Center , Indianapolis, IN
George Buchanan, MD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Mary Cushman, MD, MSc, University of Vermont, Colchester, VT

Introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine
Omni Hotel at CNN Center, International Ballroom E and F
Speakers:
Mark Crowther, MD, PhD, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Richard Lottenberg, MD, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

These sessions provide an intimate venue for trainees to meet with leaders in hematology to discuss professional development issues. ASH has invited a diverse group of researchers and physicians representing the wide array of practice areas within hematology. Space is available to ASH Associate members and non-members in training only on a first-come, first-served basis for the first 90 trainees.