International Perfusion Journal

Editorial     Vol. 2, No. 5, May 2006

Hot Button Issues

This month we talk with LeRoy Ferris, former president and one of the founding members of AmSECT about the birth of AmSECT.  He speaks of the struggles the founding members had in developing perfusion, as we know it today.  It appeared, at the time, as though there were many perfusionists who were involved in the decision-making however, in reality, there were just a few dedicated members who did all the work.  The rest of the membership of AmSECT and the profession just sat back and watched.  There was the constant cry, which we hear today, "come on members get involved."  The "hot button" issues of the day were easy to identify recognition, education, certification, and accreditation to name just a few.  There was much to be done in the early days of perfusion. 

What are the "hot button" issues we face today?  We have recognition.  We have good perfusion schools.  We have national certification.  We have national accreditation.  What do we have to motivate us to action?  State licensure is a "hot button" issue however only a few larger states will be able to participate.  The smaller states, where there are only a few perfusionists, will not consider this a critical issue.  It is up to Al Stammers and the new AmSECT administration to clearly spell out the "hot button" issues of our time in order to motivate the membership to become more involved.

Jeri Dobbs
Editor

Editorial

Licensure continues to be a familiar discussion topic at AmSECT meetings.  A handful of states have enacted regulations for the licensure of perfusionists and a number of other states are in the process of establishing licensure.  At the AmSECT meeting in Las Vegas Senator Barbara Cegavske, from the Nevada Legislature discusses the legislative process and how to be effective in passing a bill. 

Why do we need licensure?   It will protect perfusion from the incursion of other allied health groups from performing services, which are normally performed by perfusionists.  It will prevent non-licensed perfusionists from practicing in the state. It will help in malpractice litigations. It will not raise your salary and will not prevent you from losing your job.  It will cost you more because the cost of maintaining a state board is not cheap.  The Board must monitor perfusionists and investigate questionable practices.   The cost of litigation in legal claims will be largely born by the states licensed perfusionists.  There must be a yearly re-evaluation of all state licensed perfusionists, which could be expensive.  The yearly fee to maintain your perfusion license could be steep, depending on how many perfusionists are in the state.  This will be on top of the fee you currently must pay to the ABCP for annual recertification. 

The bottom line is that the road to licensure is long and arduous.  The hard working perfusionists who have been successful should be congratulated.   In most cases the larger states with many perfusionists have been most successful in establishing licensure.  The question remains as to how the smaller states such as Montana, Wyoming, Nevada and Oregon with only a hand full of perfusionists, be able to establish licensure?  The answer will be that they will not be able to establish licensure.  They will have to be satisfied with ABCP certification as their only protection.  Would that be so bad? 

Editorial

Editorial
Vol.2, No. 3, March 2006

This month is our eighth month for publication of the International Perfusion Journal.   Our efforts have been directed in making the Journal as interesting and appealing to the worldwide perfusion community as possible.  We have attempted areas such as inflammatory editorials, jokes of the month, cartoons, everything we could think of to attract more listeners.  In the end, straightforward interviews with perfusionists seem to be the most popular.  We plan to continue to search for the best formula that is the most widely accepted by our subscribers.  Starting next month we plan to continue one service and add a new one. 

First we will continue to have a monthly interview with a perfusionist from a different country from a different part of the world.  These interviews demonstrate how similar perfusion is practiced throughout the world. 

The second area we would like to pursue is that of interviewing perfusionists who are part of our history yet have retired or left the profession.  These “Voices from the Past” will give us insight as to how perfusion was practiced in the “good old days” and how our profession was shaped.

I think both of these areas will add to the content and color of the International Perfusion Journal.  If you have suggestions with regard to individuals you would like to hear in either of these areas please contact us at ipjournal@perfusioneducation.com

Editorial

An Editorial,  The Future of Perfusion.

As we enter the New Year, we look to the future of perfusion.  I have talked with perfusionists throughout the world in the last few months from India to Germany to Australia to the United States.  The consensus of opinion is that our profession has a bright future.

The one thing everyone sees is the expanding role of perfusion in the future.  We have seen the emergence of techniques of hyperthermic perfusion for AIDS and cancer, liver perfusion for poison victims, and has been pointed out by one of our guests in this month's Journal, the exciting new area of perfusion gene therapy.  There are new techniques in plasma gel therapy, artificial lung implantation and totally implantable artificial hearts, to name just a few of the recent developments in which perfusionists will become involved.  The potential is great and it's up to you, as a perfusionist, to meet the challenges that open up in the future.  The future indeed does look bright for perfusion.

Editorial

Editorial
"We Need to Get the Recognition and Respect We Deserve"

This month one of the interviewees discusses a concern he has in which his hospital, may ask all of the perfusionists to  “punch a time clock” in order to justify the time they spend in the operating room.  In a recent Perflisting, a perfusionist was concerned because his surgeons were asking the perfusionists to work out an arrangement with the hospital employment department to become “leased” back to the surgeons rather than being employed by the hospital.  In another Perflisting recently a perfusion service was asked to set up a Chiefless perfusion service, an obvious move to save money for the hospital.  These are just three examples of how perfusionists are being manipulated.  As Rodney Dangerfield was fond of saying “I get no respect”.   Hospitals are always looking for ways to save money and perfusionists are not immune from cost cutting measures.  We are vulnerable to this for one simple reason.  What and who are perfusionists?  If the hospital administration truly knew how important the role of the perfusionists was this type of manipulation would never dare occur. Let me suggest a little experiment.  Stand on a street corner in your town and ask ten people if they could tell you what the following professionals do for a living:  An orthodontist, a podiatrist and a perfusionist.  I would be willing to bet not one of the ten would know what the perfusionist did for a living.  Make it even easier.  Stand in the front hall of your hospital and ask the same three questions of ten people walking down the hall.  I dare say the results would probably be almost the same.  How can we get respect if no one even knows whom we are and what we do?   Why haven’t our professional organizations addressed this problem?  An aggressive public relations campaign should be undertaken.  Colorful well-written slick brochures should be developed and sent to every open-heart hospital in the country.  A good video extolling the virtues of perfusion should be developed and distributed to hospitals, schools and service organizations.  Perfusionists should be encouraged to give talks at schools and service organizations telling about their experiences as a perfusionist.  We all need to work hard to get the recognition and respect we deserve.   

Editorial

                        

  Editorial
                              "We've been there."

One of the interviews in this month's International Perfusion Journal is with Robert Benjamin from India.  He relates the challenge perfusionists in India faces in developing certification.   It was 30 years ago this last July in 1975, at the AmSECT national convention in Portland Oregon, that the American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion was formed.  It took another year for incorporation to be secured and the Board to become official.  Developing a certification program is not easy and is very time consuming.  We can only wish the Indian Society of Extracorporeal Technology (ISECT) the best of luck in persuing their goal of certification for all perfusionists in India.  I am sure that the American Board and the European Board will assist them where they can.  I hope that it will take ISECT much less than the 10 years it took the U.S. to develop certification.

Jeri Dobbs
Editor

Editorial

                                 

  Katrina Has Affected Us All

     Our hearts and prayers go out to all the people in the gulf region devastated by Hurricane Katrina.  Many perfusionists from the region have been affected.  We, within the perfusion community, are concerned with the safety and welfare of the perfusionists who have worked and lived in the New Orleans and gulf region.  It is our hope that the members of the perfusion community will step up and pledge assistance to those who lost their jobs and homes to this disaster by offering per Diem jobs and living facilities for these perfusionists and their families.  It is possible that it could be a number of months before they are able to go back to their old jobs.  It has been estimated that up to 40% of the population may not wish to return to the area due to the lack of housing and jobs.  With the reduction in population, the number of potential heart patients may likewise decrease. The number of hospitals doing open heart surgery may likewise decrease until the population numbers return to their previous levels.  This could take several years.  Only a few of the current perfusionists  may be able to return in the near future.  The other perfusionists will need help in relocating to other open heart hospitals.  Thanks to those who have stepped up and offered their help and support in this most difficult time. 

Jeri Dobbs
Editor

Editorial

                          "A New Form of Perfusion Communication"

Perfusion, as a profession, first became organized in the early 1960’s as the American Society of Extracorporeal Technology (AmSECT).  Communication among perfusionists was largely at the once a year national meetings.  In the late 1970’s the Journal of Extracorporeal Technology (JECT) became the first perfusion journal allowing perfusionists a means of communicating through publication.  Communication to this point was primarily scientific and it wasn’t until the AmSECT TODAY was published was there any non-scientific information about perfusionists made available.  With the Internet came Sue Boettcher’s Perflist, which gave perfusionists for the first time a means of written personal communication with one another.  Items posted on Perflist are not only scientific but also at times personal.  Perfusionists do not hesitate to share their opinions on such diverse subjects as equipment, techniques, perfusion companies, manufacturers, and NFL and college football teams.  Advice, opinion and suggestions seem to be the watchwords of Perflist.   

The International Perfusion Journal is the next step in the communication by perfusionists.  It is not Perflist or AmSECT Today.  It is not PERFUSION or JECT.  It is however uniquely different in the fact that it is giving a voice to perfusion.  For once, you will be able to hear perfusionists from all over the world, state their opinions, make their suggestions and speak their minds on a variety of subjects related to perfusion.  The Podcast format is new and will allow you to hear the Journal at your convenience whether in your car, out jogging or in the OR between cases.   I hope we will also be able to show more of the human side of perfusionists.  In this issue Rebekah Trittipoe tells us about her experiences as an ultra-runner. Too often perfusionists are thought of as having no life outside the OR.  I hope we can dispel that image by having perfusionists tell of their special talents and interests while they are not sitting behind a heart lung machine. 

I invite you to join us each month for an hour of perfusion talk by subscribing to the International Perfusion Journal.  The price is right.  It’s free.   If you would like to participate you may by calling the voice mail line at 206- 222-2324, or you can e-mail us at ipjournal@perfusioneducaiton.com you can also write us directly to:  International, Perfusion Journal, P.O. BOX 91123, Portland, OR  97291-0123.  We are always glad to hear from you and we will share your comments, opinions and suggestions.  We hope you enjoy this first issue of the International Perfusion Journal, which is a Podcast service of PerfusionEducation.com.

Jeri Dobbs
Editor and Publisher