Uniting the Cardiovascular Profession—For Your Benefit
The Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals will soon strengthen the ranks of the Alliance of Cardiovascular Professionals.
Seeing an opportunity to unite the profession and improve the benefits of current members of both organizations, ACVP and SICP leadership agreed to join together.
SICP & ACVP joining means more resources, better benefits for members.
This opportunity to consolidate resources and benefits will result in more resources, better benefits, and fewer "upkeep" costs for members of the combined organization.
ACVP was formed as a result of such alliances in the 1980s and 90s. This final combination will result in ACVP being the only professional association representing allied health cardiovascular professionals—a united profession.
As a true "alliance," ACVP has long found value in working with administrators, managers, technologists and nurses across disciplines, resulting in better inter-professional education and more exposure for our members.
Working together will promote quality cardiovascular care.
Working and learning together furthers ACVP's mission to promote quality provision of cardiovascular care.
Uniting for our members
SICP's support will introduce more invasive professionals to the Alliance—an immediate benefit for both group's members.
Joining together will immediately provide expanded networking opportunities and a more engaged, active community of professionals pursuing excellence.
This consolidation passes on value, opportunity and reach to the people who matter: our members.
SICP members will benefit from new connections with leaders and professionals in other cardiovascular specialties, while ACVP members will benefit from new connections with invasive leaders. Both groups will benefit from a larger community of professionals and more leadership and support.
ACVP looks forward to welcoming SICP's active leadership into the democratic governance structure of the Alliance, driven by dedicated volunteers like those in SICP.
ACVP also looks forward to supporting SICP's fellowship program and offering new fellowship opportunities to current ACVP members.
Stronger Advocacy
A united profession further strengthens ACVP's support for all cardiovascular professionals via advocacy. A larger, unified voice is simply more likely to be heard when and where it counts.
Allied health professionals make up the majority of the health workforce, but they are often not included in policy-making discussions.
In this chaotic political environment, with the future of health care in question, we need each other—we are stronger together.
ACVP has long been on the front-line of health care debates regionally and nationally, particularly in practice issues.
With the support of SICP, ACVP now represents the unified voice of all allied health cardiovascular professionals.
ACVP's diversity and structure further builds consensus into the advocacy process. As a democratic organization, our members drive the advocacy work of the Alliance, and policy-makers can be confident that the voice of the association is the voice of a diverse group of members speaking from consensus.
Next Steps
Both ACVP and SICP are excited about the impending changes and improvements for our members. We are about to enter a transition period, and we welcome contact and continued conversation from our members to ensure this period moves smoothly and effectively.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Peggy McElgunn, executive director of the Alliance of Cardiovascular Professionals. Email peggymcelgunn@comcast.net.
I’m looking forward to a positive future.
Phenomenal
I have been very disappointed in the advocacy of the Invasive Cardiovascular Profession in recent years. Members of the CV profession have been increasingly replaced by members of non-cardiovascular disciplines, receiving higher rates of pay with far less Cardiovascular education and training. To make matters worse, the Cardiovascular professional is being asked to train those without a Cardiovascular background so that they might function in the Cardiovascular arena.
Therefore I must ask, What efforts are being made to advance the Cardiovascular professionals position in the present environment?
Walter, I have to ask what have you done to advance invasive cardiovascular professionals? For the past 25 years, it seems as if they have the only been 8 to 10 individuals such as myself could have been out there promoting the RCIS credential and profession of invasive cardiovascular technology. We volunteer sacrifice time away from our families and use their own money to promote the profession. Everyone complains yet no one wants to be involved and do the work. In fact no one wants to even do a simple thing such as belong to a Professional Organization to advance our practice. Nursing, radiographers, and respiratory professionals have professional groups numbering in the hundreds of thousands, yet we can only get a few hundred members.
As one of the founding members of the Society of invasive cardiovascular professionals I’m saddened that it will no longer be an independent group. I am excited that this gives us a new opportunity to grow as profession.
I could have joined the SICP 20+ years ago. I refused because of the politics it played in the state of Ohio to get Tracy King (then an ultrasound technologist) the unheard of legal ability to practice as one of the Radiology Technologists or as a Registered Nurse. Those roles were well defined by scope of practice laws and a non certified professional did not have the privilege to work in that setting. The SICP lobbied the state of Ohio strongly to pass laws to make it legal for her to do so. If she wanted to work in that setting then she should have credentialed herself by getting the proper education to do so. Imagine passing laws for anyone to practice medicine without the properly attained medical degree! Their would be an uproar by the medical community! Instead of supporting the RN’s and RT’s the SICP sold them out. Do you think I want to be a member of the SICP? HELL NO!!!!
I have been a member of the ACP to show support and respect to my fellow RN and RT professionals. I hear the ACP wants its members to be more active? Not once has the ACP ever come to my place of employment to see how we work here in Pittsburgh. I doubt they ever leave Midlothian to see how its members function. To grow membership the ACP should visit its members and encourage chapters in various cities to start, build, and grow! I would be shocked to here their is an ACP branch office in Pittsburgh. If you ever want somone to help with one here in Pittsburgh let me know! You have my email address. I’d say call me but my phone number has changed and the ACP website does not give me a way to update! Not easily anyway.
Why is the executive director’s contact email @Comcast.net? I’m very much in favor of united advocacy but cautious.