RSNA Press Release

OAK BROOK, Ill. — Radiologist, Ali Guermazi, M.D., Ph.D., from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC), will bring his medical expertise to El Salvador as part of the International Visiting Professor Program offered by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The program fosters international relations among radiology societies to assist with medical education in developing and newly developed nations.

Dr. Guermazi, professor of radiology at BUSM and section chief of musculoskeletal imaging at BMC, will be joined by two fellow radiologists as he embarks October 17 on the 10-day trip. He will spend his visit giving presentations and teaching intensive seminars to radiology residents, as well as attending conferences and meetings.

The program is mutually beneficial. The visiting team of radiologists informs local doctors and hospitals about the latest advances in diagnostic and therapeutic radiology. In turn, the visiting professors experience firsthand the obstacles faced by medical professionals in the host countries.

"Coming from a less developed country myself, I know very well the gap that can exist between what is possible in medical centers here in the U.S. and what actually happens in the clinic in less developed countries," Dr. Guermazi said. "I am thrilled to be participating in the RSNA program in El Salvador. Getting the latest information to the "front lines" is really important. To me, this sort of outreach is not only a pleasure but an obligation. My hope is to form a network of international radiologists eager to do collaborative work in the future, by assisting local radiologists to improve their standard of clinical practice and research work. I look forward to learning all that I can."

Dr. Guermazi, who is also the director of the Quantitative Imaging Center at BUSM and BMC, will be accompanied by Theodore J. Dubinsky, M.D., from the University of Washington School of Medicine, and Carlos H. Torres, M.D., from the University of Ottawa and The Ottawa Hospital.

Dr. Guermazi will begin his visit by attending the Congress of the Colegio Interamericano de Radiología in Sansonate, El Salvador. He will then travel to San Salvador to visit Hospital Nacional Rosales, Instituto Salvadoreño del Seguro Social and Hospital Médico Quirúrgico.

The International Visiting Professor Program was founded in 1986 and is administered by RSNA's Committee on International Relations and Education. This program is supported by Agfa HealthCare.

RSNA is an association of more than 50,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists, promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education, research and technologic innovation. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Ill. (RSNA.org)

The RSNA Committee on International Relations and Education was established in 1986 to advise the RSNA on how the Society might provide international assistance to enhance radiologic education in countries requesting and requiring assistance. (RSNA.org/International/CIRE)