Executive Message

It’s hard to believe we are at the start of a new year! Time seems to fly faster as the years go by! Although our annual meeting was a little over two months ago, I am still reeling over our experience in San Diego. It was a huge privilege to be able to plan this meeting with Dr. Carly Scahill and I walked away with so much more than new knowledge. It was a meeting unlike any other held by PCICS, and although that did give us a little anxiety to do things differently, we couldn’t have been happier with the outcome! I am filled with immense gratitude and appreciation for everyone who spent so much time planning and preparing for what ended up being our largest meeting ever with the most registered attendees! PCICS’ Executive Leadership team and Board of Directors have focused on growth and expansion of the society for the last several years, and this meeting had a large international and multidisciplinary presence. I’m hopeful that everyone who attended the annual meeting was able to take a few things back with them to implement into their daily practice, especially the lessons on interacting with patients and parents on a more personal level, improving the team aspect, and caring for ourselves to promote longevity in our careers.

The start of a new year is a time for many to create goals and intentions. As we enter 2025, I am excited to be able to help continue to lead PCICS in international and multidisciplinary growth. As I transition from Secretary to Vice President this year, I am incredibly grateful for the impact that PCICS membership has had on my career. One of my goals as Vice President is to help make PCICS feel like a professional home for all disciplines caring for patients with congenital or acquired heart disease. We have expanded our Special Interest Groups (SIGs) over the last few years to include therapists, child life specialists, pharmacists, palliative care, and many others. We are working on creating a few more groups and if there is a group that isn’t represented that you would like to be a part of, please reach out to me! The SIGs have been very successful in creating space for people with similar interests to work together and network! Click for more information on SIGs, and reach out to the leads if you are interested in joining! There is no limit to the number of members in each SIG, so join one today!

This year is also the beginning of PCICS’ expansion to international chapters with our first chapter in Latin America. We will kick off our new chapter March 19-22 at the 28^th Brazilian Congress of Pediatric Cardiology, Congenital Heart Disease, Interventions and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery with sessions hosted by PCICS. We are excited to have more to report about this in the next newsletter so stay tuned!