SCCM - Society of Critical Care Medicine

Charles Durbin Jr., MD, FCCM
President
Society of Critical Care Medicine

A Year of Milestones

As the end of the year approaches, it is appropriate to look back and assess where we are, what we have accomplished and where we are going. This reflection is useful for individuals as well as organizations. It has been a busy, productive and successful year for the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM).

Almost a decade ago, we envisioned that the Society would become a recognized leader in medicine and would represent all members of the critical care team. This vision included hopes to represent the physician’s perspective on critical care training and practice. We have achieved this goal, and several important milestones this year exemplify our success.

Progress Within ABIM
The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) designated critical care medicine as a subspecialty of internal medicine, a position long supported by the Society. This development achieves parity with the other boards – anesthesiology, surgery and pediatrics – offering ubspecialty certification in critical care. The change brings critical care medicine to the level of other ubspecialty areas. When physicians’ certificates expire, those trained in internal medicine and certified in critical care medicine may choose to retest only in critical care medicine. Prior to this development, these physicians had to retest in both internal medicine and critical care medicine. This important change was facilitated by the Society’s visible public interest and support and by the consistent presence of dedicated SCCM members during high-level discussions over many years.

Relocation Plans Move Forward
A significant part of the Society’s strategic plan was to move its headquarters. The Society felt it was important to be near other prominent players in the politics of healthcare and near an experienced and skilled association workforce. We successfully executed the move to the Chicago area, and this year marks another milestone. After two years of planning and six years of saving, the Society is in the process of purchasing a building. While having a permanent structure for our headquarters is desirable from a public relations standpoint, it also makes sense financially. Our current lease will expire in about 18 months and our space requirements have increased. The rental office space in Des Plaines, Illinois, USA, is full and SCCM is leasing additional storage space in the area to accommodate the increasingly active publications division. We need more room now and space needs will increase as SCCM grows. The new building will allow for this planned and measured growth and should accommodate SCCM for 20 years or more. The building has about twice the square footage of the current office, is about three miles from the Des Plaines location and is still close to O’Hare International Airport. We will renovate the building, which is about five years old, to suit our needs. The projected costs will be manageable within the budget established by the SCCM Council, and we hope to have the building ready for occupancy by late summer or early fall 2007. One of the highlights planned for the new space will be a conference room able to accommodate our largest committee meetings. With more activities held in our offices, we will reduce the costs of doing business. The savings in rent are almost enough to offset the cost of the project, and in the end, we will own an asset of value. The project is moving along, and we are excited about its potential. We will keep you informed of our progress.

New Multiprofessional Opportunities
Our influential position in healthcare has led to several new opportunities this year. The National Board of Respiratory Care (NBRC) invited SCCM to participate in an initial meeting to explore the potential development of a specialty certification in critical care for respiratory therapists. Also, the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) invited SCCM to a meeting to investigate the desire for training requirements and competencies for physician's assistants working in specialty areas such as the intensive care unit (ICU). The Society’s Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology Section is working with the Critical Care Practice and Research Network of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy to develop a joint position paper focusing on ICU credentialing for pharmacists and on how to train ICU pharmacists. While SCCM does not endorse or suggest requirements for certification by individual boards or determine the scope of practice for individual providers, it believes that identifying the special nature and needs of the ICU practice will attract the most qualified individuals to the team.

Expanding International Influence
Another important aspect of SCCM’s vision is our worldview. We are an international organization with members from more than 80 countries. Our purpose is to improve care for the critically ill and injured throughout the world. We are seeing our activities grow within the United States and expand internationally. Acting on suggestions from member surveys, more educational programs are being brought to local areas. Many countries have embraced the Fundamental Critical Care Support (FCCS) and Fundamentals of Disaster Management (FDM) courses enthusiastically. Various editions of FCCS are available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, traditional Chinese and Italian, and we anticipate editions in German, Polish and simplified Chinese. FDM is available in English and Spanish. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine includes abstracts in six languages. In 2007, we will be involved in three conferences in Canada – the International Consensus Conference in Intensive Care Medicine in Montreal in May, the Summer Conference: Nutrition as a Therapeutic Agent to Improve Critical Care Outcomes in Ontario in June, and an end-of-life care conference in Vancouver in September. The Society also will hold the Asian Forum on mechanical ventilation in Singapore in March. We continue to exhibit at meetings in South America, Europe and Japan to provide members in those locales with direct customer service access. We organized FCCS and FDM courses at the 14th Congress of the Asia-Pacific Association of Critical Care Medicine meeting in Beijing, China, and we are planning courses at the 2nd International Pan Arab Critical Care Medicine Congress in April 2007. During this year’s council retreat, there were major discussions about the future of SCCM’s international activities. All agreed that we should continue to expand in the international arena, and our efforts in this regard continue with new vigor.

A True Loss
While most of these reflections are positive, we have experienced a major personal loss. William Sibbald, MD, FCCM, passed away in September. For those who did not know Dr. Sibbald personally, he was a staunch ally and major contributor to the growth of the Society and the field of critical care medicine for more than 30 years. He trained many in critical care and was especially influential in matters of economics, quality and safety. He was considered by most to be the father of evidenced-based practice in the ICU. His landmark publications will influence the field for years to come. While he will be remembered for his scholarly endeavors, it will be his mentorship that is missed most. Dr. Sibbald encouraged, supported and cajoled many of us to question the status quo and test our biases in everyday practices. The Society planned to honor Dr. Sibbald during the 36th Critical Care Congress with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented posthumously during the American College of Critical Care Medicine’s Convocation and Awards Ceremony. In addition, there will be a tribute board at Congress. He was a true colleague and friend to all and particularly to the Society. We share in his family’s sorrow; he will be missed greatly.