Pulse of PACES (POP) #3
Spring Newsletter
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Hello!
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The Latin word communicare (from where the word communication is born) means “to make common” – i.e. make knowledge common. The stem is the same as that used in the word community. This makes sense as in many ways communication is the foundation of community.
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With this, we welcome you to the 3rd PACES Newsletter “POP 3”. Our hope is that we can communicate better, but not as a goal itself, but rather as a means to build community.
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Message from the President
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“Alone, we can do so little; Together, we can do so much.” - Helen Keller
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We continue to build the PACES community and encourage everyone to get involved.
As we move towards Spring, we inch closer to the Heart Rhythm Society Meeting and all of the PACES events surrounding it. It is typically a time where we find more engagement and excitement about the group (see below). Additionally, it is time where we hold elections for the next executive committee members. One of the best ways to have your voice heard in this community is to Vote. Please take the time to do so when the ballots are released.
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Lastly, we will soon be starting a mentorship initiative within PACES. In collaboration with the Emerging Leaders group, we hope to build more guidance and networking for our early career members.
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Hope to see everyone in Boston!
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Upcoming Events
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SADS Foundation and Heart University medical education webinar:
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State of Genetic Testing for SCD-Predisposing Channelopathies and Cardiomyopathies
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Online Apr 24, 2024 5:00 pm ET / 2:00 pm PT
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- PACES Research Meeting
Boston, MA May 16, 2024
Boston Children’s 1 Autumn Street. Basement Auditorium A.
8:30 am - 12:00 pm
- PACES Business Meeting
Boston, MA May 17, 2024
New England Aquarium 1 Central Wharf
6:30-9:30 pm
- Heart Rhythm Scientific Sessions
Boston, MA May 16-19, 2024
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Website/Media Update
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We are now a couple of years into the new site. The website has established a virtual home for the various subcommittees and continues to provide a platform for their activities. Recently the website team has been working closely with the newly formed membership committee under Dr. Gaurav Arora to revamp our membership tracking and renewal process, which we hope will provide PACES with a more efficient and reliable revenue stream while also ensuring that people who are active or interested in PACES are getting the most from their memberships. There is a new space being planned to highlight the research efforts specific to the ISACHD PACES collaborative.
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At the strategic planning meeting we identified next steps to help us grow further, including finding additional support for more basic tasks. We also identified the need to stay more connected with membership regarding updates, a key addition being the establishment of the POP newsletter being led by Dr. Jeffrey Kim and Dr. Ellis Rochelson. This year we will continue to seek to understand how we can serve our members and orient our efforts accordingly. Our immediate focus is on the upcoming elections and keeping members up to date regarding events at the annual meeting.
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Research Update
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As Heart Rhythm Scientific Sessions approaches, we are enthusiastically preparing for our first in-person PACES Research Meeting in 5 years. The meeting will be held the morning of May 16th. Several PACES members have expressed interest in presenting their protocols and we look forward to hearing about the various PACES collaborations. We are excited to announce several award recipients at our PACES Annual Business Dinner on May 17th. The launch of the first PACES Young Investigator Award which is co-sponsored by the Heart Rhythm Society will be awarded, in addition to the SADS YIA Awards and the Paul Gillette Grant. We have developed two new The Lead Podcasts, again in partnership with HRS, featuring groundbreaking PACES studies. As always, please find all PACES approved research protocols on our website: https://pacesep.org/research-publications/research/. Hope to see you all in Boston soon.
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Administration Update
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Dear Fellow PACES Members,
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It is time for the voting for our new PACES Executive Committee Members!
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In May we will appoint 2 positions: VP for Finance (Treasurer) and our International
Executive Committee Member. The winners will be announced at the annual business
meeting. Please exercise your right to vote.
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AP Update
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In recognition of the importance of supporting the attendance of PACES Allied Professionals
to HRS and the PACES Business Meeting, we are excited to announce that applications for
the PACES AP Travel Grant will soon be opening soon! Watch for a separate announcement
in your inbox!
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The AP-led PACES Patient Education Subcommittee continues reviewing and refreshing the
patient education content on the PACES website, which as HRS official clearing house of
pediatric and congenital EP, can also be found on UpBeat.org, HRS’ patient education site.
Make sure to share these valuable resources with your patients and families! The QR code
below will take you directly to the patient resources page (created by Nate Mller).
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If you are an AP in PACES and have questions about getting involved or suggestions on how
APs in PACES can support each other and the Society, please reach out to Tony Trela, NP at
ttrela@stanfordchildrens.org
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Finance Update
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Greetings from the Finance Committee,
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The New Year means it is time for PACES membership dues! (See Membership Update) With that comes a bolus of money into the PACES accounts. A few noteworthy items:
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- Current account balance: $137,968
- Business Dinner on Friday, 5/17/2024 at the New England Aquarium. Your membership will need to be up to date, and there will be a cost of $100/attendee. And yes, there will be an Open Bar—so I hope that this will entice you all to be there!
- Sponsors. If you work alongside a company that may be interested in sponsoring the PACES Business Dinner, please let the Finance Committee know! We are always looking for more groups to help support our Society.
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FDA Update
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The PACES/FDA taskforce has continued to work with industry to advance pediatric device therapy. At present the committee has met and is working with several device companies to gather data on present practices in pediatric EP (some of which will be presented at HRS) as well as participating in a systematic review of ICD leads which has been submitted for presentation at the annual European Society of Cardiology meeting.
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Journal Update
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As of January 2024, Heart Rhythm, the official journal of PACES, has a new Editorial team and has undergone several changes, some of which are outlined below:
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- “Come as you are” - If your manuscript has been rejected from a major Cardiology journal, send the original manuscript, the reviewers comments and your Rebuttal Letter (stating the changes you will do in response to comments) by e-mail (to Journal@hrsonline.org). The Editors will return a preliminary Decision Letter within 4 days.
- Every month will feature a “Top Stories in Pediatric/Adult Congenital EP”. Recent examples include risk stratification in pediatric HCM, ventricular arrhythmia after transcatheter PVR for repaired TOF, and WPW syndrome. If you have ideas for topics, or review articles, please email prince.kannankeril@vumc.org
- Prompt and fair peer review remains a top priority. If you are interested in serving as a peer reviewer for the journal, please email prince.kannankeril@vumc.org.
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International Update
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I cannot believe it is already 3 years since I joined the EC for PACES. It has been a great experience, and I hope I was able to not only give insight into the international perspective but also make PACES a more international and inclusive society.
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There is now a membership tier for physicians joining only for the discussion forum: https://pacesep.org/discussion-board/international-discussion-forum/ and with the help of Jen and the finance committee we will also plan to bring in a tiered membership for international members reducing cost for those from lower income countries and increasing the fees for the high-income countries from 2025 on. Another highlight has been chairing the Branding Committee at the strategy meeting in 2024 leading to a renewed branding strategy and formation of a renewed standing committee.
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The competition for the international Travel award has been very strong, the winner will join us in Boston in May, and I hope to see everyone there.
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I am looking forward to supporting the new International Representative in the next year during the overlap period.
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If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly (pflaumer@unimelb.edu.au)
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Thank You!
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PACES newsletter committee:
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