*UPDATE: August 6, 2020*

Dear RSDC Society members and fellow rheumatologists:

It is with great pleasure that I write to you as the President of the RSDC for the 2020-2021 academic year. First, I would like to thank our outgoing president, Dr. Victoria Shanmugam for her excellent leadership and commitment to a better society. As I move into the role of president, Dr. Florina Constantinescu will become this year’s vice-president, and Dr. Kundan Karkhanis will be this year’s treasurer of the society.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are changing the format of our lectures. This year, all the meetings will be held virtually via Zoom. As such, an invitation will be sent prior to each meeting and your RSVP will be required in order to receive a link for the meeting. For each meeting, we will begin at 7:00 pm for a roundtable with our sponsors. Please make every effort to login on time and be a part of this event as without their support, the DC Rheumatism Society could not continue its work. Our speaker presentations will begin at 7:30 p.m.

This year we have another great line up of speakers. It is my hope that you will find the upcoming lecture series relevant and informative. Our first meeting will be on September 9th and our speaker will be Dr. Philip Robinson who will give us a talk on “updates on COVID-19 and Rheumatic diseases”. A complete list of our speakers will be posted soon in our website.

As in previous years, CME will be provided through MedStar using the same telephone text system as in prior years. The telephone number is 202-796-7323. To enroll in the system, send a text to this number with the message 274. If you have registered previously, then you will receive confirmation within seconds. You only need to register once. The system remembers your phone number.

Our Fellows Forum will be also held virtually this year. The Fellows Forum continues to be a highlight of our program where you can hear about the great research and cases presented by our fellows, residents, post-docs, and medical students. Dr. Sharon Dowell kindly accepted to be in charge of our yearly Fellows Forum. As some of you may know, Dr. Chris Collins is no longer with the board as he accepted a new position with Aurinia. I want to take this opportunity to thank him for all his hard work and tireless efforts for the society, particularly for the Fellows Forum. Let’s wish him continued success in his new endeavor.

The ultrasound course, which established by Dr. Paul DeMarco, is another highlight of our program, however, due to the current pandemic we won’t be able to hold a live musculoskeletal ultrasound course this year. Under the direction of Dr. Daniel Bunker, the platform has changed to a series of lectures which will focus on the knees, elbows, hips, and shoulders. The series are planned for Spring and the final schedule will be announced soon.

Starting this year, we are bringing rheumatology fellows on the board to get them more engaged with the society. This hopefully will give them a great learning experience and prepare them to become our future leaders in Rheumatology Society.

Our website is still located at https://www.dcrheumatism.com. I would like to thank Dr. Chris Collins, our Webmaster, again for this. Dues are $100.00 at the Basic Member Level; however, if you wish to contribute more, your generosity will be noted in the Membership Directory with Partner Level ($250.00), Patron Level ($350.00) and Benefactor Level ($500.00). Fellow trainees will have dues covered by the society ($0). Although a substantial amount of funding for the society does come from industry, it is still important to support your local society.

Finally, I would like to thank our secretary, Ethel Linares Sauro, for her assistance in coordinating a seamless transition. Her experience has been invaluable.

I look forward to a successful year for the Rheumatism Society of the District of Columbia!
Please feel free to contact me with any suggestions or questions at tahereh.jamshidi@howard.edu.

Sincerely,
Tara Jamshidi MD, FACR