RSNA Press Release

OAK BROOK, Ill. (September 30, 2011) — Radiologist Eric E. Williamson, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic, will bring his medical expertise to Lithuania 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. Williamson, assistant professor and cardiovascular radiologist at Mayo Clinic, will be joined by a fellow radiologist as he embarks October 3 on the 6-day trip. He will spend his visit giving lectures and conducting workshops with radiology residents from two Lithuanian hospitals.

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.

"The RSNA International Visiting Professor program has an established track record of providing radiology education to developing countries," Dr. Williamson said. "The upcoming trip to Lithuania represents an extension of that program, and I feel very privileged to be able to participate. It's easy to forget that the educational resources we enjoy in academic practices in the U.S. aren't available everywhere. Hopefully, I will be able to contribute to the education of the host groups and their trainees."

Dr. Williamson, who is also head of CT at the Mayo Clinic, is accompanied by Manohar M. Schroff, M.D., from The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada.

Working with the Lithuanian Radiologists Association, Dr. Williamson will visit Vilnius University Hospital Santariškių Klinikos in Vilnius and conclude his trip in Kaunas at the Kaunas University of Medicine.

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 48,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists committed to excellence in patient care through education and research. 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)