Veronica Laird

DOS 772
Summer 2017
Service Learning Project
For my professional service learning project, I chose to attend and volunteer at the
American Association of Medical Dosimetrist (AAMD) 2017 annual conference in Indianapolis,
Indiana. The AAMD is an international society established to promote and support the medical
dosimetry profession. They provide opportunities for education, professional interaction, and
representative voice in the healthcare community. They promote an ideal of professional conduct
to which its members should aspire and endorses the highest standards of patient care. This was
the AAMD's 42nd annual meeting which was held June 11th- June 15th. The conference was
within driving distance, and I felt that it was a great opportunity to gain more knowledge from
dosimetrists throughout the country.
I attended the meeting with my classmates Ashley Smelko and Stephanie Sanford. Our
job was to help scan attendees for 3 of the conference lectures. We also were able to meet some
of our other classmates. It was nice to talk to fellow peers about classes and how their clinical
rotations were going. I learned a lot from everyone and it was a great experience just to have
some time with them. I attended many lectures and workshops during the meeting as well. One
of the lunch symposiums explained treatment planning for head and neck cancer on Pinnacle
treatment planning system, which is what I use at my clinic. I met a lot of people throughout the
community and was able to network with many different dosimetrists. The board members were
also very inviting and welcoming. There was even a course to help prepare students for the board
exam and applying for jobs.
For each lecture that I worked, I had to pass around a scanner to scan ID tags for the
attendees. This allowed them to earn credit for the course. It was nice to help out at the meeting
and help members get the hang of using the scanner. Even during the courses that I was
volunteering at, I learned a lot of great information. The lectures had a great variety and spanned
from different treatment techniques, to billing and coding in radiation oncology.
Overall, I think that going to the annual meeting was a wonderful experience. I learned a
lot of great information, met some really helpful people, and I was able to give my time to help
out an amazing organization. I would love to attend another annual meeting in the future. The
information that I learned and the people that I had met is extremely valuable to my future as a
medical dosimetrist.

Image 1. My classmates and I with our instructor Nishele at the annual meeting.