“Why not
Take a star from the sky
Why not
Spread your wings and fly
It might take a little
And it might take a lot
But… why not
Why not”

It isn’t often that I quote Hilary Duff. Basically, never. But today it seemed appropriate as the AIUM officially launches its first new communication vehicle in years.

We knew this venture might be risky. What if people don’t read it? What if we can’t find writers? What if there isn’t enough compelling content to support it? Trust us—we worried about all of these. In the end, we decided to take Hilary’s advice. So here you have it—The Scan!

Why a new outlet? Aside from the obvious answer, the AIUM felt that something was missing from its communication family. We have the popular Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine with its scientific insight and cool charts and graphs. We have our electronic newsletter, Sound Waves, that contains short snippets and links. We have our social media outlets that keep us connected to members around the clock. What we were missing was a way to share opinions, lead discussions, and even spark debate.

Hence, The Scan. Our goal is to make this an outlet for members, partners, supporters and even AIUM staff to share what they are working on, what matters to them, and what’s happening in medical ultrasound. We want this to be serious when it needs to be but always entertaining and helpful.

And that’s where you come in. We have a good line up of posts scheduled for the next few months, but if you have topics, insights or opinions you would like to share, email us your thoughts. We are always looking for writers and ideas.

In the end, we want The Scan to be valuable and useful to the medical ultrasound community. We hope you enjoy! And when your colleagues ask why you are reading a blog from your professional society, we hope your response begins with “Why not?”

 Let us know what you think about the blog! Comment or let us know on Twitter: @AIUM_Ultrasound.

Peter Magnuson is AIUM’s Director of Communications and Member Services.