The Program Committee is excited to announce the theme of 

NCRA’s 43rd Annual Educational Conference – Monumental 

Educational Experiences for Cancer Registry Professionals.

 We 

hope you are planning to join your fellow cancer registrars and 

colleagues as we gather April 5-8, 2017, at the Gaylord National 

Resort & Convention Center in Washington, DC. 
The Program Committee has designed a comprehensive program 

to ensure registrars are current and up-to-date with advance-

ments and changes in the field. The keynote speaker is Lawrence 

Shulman, MD. Dr. Shulman is the Chair, Commission on Cancer, 

and Deputy Director for Clinical Services of the Abramson Cancer 

Center at the University of Pennsylvania. His keynote address will 

discuss the future of the Commission on Cancer and the  

importance of registrars.
Following the keynote speaker, two of our national standard 

setting organizations will discuss data collection in today’s  

environment. Additional plenary sessions include other topics of 

interest to registrars. The concurrent sessions include six topic 

areas: Hospital Registry, Registry Management, Central Registry, 

Data Analysis, Professional Development, and Site-Specific. The 

topic areas provide conference attendees a wide range of choices 

to meet individual educational needs. Over 45 plenary and 

concurrent sessions are scheduled, and you can earn over 18 CEs 

in three days! 
NCRA will dedicate one day of the annual conference to high-

lighting the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual, Eighth Edition. This 

is the first national meeting focused solely on preparing registrars 

for the new staging system. Presenters will showcase what’s 

new and outline the differences between the seventh and eighth 

editions to ensure registrars are successful in making the change. 

This information can be shared with other members of the cancer 

team to help them prepare for a smooth program transition.
What could be more fitting when visiting Washington, DC, than 

to meet with your elected officials? Help Congress understand 

the value of our work! NCRA will arrange a meeting with your 

member of Congress for Thursday, April 6. NCRA will provide 

materials to share with your member of Congress and train you 

on the most effective approaches for your meeting. This is a great 

opportunity to help advance the cancer registry profession—and 

for your own professional development! NCRA will provide trans-

portation to and from Capitol Hill and grant you electronic access 

to any educational sessions missed while at your meeting. This 

is a free event, but you must sign-up when you register for the 

conference. 

NCRA is offering several 

workshops, including one 

pre-conference work-

shop, CTR Exam Prep: 

Hands-On Strategies for 

the Open-Book Section.

 

NCRA is also offering 

two post-conference 

workshops, including 

Cancer Informatics: Case 

Studies for the Cancer 

Registrar,

 and a two-day 

workshop entitled SEER: 

Advanced Topics for 

Registry Professionals.

 

Pre-registration is required and space is limited for these work-

shops. The popular Fundamentals of Abstracting Workshop will 

be offered again in 2017. This workshop runs concurrent with the 

conference and is intended for cancer registry employees with 

between six months and two years of experience. 
NCRA will provide a complimentary copy of the Conference 

Proceedings in electronic format (PDF) to all attendees. You 

will be able to print, in advance of the conference, the session 

details and related PowerPoints to create a personal schedule. 

If you prefer a hard copy of the proceedings, please add this 

option to your registration cost. Building on its success from 2016, 

NCRA will again offer a conference mobile app. It will include 

the conference schedule, session descriptions, and links to 

PowerPoint presentations, exhibitor information, and details on 

Washington area attractions. Instructions on how to download the 

app will be sent to attendees in early May.
The Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center is a spectac-

ular waterfront resort, with a stunning 19-story glass atrium and 

sweeping views of the Potomac River. Just a short distance from 

Old Town Alexandria and downtown Washington, DC, the Gaylord 

is steps away National Harbor’s premier entertainment and shop-

ping district with more than 150 shops and over 30 restaurants.
Details on making hotel reservations and registering for the 

conference are included in the registration brochure that was 

mailed in early January. Online registration and other conference 

information are available through NCRA’s website at  

www.ncra-usa.org/conference

.

The 2017 Program Committee is especially pleased with the 

agenda and feels you will not want to miss this conference. We 

look forward to seeing you in Washington, DC!

The Connection

The Official Newsletter of NCRA

  

  

 

 

      

 

 

         Winter 2016-2017

  

Learn more and register at 

www.ncra-usa.org/conference