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The Latin American Perfusion Association was established in 2016. At the time, perfusion meetings in Latin America were often held only once every 3 years. ALAP was formed in response to the needs of an expanded perfusion population seeking more frequent conference meetings in a wider range of diverse venues. As the only perfusion society serving the entire region of Latin America, ALAP supports almost 500 members with a mission to raise the quality of perfusionists in Latin America by standardizing training and practice. ALAP engages that mission through a series of learning opportunities including online courses, high-fidelity simulations, hands-on workshops, webinars, symposia and congresses as well as an adverse event registry, online library and their professional magazine, Embomba.
A primary goal of organizing ALAP was to provide a robust response to the training and certification needs of Latin American perfusionists in order to ensure their recognition as a fundamental component of the cardiovascular surgical team. Over time, ALAP has taken many necessary steps to align themselves with international standards, both in terms of education and technological advancement. Within the region, certification as Perfusionista Clinico Certificado (PCC) is maintained by the Latin American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion, organized within the Latin American Perfusion Association, and is available to graduates of the seven perfusion programs in Latin America that are accredited by the ALAP. Certification for ALAP perfusionists is comparable to that in the United States, requiring graduation from an ALAP-approved perfusion program adhering to U.S. CAAHEP standards, followed by passing grades on each of two exams encompassing knowledge of basic perfusion science and clinical application. Recertification requires verified attendance at ALAP-approved perfusion meetings as well as other eligible continuing education within a specified period.
ALAP’s journal, EN BOMBA (EN BOMBA translates to “On pump”) is an international digital journal dedicated to publishing scientific and opinion articles in the fields of extracorporeal circulation, cardiovascular surgery, and intensive care. It publishes articles twice a year, in Spanish and Portuguese, including editorials, original articles, review articles, clinical cases, opinion pieces, images, its "On the Shoulders of Giants" series, letters to the editor, and the "En Bomba" test. Full text is publicly available at revistaenbombaalap.org. More information is available at revistaenbombaalap.org/index.php/bomba/about.
President – Alileny Pérez Alemán, PCC
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