IFOS World Congress Planning
At the Academy’s annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, September 21-24, 2015, Prof. Bernard Fraysse, chair, IFOS World Congress, Paris, France, 2017 and Gregory Randolph, MD, IFOS Executive Committee member, organized a Francophone Symposium, September 20 in Orlando, Florida to bring together American Academy members and French-speaking ENTs to plan a collaborative program at the IFOS World Congress.
Global Hearing Advocacy
Also in Orlando, James E. Saunders, MD, Coordinator for International Affairs, convened a Global Hearing Advocacy meeting September 21 with representatives from countries currently on the WHO Executive Council. Attendees from these key countries included John Curotta, MD (Australia); Soha Ghossaini, MD (USA); Prof. Abdulrahman Hagr (Saudi Arabia); Amarilis Melendez, MD (Panama); Prof. Dato Lokman Saim, MD; Dr. Saunders (USA). The goal was a letter writing campaign to urge WHO to fund the Prevention of Deafness Program. http://www.who.int/pbd/deafness/en/
IFOS Hearing for All initiative
Dr. Saunders and Jackie Clark, PhD, co-chairs of the Coalition for Global Hearing Health, http://coalitionforglobalhearinghealth.org/ organized its fourth successful annual meeting, at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford University, UK. https://www.facebook.com/events/455273511242429/ WHO program director for the Prevention of Deafness, Professor Shelly Chadha, reported on the program’s progress to more than 100 representatives from the specialty and hearing related professions.
International Visiting Scholars
Thanks to the efforts of Nikhil J. Bhatt, MD, Foundation Board Coordinator for Development and chair, International Otolaryngology Committee, and the generosity of individual donors, the AAO-HNSF offers an average of eight International Visiting Scholars each year. http://www.entnet.org/content/international-outreach These scholars, mostly from the least developed countries, attend the AAO-HNSF annual meeting and take part in short-term observerships. In 2014, an outstanding young woman otolaryngologist from Cuba, Dr. Ariane Borroto Gonzalez received the Nancy L. Snyderman International Visiting Scholarship for an international woman ENT. http://www.entnet.org/sites/default/files/IVS-Snyderman-Guidelines.pdf Dr. Ta Ja Terry Liu received the Antonio de la Cruz International Visiting Scholarship. http://www.entnet.org/sites/default/files/IVS-De-La-Cruz-Application.pdf
Five International Travel Grants of $1,000 each go to non-US scholars studying in US and Canadian otolaryngology programs to attend the AAO-HNSF annual meeting. http://www.entnet.org/sites/default/files/ITG-Info.pdf
World Voice Day
The AAO-HNS will again participate in World Voice Day, April 16, 2015 and is preparing patient education materials to share with national societies around the world. http://aaobulletin-365.ascendeventmedia.com/article/prepare-for-world-voice-day/
Mexican Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (MOHNSS) http://www.smorlccc.org/
MOHSS reports highlights of the progress made in Mexico by the otolaryngological community:
- The national meeting of program directors along with the universities to improve and unify standards of ENT training.
- The MOHNSS program of meetings with four regional associations of ENT surgeons focusing on updates in otolaryngology with the participation of board members of the society.
- The national meeting of the MOHNSS will take place in Veracruz, Mexico, April 30-May 5, 2015. http://www.smorlcongreso.org.mx/
- The annual MOHNSS international course will take place in Mexico City, February 12-14, 2015.
- Hector de la Garza Hesles, MD, has been elected as a multi-year representative for international affairs to improve relations with other societies such as IFOS and the Panamerican Association.
Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
- A most successful annual meeting was held in Ottawa, Ontario, on May 11-13, 2014. President,Dr. Patrick Gullane and Scientific Program Chair, Dr. Frederick Kozak put together a wonderful scientific and social program. Guest speakers included Prof. Martin Birchall (UK), Dr. Daniel Alam (USA) and Dr. Joseph Kerschner (USA). One of the highlights of the program was the sessions entitled “Celebrating Our Own” which showcased outstanding Canadian talent. Dr.Peter Adamson from Toronto, ON was presented with the CSOHNS Lifetime Achievement Award.
- The next Annual Meeting will be held in Winnipeg on June 6 – 9, 2015 at the RBC ConventionCentre and Delta Hotel. The theme will be “Taking Care of Your Patients and Yourself: Work /Life Balance”. Guest speakers will include Dr. Paul Farnan, an occupational medicine specialist from British Columbia, Dr. Jonathan Sykes from the University of California, Davis and Dr. Amin Kassam, a pioneer in expanded endonasal approach to skull base tumors, from the University of Wisconsin. Call for Papers deadline is November 14, 2014. Visit the Society’s website at www.entcanada.org for more details and link to the new online abstract submission application.
- The Journal of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery has moved to an open-access publishing platform via BioMed Central. Visit the Journal’s website at http://www.journalotohns.com/ to reada ll the latest articles.
- The COHNS Fund, in conjunction with the Society is pleased to have awarded two Canadian Fellowship Scholarships for 2014/15. Dr. Eric Arruda from the University of Manitoba will be doinga head and neck reconstructive surgery fellowship under the supervision of Dr. Jeremy Freemanat the University of Toronto. Dr. Tamara Mijovic from McGill University will be pursing further study in otology/neurotology with Drs. Brian Westerberg, Jane Lea and Desmond Nunez at theUniversity of British Columbia.
Caribbean Association of Otolaryngologists (CAO,)
CAO president, Barbara Grandison, MD, announced the 2015 Caribbean Association annual conference, Nassau, Bahamas March 18-22, 2015. The conference includes a joint meeting with AAO-HNSF. To learn more: grandi@cwjamaica.com or Columbus.medical.centre@gmail.com Respectfully submitted, David W. Kennedy, MD, FACS, FRCSI Regional Secretary for North America and the Caribbean
