Annual General Meeting
May 21st 2005 - NYU-Bellevue

AAEMI held its 4th Annual General Body Meeting at Bellevue Hospital on May 21, 2005, and was attended with much spirit and enthusiasm. Dr. Sam Kini, president of AAEMI, welcomed attendees and Mr. Dean Wilkerson, the executive director of ACEP delivered a keynote address on the role of the American College of Emergency Physicians(ACEP) and the promotion of Emergency medicine globally. Dr George Molzen and Dr Antoine Kazzi also attended this meeting.

The 2nd Annual New York Symposium on International Emergency Medicine, held in New York City on May 20th , was a huge success with more than 300 people attending. The day opened with a welcome from Dr. Kumar Alagappan and Dr Aaron Hexdall. This conference continued with many inspiring speakers and engaging workshops.

The Keynote Speaker, Dr. Michael Van Rooyen, who discussed the role of emergency Public health in modern political conflicts. Dr. Tamara Thomas described the need for those involved in International EM projects to develop an understanding of existing efforts being carried out in the country of their project. She advised collaboration and development regional alliances for success. Dr. Arjun Rajagopalan presented the Sundaram Medical Foundation in Chennai, where he has pioneered the development of a western-style Emergency Department. Dr. Indrani Sheridan recognized that International EM can be found as close as your own Emergency department today with patients presenting from so many cultural backgrounds Dr. Michael Eddleston presented the tragic situation of pesticide self-poisoning in the rural Asia Pacific region.

Membership Drive

Efforts to increase membership are being coordinated. These include having a presence at national and international meetings such as ACEP, AAPI, and INTEM and collaborating with other organizations to establish a link on their websites. Suggestions have been made to bring awareness of AAEMI to residency programs across the country. Dr. Sachit Balsari, and Dr Anu Ramaswamy have been putting together a welcome packet to send to new members. Efforts are being made to update current members. Anyone interested in helping increase AAEMI awareness and membership should contact Anita Bhavnani, asbhavnani@hotmail.com.

Projects

Dr. Kiran Pandit is creating an online database of programs and projects related to the field of Emergency Medicine that are taking place in India. This database will provide information on clinical electives abroad for medical students and residents, educational/training programs, or any other program that may improve delivery of emergent healthcare or aid development of Emergency Medicine in India. In addition to informing those interested participating projects in India, this collaboration will decrease duplication of efforts. Anyone interested in this database should contact Kiran Pandit, kbp7001@nyp.org.

One ongoing project in India is the Indian Institute of Emergency Medical Services (IIEMS). IEMS is a nonprofit charitable trust, engaged in the development of world class Emergency and Trauma Care in India. It brings healthcare providers from USA and India together to provide education & training & to provide resources for EMS development. Currently Dr. Abraham is actively involved in setting up an EMS system in Kerala. More information can be found at www.iiems.org. Dr. Antoinette Eng and Dr. Laura Rau are putting together a guide for medical students traveling to India. This guide is full of information and suggestions from academic concerns to local customs. Anyone interested in the guide should contact Antoinette Eng, tonieng@yahoo.com or Laura Rau, laurarau@cox.net.

Announcements

Elections for members of the board of AAEMI will take place September 1, 2005.
The 3rd Mediterranean Emergency Medicine Congress will be held in Nice Acropolis, France on September 3–5, 2005. AAEMI is an official sponsoring society to the Emergency Medicine Congress; members are eligible for reduced registration. One of the highlights of the congress will be the Clinical Pathologic Case (CPC) competition. Contestants are still being sought. Anyone interested in competing should contact Dr. John Southall at southj@mmc.org. More information about the congress can be found at the official MEMC site, www.emcongess.org

Dean Wilkerson (ACEP Executive Directo), Dr Asif Ali (Organizing Secretary for INTEM 2006), Dr Indrani Sheridan(Founder and Board Member AAEMI), Dr Hugo Peralta (President Argentina EM Society), Dr Kumar Alagappan (Founder and Board Member AAEMI) and Dr George Molzen, (Past President ACEP).