Annual General Meeting, David Todd Oration and Annual Dinner

This year’s AGM has been scheduled for 13 December 2002, the Best Original Research by Trainees Awards, Fellowship Conferment will be held at the same evening.  Prof. Bernard Langer, President of College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada, has kindly agreed to deliver a talk for the David Todd Oration.  The programme that evening will be ended with an annual dinner.  Details will be announced later. 

IACAP Travelling Fellowship

The International Association of College and Academy Presidents (IACAP) has finalized details for the IACAP Travelling Fellowship at its meeting in Adelaide in May.  Applications are now invited for the first IACAP Travelling Fellowship.  The purpose of this annual fellowship is to provide an opportunity for a consultant physician to spend a minimum of one month in the developing world, at the invitation of a particular country or region, for the purpose of advancing medical practice in that region through lecturing and teaching.  One award will be made each year.  Applications will be considered from those physicians of consultant level in current practice, which may be part-time, or from recently retired consultants.  The fellowship will support travel and living costs for at least one month’s stay in the host country.  Applications should include a brief curriculum vitae, objectives of the proposed visit and topics to be covered, proof of invitation/agreement of the host country, and travel and accommodation arrangements, with an indication of funding required.  A requirement for the appointment of the Fellow will be agreement to produce an evaluation report of the visit within 3 months of return.

The closing date for application is 1 December 2002.  Applications should be submitted to: The Chief Executive, Royal College of Physicians 11 St Andrews Place, Regent’s Part, London NW1 4LE  Tel: 44(0)20 7935 1174 ext 260 Fax: 44(0) 20 7224 2032; email: p.mastertonsmith@rcplondon.ac.uk

First Intercollegiate Scientific Meeting

The Academy’s 1st Intercollegiate Scientific Meeting will be held on 9 & 10 November at the Academy Building.  This year’s theme is Minimally Invasive Medicine.  Topics cover Acute Renal Failure, Liver Tumour, Bronchogenic Carcinoma, Sinusitis, Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, Aortic Aneurysm, Coronary Artery Disease and Colorectal Tumours.  The topic for Keith Halan Lecture, which will be part of the Scientific Meeting this year, is From Open Surgery to Robotics.  Interested Fellows can contact the Conference Department on 2871 8787  or confdept@hkam.org.hk for registration details. 

The renovation work has been delayed, as the Academy was requested to submit the renovation plans to the Building Department for vetting and approval.  It is expected that works can start in early November.  The Academy has received about 100 responses to the survey sent to all Fellows earlier.  Most respondents (appr. 80%) indicated they would use the facilities after 6:00 pm on weekdays and about 64% indicated they would not need breakfast service.  The House Committee thus recommended to Council that the opening hours of the 3/F facilities be from 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm Monday to Saturday, and from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm on Sundays and public holidays.  This will be reviewed after operation for a period of time.