2021-2022 Gregory Bain - Presidential address
I feel very humbled and honoured to become the next President of IWAS.
EWAS / IWAS has had a long and proud history. EWAS has always been a strong European organization, that was very successful at teaching wrist arthroscopy, through-out Europe, and then spreading to other parts of the globe. Over many years I have observed the amazing education sessions and workshops conducted by EWAS. As an Australian surgeon, living a world away, I tried to remain actively involved with EWAS and its educational program. I was most fortunate to be awarded the EWAS Terry Whipple prize in 2010.
Two years ago, I was in Berlin at the EWAS General Assembly, and witnessed the Transformation of EWAS to IWAS. This was a celebrated occasion; with Terry Whipple and Christophe Mathoulin both being named Lifetime Honorary Presidents. Eva- Marie Baur became the inaugural President.
A few months later I was invited to be on the IWAS executive. I was just starting to get an understanding of the inner workings of IWAS, then the whole world changed, more than in any time in history! Covid decimated the entire academic program, all cadaveric workshops, all over the world! I saw first-hand the devastation of the executive as they grappled with the fact that the entire program was cancelled.
I was extremely impressed as to how the executive responded, in the face of adversity. Eva- Marie Baur was charged with developing an online webinar program. Under her leadership, IWAS conducted the first webinar a few months later. There are now regular webinars, on many interesting topics. The membership can download any of these webinars from the website. This is a wonderful resource that will continue to grow.
IWAS has taken these concepts further, as it is now a truly international organisation. It represents the interests and education of all surgeons with an interest in wrist arthroscopy, all over the world. As such, IWAS has reached out to build a wider international collaboration. Examples of this include:
Combined IWAS / APWA Webinar- April 2021.
Combined ASSH / IWAS Symposium – 4-hour pre-course session at ASSH September 2021.
Combined IFSSH / IWAS – London 2022
IWAS will continue to be actively involved in international education into wrist arthroscopy and disorders of the wrist.
I have recently reviewed the history of wrist arthroscopy, and clearly EWAS /IWAS has had a significant part to play. I’m very pleased that one of the upcoming webinars will be on the history of Wrist Arthroscopy, and include presentations from Terry Whipple, Gary Poehling and Christophe Mathoulin. I think this will be something extremely special.
There has been such rapid change over the last 18 months, but IWAS needs to continue to evolve. There has been rapid advancement in the on-line environment, and IWAS must keep pace. The executive is aiming to modernise the website and make it a hub for information and videos on the wrist and wrist arthroscopy. To do this well, we do need support and direction from our younger members to ensure that we deliver a functional new generation website. The Social Network Committee has been charged with providing this feedback. But if there are any other members who wish to be involved in this area, please contact Max or myself.
I wish to thank the executive and the membership for this great honour to become the next President of IWAS.
|
Gregory I Bain IWAS President 2021 -2022 Professor of Upper Limb Surgery, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia |
 |
