Dear
Friends,
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you into the New Year with
the hope that 2008 will bring peace, prosperity and happiness in
all our lives. The new office bearers of ISHTM have now assumed
charge and we look optimistically at the year ahead.
.
The future of all science lies in technological development and
in this regard, there is a need to embrace the explosion of new
diagnostic testing and research technology now available to haematologists.
These expensive, complicated tests, however, need expertise to establish
and standardize, and experience to interpret. There is also a danger
of underestimating the conventional techniques and methodologies
that have served us so well over the past decades. In this regard,
I reemphasize that morphology forms the basis of much of haematology
all over the world and enthusiasm for all thats new should always
be tempered with the wisdom and sagacity acquired through the ages.
Also,
as is well established for the laboratories, but is increasingly
evident in the clinics as well, there is a pressing need for quality
assessment and quality control. Much needs to be done for the standardization
and uniformization of procedures, protocols and methodologies in
the management of patients. In this regard, the formulation of standardized
Indian guidelines and consensus statements, the establishment of
national registries for rare diseases and stem cells, the requirement
for regular meetings and interactions to achieve a uniform standard
of patient care and robust referral patterns needs to be established.
Haematology
education has seen a recent spurt with more and more institutions
and boards offering post-doctoral (and a few post-graduate) studies
in the subject. While this is welcome and indeed vital for training
the new crop of professionals, one cannot ignore the responsibility
that imparting medical education entails for the trainer towards
future patients
Our
society has been active but there is much scope for improvement..
There is a need to step up the academic tempo of the society further,
starting with the annual conferences. I invite the state chapters
to take the lead in this regard. Concerted efforts from all involved
are necessary to elevate the society to greater heights.
I
look forward to meeting you all in Puducherry, for the 49th Annual
conference of the ISHTM. Dr. T K Dutta, the Organizing Secretary
is doinga commendable job in putting together an academic feast
for all of us. I am sure that all delegates will benefit immensely
from this scientific extravaganza. I wish this conference a grand
success. I am certain that the coming year will see the Society
flourish.
With
best wishes.
Tejinder
Singh
President ISHTM 2007-2008
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