Holiday Message from IAMSE

Dear IAMSE Members:

2009 will not be remembered as a great year for the economy, but I am very proud of how IAMSE continued to move forward, offering its members and the medical education community a wealth of resources and new experiences. Our first European meeting in Leiden was memorable, providing both a chance for our members to travel and network outside North America and an demonstration of the mission implicit in the first letter of IAMSE. Its financial success came from the passion and loyalty of many members traveling without expected funding, and from exceptional organizing and European outreach from Peter de Jong and his committee. I feel that can serve as a model for future meetings outside North America, including 2012 in Izmir. Our Webcast Audio Seminars continue to reach new audiences, and the recent series set attendance records. And the Board has opened a search for a compensated editor for a renamed IAMSE journal: Medical Science Educator: The Journal of the International Association of Medical Science Educators. We will enjoy hearing ideas from the membership as to how to best continue the fine scholarship of our sponsored journal in the face of increasing competition in the education scholarship arena. Finally, the members approved a reworking of our committee structure that should reduce silos and promote collaboration. These innovations in the face of economic downturn speak well for our organization and the creativity of its members.

Foremost, I wish to thank you, one of our committed and talented IAMSE members. Collectively you further the aims and excellence of our organization and make us a leader in faculty development for the health sciences. In an era of efficiency, financial bottom lines, and reduced education hours, IAMSE remains the scientific conscience of our professions, working to ensure that professionals know the how and why of their work, not just the what (and the cost). I wish all of you a wonderful holiday season and look forward to a terrific year for our organization in 2010.


Frazier Stevenson, M.D.
President, IAMSE