Reflections on Friedrichshafen

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I am back at home after a successful EC meeting and the General Assembly in Friedrichshafen, but just for a couple of weeks before departing to Jerusalem for ICASM. Many thanks to our German, Swiss and Austrian hosts for making us so welcome at the Drei-Laender Tagung conference. We covered a lot of work in the EC meeting on Saturday morning, in particular discussing the project to look at aeromedical risk assessment of mental health and psycho-social factors, with an emphasis on a preventive and a partnership approach. This very exciting work is likely to be at the top of our agenda for the next few years.

We will discuss it in detail, and produce a project plan, at our next EC meeting in Malta on 1st and 2nd of February next year.

We are grateful to Alfred Bonnici for his help with making the arrangements for the meeting. Mental health, psych-social factors and prevention will be the theme of ECAM4, in Bucharest on 5-7th September 2014. ‘MIND THE GAP’. We are aiming to have a new format for this meeting, with a mix of presentations, papers and expert discussion groups, so that we can harness the experience and expertise on these topics. Put the date in you diary now!

At the AsMA meeting in San Diego in May next year we will have an ESAM panel as part of the main meeting, rather than a separate lunchtime session. This will be titled ‘Things that keep us awake in Europe’ and will cover issues of fatigue as well as other controversies. And finally, thank you for voting me as you President-elect to serve a second term until 2016, I am touched by your on-going support. The job would not be possible without the support, help and encouragement of the many people who are involved with the Society, who willingly contribute their time and effort, often despite having a busy ‘day-job’. It brings to mind a saying in English. “If you want a job doing well, ask a busy person.”