 A joint meeting of the British and Irish Orthopaedic Associations took place at the Convention Centre, Dublin, from 13 to 16 September
The nature of this meeting has changed over the years from one in which free papers were the principal component and were complemented by plenary lectures. Currently, each of the 20 specialist societies runs separate sessions which include free papers and invited lectures. This year, the overarching theme of the meeting was ‘training, education and revalidation’.
The sessions were therefore organised into those that were instructional, which were directed towards the younger delegates, and those that were intended to aid revalidation, for those who needed it. These were supplemented by the free papers and plenary lectures.
The consensus was that the venue was spectacular and afforded excellent facilities both for the participants and for the exhibitors. Indeed, the exhibition by industry was sufficiently oversubscribed that is exceeded the designated floor space available and spilled out into the main foyer.
The Tuesday afternoon instructional sessions were extremely popular and addressed aspects of medicolegal practice, coaching assessment skills and the surgery of disasters and the orthopaedic response to them.
The Presidential Guest Lecture from John Callaghan, Immediate Past President of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Robert Jones Lecture by Martyn Porter, President-elect of BOA and the Charnley Lecture from Graham Gie all emphasised the efficacy of cemented total hip replacement over uncemented prostheses in the over-65 age group.
Other sessions of particular topical relevance included Colin Howie’s Walter Mercer Lecture ‘PROMs: How was it for you?’; "NICE – looking to the future", chaired by Roger Atkins; "Media – friend or foe?" chaired by Simon Scott and "Integrating the National Hip Registry into clinical practice", led by Martyn Porter.
The social side was not neglected. In addition to a full accompanying persons programme, the Associations dinner was held at the Guinness Storehouse. The spectacular Gravity Bar afforded a fabulous view over Dublin, particularly when interrupted by a pint of the black stuff. A noisy dinner was followed by an Irish band and dancers whose performances were much enjoyed.
A total of 1100 delegates attended the meeting, making it one of the most successful in the history of BOA. The feedback we have received so far suggests that the new format was widely appreciated. The next annual meeting will be held in Manchester from 11-14 September 2012. All Fellows, members and exhibitors will be most welcome.
Alistair Ross, Editor, BON
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