Ever thought about combining some medical education with some leisure? Ever thought about flying the flag for your unit to show the rest of Europe how awesome your department is? Ever thought about helping to raise some money to fund the development of reconstructive surgery in the developing world? May 2015 is your chance to tick three boxes in one!
By serendipity EURAPS and EURAPS Research Council will hold their annual meeting in Edinburgh from 27-30 May 2015 and the annual Edinburgh Marathon Festival is to be held on Sunday 31 May. So in the spirit of collaboration and friendly competition we are looking to combine both events.
The EURAPS main meeting is an excellent academic meeting held on an annual basis around Europe. Presentations are universally of a high standard and frequently delivered by senior trainees and experienced consultants demonstrating what is new and innovative in plastic surgery. There are no parallel sessions so it’s a fantastic way to get an update on new developments across the specialty. The social calendar promises to be fun with a welcome reception and gala dinner.
The EURAPS research council is held on the Wednesday and Thursday mornings. This is an excellent forum for researchers to present their scientific work.
The marathon and marathon relay race will be held on the Sunday morning. Individuals can enter to run the whole 26.2 and we will have a prize for the plastic surgery winner. However, there is also an organised marathon relay race with each of four runners doing just over 10K. We would love if each department in the UK, Ireland and Europe was to enter a team of four. The organisers of the marathon have promised to collate the plastic surgery results. We will have a barbeque in the local host’s garden afterwards to award the prizes for: fastest individual, fastest team, slowest team, oldest team, team with the most x chromosomes, best dressed team and the team which represents its country with greatest aplomb.
We have also teamed up with the new charity BFIRST. BFIRST is seeking to encourage and promote the development of plastic and reconstructive surgery in developing countries. So why not raise some sponsorship money while you are at it to support a good cause? For sure we will have a prize for the biggest fundraisers.
You can submit abstracts, register for EURAPS and find a link to enter the marathon and marathon relay at www.euraps.org.
I look forward to seeing you all in May 2015 for some education, some fitness, some charity and some fun.
Ken Stewart, Local Organiser EURAPS 2015 and Zimmer assisted marathon runner.
