President’s Update August 2016
Our 10 Year Anniversary
I am pleased to announce that the FSEM (UK) Patron HRH The Princess Royal will be attending our Diploma Ceremony day on the 5th October 2016 to mark the Faculty’s 10 Year Anniversary. The Faculty has grown significantly since The Princess Royal attended our inaugural ceremony in 2006 and we now have over 560 members with 109 SEM specialists on the GMC register.
Preparations for the FSEM and BASEM joint conference, From Plinth to Pitch, 13th and 14th October, are now well underway. We have a great line up of speakers this year with dedicated sessions by both organisations, UKADIS, Society of Sports Therapists, John Moore’s University Liverpool and USEMS.
The Faculty session titled Osteoarthritis, FAI and Respiratory Dysfunction: Putting the latest research into clinical practice, will be chaired by Fellow of the Faculty and newly elected Council Member Dr Julia Newton.
The FSEM (UK) AGM will be held at the conference on the 13 October at 17.30 and all Fellows and Members are welcome, whether you are attending the main conference or not.
At the Faculty Council meeting on the 29 June the appointment of a new Honorary Secretary was approved and I am pleased to announce that Dr Alastair Nicol will now take up the position on our Executive Council. On behalf of the Executive and Faculty I would like to thank Dr Simon Kemp for his hard work as Honorary Secretary and putting in place systems to allow Council to focus more effectively on our key objectives.
The dangers of children consuming sports drinks
Our recent media campaign on the dangers of regular consumption of sports drinks by adolescents was a great success, with coverage in the Daily Mail, BBC Wales, Boots online and in NHS Choices. This was a collaboration with Cardiff University Dental School and the British Dental Journal supported by the British Dental Association, based on a research survey by the Dental School and thanks to our representative on Council from the Faculty of Dental Surgery Lyndon Meehan.
The sports drinks research message is a great example of what can be done to help connect SEM with public health and we would welcome further involvement from our members and stakeholders in helping to publish research papers and evidence surrounding the benefits of physical activity, MSK and Exercise Medicine and their application to public health.
Physical Activity and Lifestyle Clinical Priority
On a similar note, it was great to see the Physical Activity and Lifestyle Clinical Priority announced by the RCGP at the end of June following our work with them. The three year project has now appointed two clinical champions to help deliver key learning on physical activity to GPs. The FSEM, alongside Oxford University, is an official delivery partner for the clinical priority.
Dr Paul D Jackson, President of the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK
