Over 100 participants from throughout the world attended the ninth annual scientific symposium of the Caribbean Association for Rheumatology (CAR).
The conference featured internationally acclaimed speakers, national research presentations, an ultrasound workshop, and a symposium which also saw the election of a new executive to lead the association.
Among the highlights of the event was a free public lecture by renowned rheumatologist, Dr. Carter Thorne, who has pioneered a cost-effective model of rheumatic care in Ontario, Canada.
The public lecture attracted over 100 participants with 79 delegates attending the rest of the meeting. Forty-one of the participants came from overseas.
The conference also featured a musculoskeletal ultrasound course geared towards enhancing practitioners’ diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities and allowing state of the art management of patients in the Caribbean. This course was facilitated by experts from the Scottish Rheumatology ultrasound group (SRUG), which collaborated with CAR for the second consecutive year.
International icon, Professor Eon Nigel Harris delivered his inaugural lecture. Professor Harris along with colleagues at St. Thomas Hospital, London, is responsible for the description and test for a condition called Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome in 1984. He was awarded Fellow of the Caribbean Association for Rheumatology in 2017 for his contribution to rheumatology.
The symposium also featured regional research and presentations on how to approach clinical registries and research to benefit Caribbean people, a presentation on telemedicine and a workshop on how to provide care in the many Caribbean territories with no rheumatologist.
Local health professionals got an opportunity to learn about the most common and important rheumatic diseases with emphasis on early diagnosis and a patient-centred team approach to achieve the best outcome for our people.
CAR Founding President, Dr. Amanda King reported that attendees expressed extreme satisfaction with the experience. She commented that the presentations were of the highest quality, the organization seamless and the hospitality of the Saint Lucian people tremendous.
Following the Conference, CAR held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and elected the following directors:
President- Dr. Cindy Flower (Barbados)
Vice President- Dr. Sharon Dowell (Washington DC)
Treasurer- Dr. Nicole Johnson (Calgary)
Secretary-Dr. Aurore FifiMah (Calgary)
Professor Eon Nigel Harris (St. Lucia)
Dr. Amanda King (St. Lucia)
Dr.Nagy Bakir (Curacao)
CAR’s 10th scientific meeting will be held in Curacao in May 2019.
The just concluded Saint Lucia conference was held at Coco Resorts from Thursday May 3 – 5.