Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor:

ISTM has grown over the years with high quality development of the biennial meeting, its publications and electronic networking. Its growth and quality have been due in large measure to a dedicated group of experts in the field who founded and have led it up to this time. Necessarily, every organization must develop new leadership if it is to continue its growth and development. But there has been relatively little introduction of new leaders since our inception. In some instances, individuals have served simultaneously as officers and as chairmen of key committees, essentially giving them control of this Society.

I suggest we should broaden our leadership. In most organizations, chairmanship of key committees is a stepping stone to becoming an officer. It is generally inappropriate for individuals to have dual positions of authority, as is the case in ISTM. There are many members capable of filling these roles, and they should be encouraged. There should be term limits for officers and committee chairmen. I would also like to see a limit on the number of sessions that someone could chair at our meetings. Ideally, it would be one, but certainly no more than two. This would apply to our regular sessions, not to satellite symposia that are under the control of their sponsors. New faces should be seen at the podiums.

These goals could be met by voluntary action of our current leaders. If necessary, change could be made by amendments to the bylaws.

Institutional memory is very important and change can progress at a reasonable rate. New leaders would be well advised to seek guidance from their predecessors. Our founders did a very good job in creating this organization. We should have an advisory committee of former officers so we could continue to benefit from their experience and suggestions.

With one business meeting every two years, limited space in our newsletter for editorial comment, and a list serve which forbids chat room discussion of non-clinical issues, it is difficult to get full democratic expression of opinion by our members. I hope these comments and suggestions will be a stimulus for others to respond and to get more involved in Society activities.

Leonard C. Marcus, V.M.D., M.D.
Travelers’ Health and Immunization Services
Newton, MA, USA

Response to letter, from Charlie Ericsson

To the Editor:

In his letter to the editor, Dr Leonard Marcus raises important issues for the leadership of ISTM to consider. His comments relate mostly to the desire to broaden representation and infuse our society with new perspectives and opportunities.

The Executive Board could not agree more. The problem, frankly, has been lack of persons willing to step forward and work. For instance, none of us could realistically expect to be solicited to fill the role of committee chair without prior experience on that committee. Volunteering to work on a committee is simple. Working toward a position of responsibility requires mostly willingness to devote time and energy to the tasks at hand.

For the purpose of fostering fresh ideas and perspectives, term limits for committee chairs already exist. Of course, a major concern of the Executive Board has been losing someone with technical skills who cannot easily be replaced. The role of committee chair is not honorary. Regrettably, the work of some committees is done by the chair alone despite cajoling and pleas for help from committee members, who seem more infatuated by a title than willing to work.

The suggestion to spread around leaders of symposia is a very good suggestion. The critique is well taken. The scientific program committee will need to comment on how many assigned chairs of symposia renege at the 11th hour forcing them to rely on the same willing but familiar faces.

To insure institutional memory, we already have a Long Range Planning Committee chaired by the immediate past president and composed of the new and past presidents. Operationally, the Executive Board already asks that each committee chair attend Executive Board meetings in an effort to improve world wide representation and to coordinate initiatives that often cross defined lines of authority.

The concept of a chat room has been discussed. To my knowledge no final decision has been made. The hope is that a chat room would not be simply a gripe session, but a means to foster constructive criticism and new ideas, which the Executive Board, in my experience, fully welcomes. I would urge that those interested in having a chat room step forward to help with its design and rules for behavior. I suspect someone new will need to be responsible for sifting through the chaff in order to summarize the wheat that might be presented to a committee or the Executive Board for action. While I cannot speak for the Electronics Committee, I suspect their plates are much too full for a chat room to be a success without additional and serious volunteers to help.

In the spirit of more open discussion the Executive Board at its last meeting in NY asked committee chairs to supply regular updates of their work and initiatives for dissemination in NewsShare. I believe this demonstrates a sincere willingness to come to grips with some of the important criticism that Dr. Marcus rightfully raises. Clearly one business meeting every other year is not an adequate forum for member participation.

I suggest two major approaches by our members:

• Contact either the chair of the committee you wish to serve on, or contact our secretariat at istm@istm.org who can direct you to the correct person. I guarantee you the committee chairs will kiss the feet of anyone actually willing to work. However, expect to be kicked off a committee if you are not willing to work.
• Feel free to write to the counselor(s) of your choice or to the president about your concerns, but first consider writing to committee chairs about your ideas so that the committee can consider, debate and bring forward a finished product for consideration by the Executive Board.

Bottom line: please do not be passive or simply critical. No organization is perfect and a volunteer organization is dependent greatly on the willingness of its members to devote time and energy without compensation. Get involved. You will be welcomed with open arms. Sincerely,

Charles D. Ericsson, MD
Past President, ISTM
Chair, Publications Committee

Dear Editor:

There is a need within ISTM for a multi-faceted program that provides a listing and information on diverse types of opportunities in travel medicine. The descriptions should clearly specify targeted participants, as some programs are only appropriate for physicians whereas others are appropriate for nurses as well as physicians. Some examples follow:

1. Formally organized educational courses – for example, the Travel Medicine course in Seattle, regional courses relevant to Travel Medicine, and any ISTM-sponsored courses.
2. Training programs – for example, the Gorgas Course in Peru. List hospitals and clinics where travel medicine practitioners can learn about local diseases.
3. Exchange possibilities – travel clinics around the world where practitioners can visit, exchange ideas and experiences, and send travelers for evaluation while in those areas, arranged individually.
4. Listing of additional organizations that may have opportunities appropriate to Travel Medicine – for example, Health Volunteer Overseas and the Physician Volunteer Fair held by the Massachusetts Medical Society.
5. Listing of grants, funding, and awards applicable to the field of travel medicine.
6. Listing of job opportunities – a separate list from the programs above (in a separate section of the web site or in NewsShare).

The program should be available on the web site, through both NewsShare and a section on Education and Training. The program should also be available through NewsShare in print form.

The program should be updated regularly and continuously.

The listings should be validated with supporting information.

I would be happy to serve on the Committee on Education and Training, and help coordinate this initiative.

Lin H. Chen, M.D. Boston, USA

Editor’s note: Lin has agreed to work closely with Eli Schwartz, Chair, Professional Education and Training Committee. Please see the Calendar in NewsShare and the new listing, Educational Resources, on the ISTM website. These areas will be expanded in the future.