The President's Column

Dear Colleagues:

In a little over a decade, the ISTM has grown from a small group of medical professionals with a common interest in travel-related health issues to a prodigious, professional organization with members in all parts of the globe. We have witnessed numerous successes: phenomenal growth; recognition of our Journal of Travel Medicine for scientific excellence in an unusually short span of time; an active website with more than 100,000 unique visitors per year and 50,000 visitors to our travel clinic directory; the first Certificate of Knowledge in Travel Medicine (the result of incredible hard work by a group of our members) and Geo Sentinel, the emerging infectious disease network, with a patient database now of 40,000, to mention just a few.

Now the time is right to take stock of our successes and look at ways the ISTM can continue to grow and develop. Therefore I am organizing a major strategic planning initiative for December 2004 to lead ISTM into an exciting new era. Invited to attend this meeting will be current and prior ISTM leadership and other representatives of the membership, as well as some non-ISTM members. Very important in this initiative is to receive maximum input from you prior to this meeting. Comments and ideas for future ISTM projects and direction should be forwarded to me at istm@istm.org.

Along with the growth and the interest in the practice of travel medicine has been a commensurate growth in the stature of the ISTM and the esteem with which the medical community and the traveling public now views our Society. This is the time to capitalize on our position and make an impact in new areas where we have expertise. In the area of public policy, for example, the ISTM has been largely silent. It is time for ISTM leaders and members to serve on advisory boards of other professional organizations and to advocate in areas of concern to our specialty and to travelers’ health. Granted, public policy is often specific to a particular country or region, but I would like to explore the development of resources to allow ISTM constituencies access to political advocacy on issues of concern to the traveling public in their locales. Along with this would be an exploration of increasing travel medicine research funding from various competitive governmental granting agencies.

One of our strengths has been our great diversity, not only in the types of medical training and background our members have, but also in their wide geographic distribution. Because of this distribution the ISTM has been somewhat reluctant to serve as a true expert body. Whereas other professional organizations provide position papers or practice guidelines, the ISTM, owing to perceived national differences on some of the issues has been reluctant to move in this direction. Now is the time for ISTM to take more of a leadership role in advancing the science of travel medicine and ensuring best practices for our field. The Certificate of Knowledge Examination was our first step in overcoming this perceived problem of national differences. With this as a model the ISTM can venture forward with greater assurance.

Another important goal of mine is to augment our existing Executive Board and Committee structure with the creation of task forces as needed to address specific issues in a flexible and nimble fashion. This will also provide an opportunity for members who are not part of the Executive Board or Committee structure to play a more active role in issues of concern to them.

I have been particularly gratified to see within the last year ISTM membership has reached a new peak.

Current and past membership figures are as follows:

1991 287
1992 487
1993 616
1994 853
1995 1215
1996 1206
1997 1207
1998 1529
1999 1734
2000 1597
2001 1716
2002 1736
2003 1815
2004 1859

My goal is to break through the 2000 member barrier by the end of my term and build our membership base beyond this. Much of the increase in membership has come through the tireless efforts of Brenda Bagwell, our Administrative Assistant who acts as the ISTM emissary at the many conferences at which we exhibit. Brenda continues to be the heart and soul of the ISTM, the voice at the other end of the phone or e-mail, the true first responder, whatever the request. Brenda has been invaluable to me in my tenure as President and I hope that no matter how large or successful the ISTM becomes Brenda will continue to be a part of it.

One more word about our diversity. This is one of our strengths, but also represents our greatest challenge. It is sometimes difficult for the ISTM to address the needs of all members at all times. As President, I recognize the necessity to find things we all have in common. One thing we all have in common is our interest in advancing the science of travel medicine and providing the best possible care and information for our patients. With this as our guiding mission we can only succeed.

With all best wishes.

Brad Connor