Declan Costello, MA, MBBS, FRCS(ORL-HNS),
Consultant Ear,
Nose and Throat Surgeon,
Wexham Park Hospital,
Slough, Berkshire, UK.
E: d.costello@nhs.net
Tw: @Voicedoctor_uk
Welcome to January/February 2024 – I hope you have had a restful Christmas break and that you are raring to go for the new year. There is much to look forward to in the coming 12 months, including a host of conferences and meetings. Top of the list of gatherings is the CEORL-HNS meeting in Dublin in June. My good friend, Michael Kuo, is the scientific chair for the congress and, in this edition of the magazine, he has brought together a clutch of articles showcasing the main events and speakers. Click here for an introduction to the articles.
On the subject of Europe-wide projects, I have been very privileged to be an examiner for the EBEORL-HNS exam for the last decade and, at our recent meeting in Vienna, I was given a ‘long service’ award. Cem Meco and Ricard Simo presented me with a very elegant trophy. The exam will be well known to many readers and is now well established as a benchmark for knowledge for senior trainees. It is taken by many ENT doctors from around the world – since its inception in 2008, over 1000 candidates from all the nations of Europe, as well as countries as diverse as Iraq, UAE, Saudi, Qatar, India, Pakistan, Brunei, Malaysia (and many others) have taken the exam. More information can be found on the exam’s website: www.ebeorl-hns.org
Declan collecting his ‘long service’ award in Vienna from Ricard Simo (left) and Cem Meco (right).
In other news, our friend Rahul Kanegaonkar (Kenny to his friends) has told us about an initiative in Kent that seeks to engage young people who have an interest in medical careers. Funded by Canterbury Christ Church University, the project engages the interest of children who might not otherwise have considered careers in medicine. We are also proud to highlight a big birthday for ENT Masterclass®, which celebrates 20 years of education. Now a worldwide touring enterprise, the irrepressible Shahed Quraishi has achieved amazing things with this series of high-level free ENT teaching. For March/April 2024 we will feature an interview with Shahed.
In our Audiology Features, we look at the ‘business’ of this clinical specialty: audiology (as with many areas of medicine) has developed a very sharp sense of business acumen in recent decades, and our Audiology Guest Editor, Brian Fligor, explores this area – Click here to read his introduction.
As always, we also have features in Global Health (Cochlear Implants in Côte d’Ivoire), Trainee Matters, Tech Reviews and, for Jan/Feb, a Spotlight on Innovation article on treatments for hyposalivation. In our Trainee Matters section, we announce a change of personnel – many thanks to Rujuta Roplekar Bance for doing such a fantastic job, and a warm welcome to Leanne Hamilton.
Finally, if you are attending EROC 2024 in Dubai in January, do come and seek us out on our stand – Rhian and Rosaleen will be there to fly the flag for the magazine.
CLICK BELOW FOR THE ARTICLES
