Dan Riew

 

Chairperson

AOSpine
International

First of all, I am delighted to announce that the AOSpine newsletter has been awarded "Best Association Newsletter" at the European Association Awards held in Brussels, Belgium on 24th of February, 2017. I would like to congratulate the Community Development Team for their great achievement.

 

With this being the first AOSpine Newsletter issue of 2017, allow me to take this opportunity to share one of the educational highlights of last year, which took place at the Davos Courses in December: AOSpine introduced the Advanced Level Simulated Bioskills Course, chaired by Roger Härtl, which set new standards in practical learning, and enabled participants to experience the newest technical innovations in practice. In this newsletter, we share with you what the future of surgical simulation holds, according to the faculty of this course, and what participants had to say about this new educational format.

 

In this issue, we also share the extraordinary story of Peter Pal Varga, who has revolutionized spine care in Hungary, and is a great inspiration to the global spine community.

 

The preparations for the Global Spine Congress 2017 (GSC) are in full swing. The latest program updates can be found in the highlights section of this newsletter. Make sure you join us in Milan in May, and don't forget to attend the AOSpine Members Assembly on May 4th, and the election of the AOSpine Member Representative on May 5th, 2017!

For our Past Fellows, the GSC in Milan is the place to be this year, as we are forming an AOSpine Past Fellows Alumni group. At the event, dedicated and exclusive sessions, as well as a reception, will be held for this group of valued members.

 

In this newsletter, you also find information about AOSpine's Mentorship Program, which launched in August 2016 in New York City, USA.

 

I would also like to share with you an update on the Guideline Project for the Management of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy and Acute Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury, which will be published in special focus issue of the Global Spine Journal in spring 2017. Under the lead of Michael Fehlings, these guidelines represent collaboration between AOSpine North America, AOSpine SCI Knowledge Forum, and the Cervical Spine Research Society.

 

I am also delighted to report that the Global Spine Journal has been accepted into SCOPUS. Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature: scientific journals, books and conference proceedings.

 

Last but not least, this newsletter edition highlights regional membership developments and activities in both the Middle East and Europe.

 

I hope you enjoy this issue of the AOSpine Newsletter. I look forward to sharing more news with you again soon.

 

With best wishes,

 

Dan Riew

Chairperson,

AOSpine International

 

Surgical simulation

Peter Pal
Varga

Global Spine Journal

Europe & Middle East