Mission statement
Building on the experience forced upon us by the current pandemic, I want to see the Society move forward to reach out to those areas where we have not been currently active. For financial reasons we felt some years ago that we could no longer support an annual meeting in all corners of the world. By moving to virtual conferences in the last two years, we have developed better IT techniques. Given that even in the poorest regions, such as the Afar in Ethiopia, access to WiFi and the possession of phones capable of receiving it is almost universal among the rising profession groups, we now have the means to really reach out. Many of these countries are only beginning to develop specialist training programmes and I see a great role for the society. The pandemic has also accelerated changes with our relationship with the Pharmaceutical and Devices industry. This is another are where we are going to need to be proactive in the future to maintain financial viability. The 19 years for which I have been a member of the Society have seen a dramatic change from a practitioner / industry centred approach to a patient centred approach. The rise of social media and the increase in litigation has accelerated these changes, not always in a positive direction. I see a role for the society in the dissemination of accurate, evidence-based information to allow patients to make a truly informed choice. Training of the next generation of urogynaecolgists and urologists remains important. I would like to see the society more closely involved in encouraging exchange programmes & local meetings to enable trainees to learn from each other. Despite the increase of remote learning, face to face interaction remains a powerful and necessary adjunct to rounded development.
Skills, abilities and experience
I have been an active member of ICS for 19 years. For 7 years, I was a member of the Urodynamics Committee developing the introductory module on the philosophy and aims of urodynamics and the module on bladder diaries. Throughout this period, I worked closely with other members of the society from around the world and gained immensely from this experience. I am now a member of the Developing World Committee, currently developing teaching material for use in very low resource countries. For 10 years I have worked in an extremely low resource setting. This experience together with my formal teaching qualifications, enables me to appreciate the educational needs of colleagues in the developing world. am an FRCOG, currently working in Scotland. I am experienced Trustee: I set up the Barbara May Foundation UK, a registered charity which donates equipment to the maternity hospital in the Afar Region. I am a Foundation Trustee and now Chair of Trustees for Newark Community First Aid, a registered charity which was set up in 2013 to provide first aid cover on a donations only basis to local events. I am involved in fund raising activities.
Elections 2022