This is the time of year to remind you of our Chapter Meeting in June. We are going to hold the meeting remotely for the first time. The all-virtual meetings have some disadvantages in some aspect but at the same time there are advantages as well – even busy doctors can participate in the meetings from their offices without travelling so far. The planning team of the Scientific Program Committee led by Dr. Sugihiro Hamaguchi has put together a great agenda. I am excited to welcome our members to the meeting.
The ACP annual meeting in the USA, Internal Medicine Meeting 2021 (IMM2021), took place the other day in the virtual style and it went successfully. Although there were some challenges for us because of time difference between USA and Japan, it was a wonderful meeting. I personally enjoyed “Thieves’ Market” by Dr. David Scrase. Cases were presented in fun and interactive session. This event will be introduced to Japan for the first time in the next Japan Chapter meeting in June. I hope all of you will enjoy!
Congratulations new fellows and masters! To follow are the pictures from the IMM2021. It’s a pity that we couldn’t do marching in the venue but it was a proud moment.
The Physicians’ Well-being Team of our Chapter conducted a questionnaire survey in March and reported that 69 (30.9%) among 223 respondents had burnt out as of the survey. The survey also found that 79 (35.4%) and 78 (35.0%) reported insomniac symptoms and anxiety, respectively, whilst 33 (14.8%) were depressed. Approximately 40% of the respondents considered changing their job responsibilities in the COVID-19 pandemic. I hope all the stress will be dispersed with weathering the coronavirus crisis.
It has been two years since I became a Governor and now it’s time to select the next Governor (Governor-Elect). I know that both of the two candidates are excellent persons and each deserves to be a governor. I hope all the members will join in the fair voting.
Stay well and enjoy your spring and summer!
Kenji Maeda