MAMCOAANA had a very successful 27th Annual Convention in Philadelphia in July 2011. Kudos for the success to the team led very successfully by Vikas and Ritu Khurana. The high point of the convention was the banquet with dancing. Suffice it to say that a good time was had by all. Three new MAMCOAANA families who came for the first time to the reunion, returned home vowing not to miss another meeting MAMCOAANA meeting. That in itself speaks volumes for the success of not just the meeting but the format of the reunion. MAMCOAANA 2011 also welcomed new participants from 2004-2007 batch and I hope that they too will find time in their busy training schedules to attend future meetings of MAMCOAANA.
I have long maintained that the alumni reunion is to connect with other people who share your clinical DNA and the survival and success of MAMCOAANA conventions has borne this out. When I went to my first MAMCOAANA meeting in 2003, I did not know a single person there. But attendees at that reunion took me into the MAMCOAANA family and it was as if one was returning home. Not only did we have much to share in terms of the MAMC clinical legacy, but there was much delight in reliving the fun of our College days.
Important as they are, MAMCOAANA reunions however are much more than just swapping memories, eating and dancing. Friday and Saturday mornings are devoted to CME. Speaking for myself, I have found MAMCOAANA CMEs to be of very high quality.
And now for the last 2-3 years MAMCOAANA has added to its activities. Credentials verification being important for its members, MAMCOAANA has taken the lead in setting up with MAMC, a process which is being continuously refined to provide a service for not only the North American MAMC grads but MAMC grads in any part of the world.
Which brings me to Life Members of MAMCOAANA. A significant portion of the Credentials Verification process is funded by MAMCOAANA. This funding is derived from earnings on the fund established by Life Membership. Therefore, for credentials verification to survive, it is imperative that we enlarge our membership base. I would urge every MAMC graduate in North America to consider becoming a Life Member of the organization. And right now is the perfect time to become a Life Member. The General Body Meeting of MAMCOAANA at its 2011 meeting approved the a temporary reduction of Life Membership from $500 to $200 for a period of one year. This Life Membership also brings advantages in reduced registration fees for the MAMCOAANA attendee as well as his family. Therefore I would urge MAMC graduates in North America (or indeed anywhere in the world) to take advantage of this reduction and sign up as life members.
Those who wish to become Life Members may send a check made out to MAMCOAANA to either Dr. Ashutosh Gupta or to me with “Life Membership Fee” in the memo line. My address for this will be P.O. Box 28253, Dayton, OH 45428-0253. All checks received will be forwarded to Dr. Gupta.
The next MAMCOAANA convention will be held in Houston, July 26th to July 29th, 2012 with Randeep Suneja as the meeting host. Details will be posted on this website.
– Bupesh Kaul
President, MAMCOAANA