Preface
To be effective, any work must be announced, disclosed, explained, and clarified. In the words of Pericles, “having knowledge but lacking the power to express it clearly is no better than never having any ideas at all.” As a company, Servier also has this approach to medical information and to communication in its fields of interest. As a leading company in most of its markets, Servier considers it a duty to help young doctors to communicate their work.
In line with this approach is the Medical Reporters’ Academy (MRA) to which we belong. We, as members of the MRA, are an international group of young specialists with a core interest in venous disease drawn from various fields, including dermatology and internal medicine in addition to the more directly related areas of angiology and vascular surgery. Each year, we are invited to report on an international congress of interest to venous disease specialists. This year, we attended the 19th European Chapter Meeting of the International Union of Angiology, September 24-26, 2010 in Paris, France. Our reports form the core of part I of this issue. Through such meetings, we are trained in identifying potential breakthrough presentations among those on offer, and in honing our critical skills by reporting them succinctly and objectively to our colleagues.
We also thank Prof Boisseau for reporting from the 9th World Congress for Microcirculation held in Paris in conjunction with the 19th EUROCHAP (Part II).
Servier’s educational program also includes training programs aimed at facilitating the writing up or presentation of studies.
One such was the recent training course entitled ‘Introduction to Effective Medical Writing” held on September 23rd 2010, under the chairmanship of Professor Andrew Nicolaides. Nineteen participants from 15 different countries attended this meeting, showing that, at least in the field of venous research, the need for and expectations of such courses are high. Servier made available its wealth of expertise and know-how by providing in-house speakers whose technical knowledge in editing, publication design and communication (electronic or other) together with their human qualities were greatly appreciated. Part III of the current issue is devoted to brief reports from this course.
None of these projects could have been run without the authoritative experience of Professor Nicolaides. We thank him for his continuous help and efforts in improving medical education and communication, which are recognized and appreciated by the international medical community.
Happy reading.
Part I of the current issue comprises reports from the 19th European Chapter Meeting of the International Union of Angiology, September 24-26, 2010 in Paris, France. Reports were prepared by the following members of the Medical Reporters’ Academy:
 Jana HIRMEROVA 2nd Department of Internal Medicine University Hospital Dr. E. Benese 13 305 99 Plzen CZECH REPUBLIC |
 Armando MANSILHA Vascular Surgery Department S. João University Hospital Alameda Prof. Hernani Monteiro 4202-451 Porto PORTUGAL |
 Attila PUSKAS Spital Clinic Judetean de Urgenta Clinica Medicala II Compartimentul de Tromboza si Angiologie Str. Gh. Marinescu no 50 540136 Tg Mures ROMANIA |
In part II, the report from the 9thWorld Congress for Microcirculation, Paris, France, was written by Prof Michel Boisseau (Bordeaux, France)
