| “GIM” Goes Global: The First International Symposium in General Internal Medicine—Toronto, April 2007
William A. Ghali, MD, MPH; Jacques Cornuz, MD, MPH; Donald Echenberg, MD
William A. Ghali, MD, MPH: Departments of Medicine and Community Health Sciences, and Centre for Health and Policy Studies, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta; Jacques Cornuz, MD, MPH: Policlinique Médicale Universitaire, and Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Donald Echenberg, MD: Department of Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec
E-mail address for correspondence: wghali@ucalgary.ca
Conflict of interest: None declared
Can J Gen Intern Med 2006;1:XX–XX
ABSTRACT
GIM is yet to have a global identity, despite the similarity of what we do in different countries. Unlike other specialties, we have not invested in international conferences and trials, and as a result we have not developed the necessary networks. A conference in Toronto (April 2007) will address this issue.
SOMMAIRE
GIM doit avoir encore une identité globale, en dépit de la similitude de ce que nous faisons dans différents pays. À la différence d'autres spécialités, nous démuni investi dans des conférences internationales et les épreuves, et en conséquence nous n'avons pas développé les réseaux nécessaires. Une conférence à Toronto (avril 2007) abordera cette question.
To realize the full possibilities of this economy, we must reach beyond our own borders, to shape the revolution that is tearing down barriers and building new networks among nations and individuals, and economies and cultures: globalization. It's the central reality of our time.
—William J. Clinton
It has been said that arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity.
—Kofi Annan
Mark your calendars. An important event is about to occur in Toronto next April—the staging of the First International Symposium in General Internal Medicine (GIM). The symposium arises from over 3 years of dialogue among international leaders in GIM, and will be held in conjunction with the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) at the Sheraton Centre Toronto (April 25–28, 2007).
GIM has, for the most part, evolved in country-specific “silos” over the past several decades. This is in contrast to other subspecialties of internal medicine, which have developed a worldwide presence through the staging of large international meetings and the associated formation of collaborative networks designed to advance agendas in research, education, and clinical care. Supporting the call for a more global role for GIM is the recognition that the clinical work of general internists is quite similar in many countries (e.g., the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand).1
The differing emphasis on primary care roles for general internists may have led some to conclude that GIM differs too much between countries for interaction to be fruitful. However, this is a relatively minor issue when one considers our common areas of interest, such as the management of complex patients with multi-system disease, chronic disease management, prevention, and the management of patients with undifferentiated symptom presentations. GIM synergy is even greater when one considers the shared academic focus in areas such as medical education, clinical epidemiology, health services research, medical informatics, health economics, and the challenges of quality and safety.1
The International Symposium in Toronto will feature sessions on quality of care and patient safety, the role of the general internist in global health, and the burgeoning areas of e-Health innovation and chronic disease management. This will be followed by the SGIM’s annual meeting, which has adopted the theme “The Puzzle of Quality: Clinical, Educational, and Research Solutions”—something we can all relate to. Further information can be found at www.sgim.org.
The rich mixture of plenary sessions, oral and poster research sessions, workshops, and clinical updates has routinely attracted over 2,000 attendees from the United States and abroad. In the past, relatively few Canadian general internists have attended, possibly because of a misperception that SGIM is focused exclusively on primary care. On the contrary, SGIM annual meetings have something to offer almost all clinical and academic profiles, including Canadian internists.
A wave of globalization is about to engulf GIM. Come to Toronto this spring, and help us take a first big step toward creating a vibrant and global discipline of general internal medicine!
Reference
- Ghali WA, Greenberg PB, Mejia R, et al. International perspectives on general internal medicine and the case for ‘globalization’ of a discipline. J Gen Intern Med 2006;21:197-200.
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