Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the board of directors of ESRA and members of the organizing committee it is our pleasure to introduce the XXIX Annual ESRA Congress, which will be held in Porto, Portugal from September 8-11, 2010.
Since its foundation in 1980, ESRA has sought to associate and affiliate into one organization all anaesthesiologists, physicians and scientists who are engaged in, or interested in, the techniques of regional anaesthesia for surgery, obstetrics, pediatrics and pain control.
As in previous years, the focus of the scientific programme will be on state of the art presentations in our field as well as new insights into basic science, clinical research and therapeutic interventions. We are producing a scientific programme on which interaction between speakers and audience should be continuous and the basic aim for the production of our programme. The scientific standard at the annual ESRA congress is now recognised as one of the best in Europe and as a result carries a high rating with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, who assign credit hours to all ESRA congresses.
The scientific committee are currently developing a programme with topics covering all the fields of interest in the application of regional anesthesia/analgesia alone or in multimodal approach. Acute and chronic pain management topics of special interest for anesthesiologists will be included as an important part of the programme.
The type of sessions will be refresher course lectures, symposia, pro/con debates, panel discussions, luncheon sessions, special workshops including cadaver workshops, nurses workshops and of course the opportunity for free paper and poster presentations. Residents will be able to submit their papers for inclusion into the ESRA Resident Best Free Paper & ESRA Best Poster Award competitions.
For those participants who successfully completed the first part (written exam) of the ESRA Diploma in Salzburg 2009, the second part (practical) will take place during the Porto congress along with the written exam for those who wish to register for the Certified ESRA Diploma on Regional Anaesthesia. Full details on the requisites for attendance along with registration information can be found on the congress website at www.kenes.com/esra
We very much hope you will join us for this exciting anaesthesia congress set in Porto, Portugal.
José De Andrés Marc Van de Velde
Secretary General President of ESRA