With the arrival of the New Year comes a new volume of the European Journal of Ultrasound
and the Annual Bumper Edition of Newsletter. This edition of the Newsletter brings
together usual contributions from the Honorary Secretary, the President, the Chairman
of the Publications Committee, the Secretary of Education and Professional Standards
Committee and several other items of interest to members throughout Europe but writing
this editorial made me ask the question what the function of a Newsletter really is.
I hope it is to keep all 17,000 members informed about what is happening outside their
own region and specialty and what is available in the way of professional development
in ultrasound. All this information should be of interest to members of the Federation
but I suspect that relatively few will read it. I wonder how many have read the bimonthly
Newsletter provided last year within the EJU and on the website. Some will have read
it in the EJU but very few on the website. I suppose the fact that increasing numbers
of members now have the EJU as a part of their National Society subscription means
that more than half the members of the Federation have the opportunity to read it
in its paper version. The new updated website is more attractive than its predecessor
and perhaps will be the gateway for many to obtain this information. There is really
no shortage of space within the allocated pages for anything of interest to members
and I would urge anyone with anything interesting to say to submit it to the Newsletter.
If it is interesting to you it will probably be interesting to others in Europe. Most
should be interested in what Lucas Greiner and Gianna Stanford have to say about the
role of EFSUMB and its relationship to the rest of the world of ultrasound. In these
days where many of us relate best to our own clinical subspecialty it is good to hear
of developments elsewhere. It is amazing what you may be able to apply to your own
work from a development in an entirely different one.
I hope that 2005 will see further increase in subscriptions to the EJU perhaps with
other National Societies realising the value of the Journal and that those with ultrasound
projects worthy of publication will continue to submit to the EJU which has shown
substantial changes even in the last 12 months.
David Pilling
Editor Newsletter EFSUMB
