Facts
Area: 449,964 km2
Population 9.1 million
Capital: Stockholm
Largest cities: Stockholm 1 200 000, Gothenburg 510 000, Malmö 258 000
EFSUMB members: 115
President of the Swedish Society for Ultrasound in Medicine, Anders Nilsson(AN ) interviewed by Michael Bachmann Nielsen (MBN) November 2007.
The Swedish Society co-organized the EUROSON 2003 meeting in Copenhagen. To many EFSUMB delegates and committee members the past-president Lil Valentin as well as the current president Anders Nilsson will be well know. Personally I have know Anders Nilsson for 15 years, often attending or lecturing at the same meetings or inviting each other to lecture at courses and meetings.
Michael Bachmann Nielsen (left) and Anders Nilsson (right).
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MBN: Anders, first of all thank you for volunteering for this interview. Can you start by telling us about your medical profession and where you work?
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AN: I am a chief-radiologist in charge of the ultrasound section in Uppsala.
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MBN: Considering the size of Sweden, the number of members of the Swedish Society for Ultrasound in Medicine seems very small.
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AN: Yes this is correct. In the past the Swedish society held an annual symposium and that was what connected the members. This has not happened for some years. Today, the radiologists, the gynaecologists and surgeons each have separate meetings, in the Swedish form these are 5-day meetings covering all aspects within the radiology, gynaecology/obstetrics and surgery, respectively. The Swedish "Radiology Week" is a huge meeting with up to 2,000 participants.
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MBN: Do you host any courses in ultrasound?
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AN: Well we used to, but to be honest it has been a while since we had any. We are currently planning some courses for 2008 and also ultrasound symposia for the next radiology Week in August 2008. Currently we do not even have a Newsletter.
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MBN: Sweden is a large country measured in square kilometres, but compared to other European countries it has a low population density (20/km2). Does that have anything to do with the problems
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AN: Probably yes. Until a few years ago it was cheaper to buy a return flight to New York than going from Malmö to Stockholm.
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MBN: How do you consider the current status of the society?
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AN: We will in the coming months try to reorganize the Society and look for some ideas as to how we can re-launch the Society as the interdisciplinary society we should be. This means we will need too have symposia and courses that can attract people.
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MBN: I had some problems finding your correct telephone number and society details on the internet, how can that be?
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AN: The Swedish homepage unfortunately has not been updated for several years, since we did not have any meetings or course to promote. Also we have had problems finding a webmaster. The information about the board members should have been sent to EFSUMB, but we will certainly check it again.
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MBN: Thank you Anders for agreeing to this interview, which will be published on the EFSUMB webpage and in the Newsletter. Let's hope you will succeed in your plans for the Swedish ultrasound community.
