Mark was personally invited by the president of the Hellenic Orthopaedic and Trauma Society to teach on the first Athens Pelvic & Acetabular Course last week. The course was held at the HOAST Amphitheatre in Athens, and was held over 4 days, made up of lectures, practical sessions, discussion groups and cadaver workshops. Mark was honoured to attend as the only non-European member of faculty. Delegates were a combination of senior orthopaedic trainees and established consultants, all from Greece. Pelvic and Acetabular trauma has not been well established in Greece, and education as well as dedicated facilities has been lacking. However it is hoped that this course will become an annual event, and should contribute to improving the level of care provided for patients with these difficult injuries.
The course was extremely well organised, and well received by the delegates. As is always the case, although the education is primarily aimed at the attendees, there was significant discussion between the faculty members over clinical cases as well as general points of patient management. Mark always feels that whilst he is enthusiastic about teaching on these courses, a major secondary benefit is that he comes away with new knowledge of his own, as well as new ideas for research and improvements here in Australia. Not to mention several new friendships with fellow orthopaedic surgeons from around the globe.
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