Moving Forward
“We’ve learned from the COVID-19 pandemic that we cannot just conceptualize health outcomes in a regionally isolated way,” says Dr. Hsieh, “but we need to understand the global impacts and complexities of health priorities as well. It’s very powerful when you hear the same needs being echoed across different regions, and people can learn from each other how to best meet those needs.”
The ACR’s Global Engagement Committee also oversees the College’s other global and exchange programs, such as the new Phil Robinson Scholar program (https://rheumatology.org/global-community), funded by contributions from the ACR and the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance. The program awarded travel scholarships to ACR Convergence 2023 to three early career rheumatologists from Ethiopia, India and Thailand. The ACR also hopes to expand its current exchange opportunities to other worldwide rheumatology societies such as PANLAR (Pan American League of Associations for Rheumatology).
“With all the benefits I gained, [participating in the exchange] was a priceless experience for me,” concludes Dr. Zakaria.
How to Apply
To apply for an exchange at a EULAR or APLAR meeting, applicants must be 45 years old or younger and members of the ACR or the ARP. They must also hold a non-tenured faculty appointment or an equivalent position at an academic center.
In 2024, EULAR and APLAR will host exchange programs at their respective Congresses in Vienna and Suntec, Singapore. Applications for the 10 EULAR spots and five APLAR spots are now open for ACR or ARP members on the ACR Global Community webpage. The deadline to apply for a scholarship to EULAR 2024 is March 15. The deadline for the APLAR 2024 Congress is April 19.
Ruth Jessen Hickman, MD, a graduate of the Indiana University School of Medicine, is a medical and science writer in Bloomington, Ind.
Reference
- Elewaut D, Aringer M, Müller-Ladner U. Getting scientists together: The ACR/EULAR exchange programme. Ann Rheum Dis. 2003 Aug;62(8):789–790.
