From the President’s Desk

From the President’s Desk

Dear Friends,

The 32^nd Annual International Conference of the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPCON 2025) is almost here and I am thrilled to draw your attention to the following:

• A final call for abstracts is announced to provide researchers from around the world to present their work in palliative care. Exciting awards such as the ‘IAPC’s Award for Doctors’, the ‘IAPC’s Award for Nurses, Social Workers, Physiotherapists, Pharmacists, Psychologists, and Volunteers’ and the ‘MT Bhatia Award for Best Poster Presentation for Nurses,’ are up for grabs! The last date to submit abstracts is Sunday, 15^th December, 2024.
   
• Registrations are also invited before for Sunday, 15^th December, 2024, towards 15 very exciting and innovative pre-conference workshops, slated for Thursday, 30^thJanuary, 2025.
   
• Submissions are invited for IAPCON’s first meme competition! Registered delegates are invited to submit either a serious / humorous / inspiring / interesting meme related to palliative care. Unleash your creativity and submit entries by Monday, 20^th January, 2025. Please click here for further information about this.

In case you have not registered for IAPCON 2025 yet, do register now, as beyond savouring the enriching academic experience, you will also have the opportunity to explore the serene beauty, pleasant weather, and warm hospitality of Jammu. To register and for further details about IAPCON, please click here. IAPCON 2025 is scheduled to take place at AIIMS, Jammu, between Friday, 31^st January 2025, and Sunday, 2^nd February 2025.

I invite those of you who are looking to be change makers to submit nominations for the upcoming IAPC’s Elections. Click here for complete details about the Election Notification. Don’t forget that the last date to submit nominations is 5 p.m. on Tuesday, 10^th December, 2024.

The IAPC is also inviting proposals to host the 34^th Annual International Conference of the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPCON 2027). Those who are passionate towards advancing the development of palliative care in your region are invited to submit proposals before 5 p.m. on Monday, 13^th January, 2025. For further information on this, please click here.

The IAPC’s infographic for December 2024 is on ‘Spirituality in Palliative Care’. Please feel free to share this valuable resource within your network. Click here to access the infographics published till date.

The Indian Journal of Palliative Care’s (IJPC) October – December edition, featuring very interesting review articles, original articles, short communications etc., is now online! Please click here to read the current issue.  

It is my privilege to present the ‘Education and Training’ section of the newsletter which features a compilation of the invitations to register for various training programs, and the reports from the academic activities and initiatives conducted across the country. The IAPC is also inviting registrations for the IAPC’s ‘Foundation Course in the Essentials of Palliative Care’ (FCEPC) and the IAPC’s ‘Certificate Course in Basics of Palliative Care – A Blended Learning Program’. My heartfelt gratitude to everyone who is working tirelessly to design and deliver these vital training programs across the country. Your dedication is truly inspiring!

My heartiest congratulations to our colleagues and fellow organisations for their awards, achievements and accomplishments. I urge you to visit the ‘Awards and Recognitions’ section of this newsletter for further details and to join me in celebrating them.

The IAPC’s exclusive article’s section stands out consistently as more contributors, notably from the younger generation of palliative care providers, are stepping forward generously to support this section of the newsletter. Hearty congratulations to our each of our contributors! This month’s newsletter features articles from:

• Dr Parul Raina, Bengaluru, Karnataka: ‘What being a ‘caregiver’ taught me: A Doctor’s Perspective’
• Dr Pratyasa Padhi, Bhubaneswar, Odisha: ‘Is it Time to Revise Medical Ethics’
• Ms Sneha P, Vallikkunnu, Kerala: ‘Medicine Beyond Pills: A dose of humanity’

Before I sign off, I invite you to join us at 2:50 p.m. on Tuesday, 10^th December 2024, for a national multilingual edition of ‘Singing for the Stars’ with the amazing Mr Ashwin Prabhu, a gifted vocalist and performing artist. Head over to the ‘Announcements / Messages from IAPC’ section of this newsletter for further information on this. Hope to see you there.

Take Care!

With warm regards,

Dr. Sushma Bhatnagar
President, IAPC