From the President’s Desk

Dr. Sushma Bhatnagar

Dear Friends,

It is with great respect and admiration that we pay tribute to Dr. Robert Twycross, the visionary Palliative Care Physician who left an indelible mark on our field. Two weeks ago, we shared the news of his passing, and now we take a moment to reflect on his remarkable legacy and the impact that he had on our lives and work. Personally, I am grateful for the opportunity to have met Dr. Twycross a few months ago at his home in the UK, and I will always cherish the memories of our conversation. We invite all our friends and colleagues from Palliative Care to join us in paying tribute to Dr. Twycross by sharing their own memories on the IAPC’s Dr. Robert Twycross memorial webpage. Please click here to pay your tributes and flip through the pages of the memories and tributes shared by our colleagues.

The IAPC’s November infographic focuses on the concept of ‘Advance Care Planning and Medical Directives in India’. This initiative reflects our constant endeavor to promote palliative care education and awareness across the country. Please feel free to share this infographic within your networks. Please click here to view the infographics published till date.

We are delighted to announce the winner of the first-ever ‘IAPC’s Gold Medal for Nurses 2024.’ Congratulations to Ms. Sneha P from Kerala, who won this maiden award after a rigorous examination process held on Monday, 28th October, 2024. We also congratulate Ms. Meenu Yadav from Rajasthan, the runner-up, and all the other enthusiastic nurses who participated in the final round of examination. Our sincere gratitude to Dr Lulu Mathews (Coordinator, IAPC’s Gold Medal for Nurses2024) for carefully curating this examination. Please click here to read the full report.

The IAPC is also inviting proposals to conduct the 34th Annual International Conference of the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPCON 2027). Those interested in organizing the conference are requested to submit their expression of interest by emailing the proposal in the prescribed format before 5 p.m. on Monday, 13th January, 2025. Please click here for further details.

Researchers please note that only a few days are remaining to submit your abstracts for IAPCON 2025, scheduled to be held at AIIMS Jammu between Friday, 31st January, 2025, and Sunday, 2nd February, 2025. Researchers have the opportunity to win interesting Awards for Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists, Physiotherapists, Social Workers, Psychologists, and volunteers for best oral and poster presentations. For further details, please visit the conference website.

The IAPC’s Central Council (CC) members recently visited the IAPCON 2025 conference venue at AIIMS, Jammu, on Saturday, 19th October, 2024, to support the organising team of IAPCON. A review meeting was held with the conference organizers to discuss the preparations and ensure a successful event. I would like to extend my gratitude to the team at Jammu for their tireless efforts and dedication towards making IAPCON 2025 a huge success. We wish them all the best for the conference.

I also remind you that the last date to submit online nominations for the IAPC’s election is Tuesday, 10th December, 2024. Please click here for further details.

The IAPC celebrated this year’s World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD) with a special initiative, ‘Compassionate Growth: A Celebration of Every Step Forward’. The initiative was designed to present an opportunity for institutions providing palliative care services across India to share and celebrate their unique journey in palliative care and to highlight the remarkable milestones and compassionate care practices that have shaped the palliative care landscape in India. Please click here to view the publication. We also created a special webpage to invite organisations to share details of their WHPCD celebration on the IAPC’s National portal. Please click here to read the submissions. In case you haven’t submitted details of your submission already, then please click here to share details of how you celebrated WHPCD at your institution.

From the academic front, several training programs have been announced by the IAPC and other institutions from across India. Please visit the ‘Education and Training’ section of this newsletter for the latest updates. Congratulations to all working in the academic front to provide training in palliative care across the country.

 It is always exciting to share the awards and achievements of our colleagues from Palliative Care. I invite you to join us in congratulating them. Please visit the ‘Awards and Recognitions’ page for further details.

I extend my congratulations and gratitude to our contributors for their support towards the IAPC’s Exclusive article’s section. The November Newsletter features the following interesting publications:

I also share my sincere gratitude to Shankar Mahadevan Academy (SMA) Nirvana for their continuing efforts to brighten the lives of our stars through the ‘Singing for the Stars’ initiative! I am proud to share that SMA Nirvana’s constant efforts to present online musical programs, every month, in collaboration with IAPC, indeed make a difference. Don’t forget to join us at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 12th November, 2024, to enjoy the upcoming edition of Singing for the Stars.

With warm regards,

Dr. Sushma Bhatnagar
President, IAPC