NEWS JANUARY/FEBRUARY • 2021
VOL 47 | NUMBER 1
WONCA PRESIDENT DR DONALD LI (HONG KONG, CHINA) EMAIL: PRESIDENT@WONCA.NET TWITTER: @WONCLI PRESIDENT-ELECT DR ANNA STAVDAL (NORWAY)
CONTENT
EXECUTIVE MEMBER AT LARGE & HONORARY TREASURER PROF VAL WASS (UK) EXECUTIVE MEMBER AT LARGE & WHO LIAISON PERSON DR VIVIANA MARTINEZ- BIANCHI (USA/ARGENTINA) EXECUTIVE MEMBER AT LARGE DR PRATYUSH KUMAR (INDIA) REGIONAL PRESIDENT, WONCA AFRICA PROF SHABIR MOOSA (SOUTH AFRICA) REGIONAL PRESIDENT, WONCA ASIA PACIFIC PROF MENG-CHIH LEE (TAIWAN) REGIONAL PRESIDENT, WONCA EUROPE PROF MEHMET UNGAN (TURKEY) REGIONAL PRESIDENT, WONCA IBEROAMERICANACIMF ADJ/PROF JACQUELINE PONZO (URUGUAY)
FROM THE PRESIDENT
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GREETINGS FROM WONCA
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FROM THE EDITOR
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NEW WONCA SECRETARIAT
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EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
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ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES
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WONCA AND WHO
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WONCA AT THE 148TH WHO EXECUTIVE SESSION
WORKING PARTIES NEWS EDUCATION: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF EDUCATION
REGIONAL PRESIDENT, WONCA NORTH AMERICA PROF MARVIN REID (JAMAICA)
MENTAL HEALTH: ENROLLING IN THE WONCA PRIMARY MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY
REGIONAL PRESIDENT, WONCA SOUTH ASIA DR RAMAN KUMAR (INDIA)
RURAL PRACTICE: 17TH WONCA WORLD CONFERENCE
YOUNG DOCTOR REPRESENTATIVE DR ANA NUNES BARATA (PORTUGAL) WONCA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER DR HARRIS LYGIDAKIS WONCA WORLD SECRETARIAT WORLD ORGANIZATION OF FAMILY DOCTORS AVENUE DES ARTS 7-8 1210 BRUSSELS BELGIUM EMAIL: SECRETARIAT@WONCA.NET PHONE: +32 (0) 2 329 00 75 WONCA EDITOR MARIA DOLORES ZAVALA EMAIL: EDITOR@WONCA.NET TRANSLATIONS DR JIE GU DR JULIEN ARTIGNY
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REGIONS NEWS
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WONCA CIMF: FAMILY MEDICINE STATEMENT FOR COVID-19 RESPONSE
FEATURE STORIES
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GUEST FEATURE: JOHN WYNN-JONES
WONCA CONFERENCES NEWS
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ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES
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WONCA NEWS
FROM 中文 THE PRESIDENT
Español Français
Dr Donald Li. WONCA President
With the global pandemic still all around us, we were unable to hold our Council and conference in Abu Dhabi last year. Arrangements are well underway, in the hope that we can hold the conference in November this year. But we will have to wait and make an assessment on the safety and feasibility of meeting face to face closer to the time.
As all of us have adapted to different ways of working since the onset of the pandemic, we are increasingly dependent on technology which enables us to keep in touch with family, friends and colleagues. Nothing makes up for face to face contact but we use the technology available to maintain our connections. WONCA’s Bylaws normally enable us to undertake with the work of our organization within a structure of good governance. But most of our Bylaws were written and updated, with terminology defined, in times when travel was straightforward and when regular face to face meetings were the norm. How things have changed! By the time of publication of this WONCA News, all of our Member Organisations will have been notified about the upcoming online EGM, in May 2021. The platform for the EGM will be open from 11 -16 May, to allow for those from different time zones, and with a wide range of work commitments, to participate. Please note that there is no live session during the EGM. By logging in to the EGM platform, attendance of the MO is registered and gives access to consulting the material. Also, by the time of issuing of this WONCA News, everyone will have access to a video link explaining changes to the Bylaws which are needed, to facilitate continuation of our work. Two live Q&A sessions will also be held prior to the EGM, on Saturday 27 March (for those in ‘eastern’ times zones) and Saturday 10 April (for those in ‘western’ time zones). Shabir Moosa, Chair of Bylaws Committee, and I will chair those live sessions and we welcome questions from our members. I urge all of our Member Organisations to take the opportunity to participate in the process, which we are undertaking in response to global circumstances and, incidentally, as an opportunity to update our communication mechanisms using more advanced technology than was available at the time of the writing of our original Bylaws. Further information about the technical issues which warrant the meetings and EGM are described here, in WONCA news.
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WONCA NEWS
And finally … a thank you and a welcome! Each month, articles from WONCA News are translated into Spanish, French and Mandarin, to facilitate better access to our members from different language groups. Since the beginning of my Presidency, Ella Lee has kindly translated my articles and messages into Mandarin, for the benefit of our many Chinese members. I want to thank Ella for her skill and efficiency in giving that support. From this edition of WONCA News onwards, the Cross Straits Medical Association has offered to undertake the Mandarin translation. I would like to thank them for their offer and welcome their involvement in this work.
GREETINGS FROM WONCA
This WONCA News edition coincides with the celebration of Chinese New Year 2021, the Year of the Ox.
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WONCA NEWS
FROM THE EDITOR
First of all, I would like to start with a few lines of appreciation for the hard work and dedication with which Dr Karen Flegg served as WONCA Editor for ten and a half years, becoming the second longest-serving person, only after Dr David Game. Dr Flegg received the ceremonial cap and took over the role of WONCA News Editor from Dr Marc Rivo in 2010, during the WONCA World Conference in Cancún , Mexico. During her time as WONCA Editor, she was in charge of the publication of 103 issues, sharing the countless efforts and stories of our colleagues around the world, always with the highest level of professionalism and accuracy, leaving a legacy in WONCA's family history. I am sure we will hear more about Dr Karen Flegg in the years to come, and I wish her all the best in her future endeavours, in WONCA and her professional life! A LITTLE ABOUT THE EDITOR
I am a Mexican communication specialist and content creator, based in Brussels, Belgium since 2017. I would describe myself as a digital enthusiast, geek, a coffee lover and a soccer fan.
I hold two Master’s Degrees in communication and have been working in digital media for over 12 years. I have worked for the Presidency of the Republic of Mexico, where I was part of the National Digital Strategy Coordination team; and for some of Mexico’s most influential media enterprises such as El Universal, Mexico’s biggest newspaper; and TV Azteca, Mexico’s largest mass media conglomerate. In December 2020, I became the Communication and Public Relations Officer for WONCA. My role includes the development and implementation of WONCA’s global media engagement plans and PR actions to promote and spread our mission globally. I have also assumed the role of WONCA News and website editor, and although I do not have a medical or healthcarerelated background, I feel deeply identified and motivated by the work of family doctors, which I look forward to contributing by spreading WONCA's voice effectively.
This volume also includes crucial information for member organisations, related to the Extraordinary General Meeting in May and the amendments proposal to the WONCA Bylaws, to which President Dr Donald Li dedicates his column, providing all the details of this decisive process. Despite the pandemic, the efforts and activities of our colleagues around the world have kept pace, constantly adapting and looking for new ways to continue with their mission. This issue provides a glimpse into recent efforts of our Working Parties, Special Interest Groups, Member Organisations and all our colleagues in different regions. You can also catch the latest updates on WONCA Conferences and the upcoming webinars and digital events. Like my predecessors in the WONCA Editor role, I welcome all your comments, ideas, questions or suggestions! Please note, you can always feel free to drop me a line (or an article) at maria.zavala@wonca.net.
ABOUT THIS ISSUE
Enjoy this issue!
For my first edition, I am pleased to introduce the new WONCA Secretariat based in Brussels, Belgium, headed by Dr Harris Lygidakis as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), succeeding Dr Garth Manning.
Sincerely,
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Maria Dolores Zavala, WONCA Editor
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WONCA NEWS
NEW SECRETARIAT
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
2021 marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of WONCA, with the arrival of the new Secretariat based in Brussels, Belgium. Our new team, incorporated since last November 2020, is headed by Dr Harris Lygidakis as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), succeeding Dr Garth Manning. Harris holds a medical degree from the University of Bologna. He qualified as a family doctor in the Region of Emilia-Romagna in 2010, where he worked as a locum until 2016. Recently, he obtained a PhD from the University of Luxembourg.
As the new Secretariat, we are now the centre of operations and primary point of interconnection with our multiple regions, fostering positive relationships with representatives and member organisations and leading strategic development under the President's direction, the Executive Committee, and our World Council.
As part of his background at WONCA, Dr Lygidakis was part of the Vasco da Gama Movement and acted as Honorary Secretary in WONCA Europe. As the new CEO, he will work on strategic plans to engage our members and reach our younger colleagues and the broader primary health care community, while supporting the organisation leadership. Our additional members are Andrea Zard, who will serve as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), and Maria Dolores Zavala, in charge of communication and public relations. Andrea holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs and another one in Translation Studies. She has extensive experience in foreign affairs, project management and consultancy, with more than a decade working for multiple global organisations. Our CAO is the main point of contact and will be managing and engaging with WONCA’s Members Organisations, Working Groups and individuals. She will also be in charge of the day-to-day organisation of WONCA, coordinating all the Secretariat’s matters, guaranteeing its effective operation.
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Dr Harris Lygidakis, Andrea Zard and Maria Zavala, at Brussels HQ
The endurance of WONCA's mission in this new era would not have been possible without the hard work and support of the team in Bangkok and former WONCA Editor, Dr Karen Flegg, to whom we extend our most sincere appreciation and deepest gratitude. This continuity has become one of our most crucial priorities. We have already been working on new ways to improve our membership management, and in a few weeks’ time we will share important updates and new ways to connect with us. For now, we kindly ask you to take note of our new contact address: secretariat@wonca.net.
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WONCA NEWS
Within this new stage, multiple changes and updates in WONCA activities will take place, and will be our mission, as the new Secretariat team, to keep everyone promptly informed about the opportunities to come.
We are looking forward to this journey, full of inspiration and opportunities! Sincerely, — The WONCA Secretariat Team
CALLING FOR AN
EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING To overcome the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, we evolve together with our members to face adverse global circumstances and continue carrying out our mission. As a global organisation, we have sought new ways to effectively address the needs and aspirations of the members of the WONCA family. Although technology is increasingly supporting our efforts, for some important processes such as the Meetings of Council, the use of electronic means is not contemplated in our current Bylaws; they were drafted when information technology was not yet essential. For this reason, President Donald Li, sends a message to all our Member Organisations, calling for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of Council from Tuesday 11 to Sunday 16 May 2021, to amend our bylaws and allow sessions to be conducted digitally. The result of the EGM meeting will be then ratified during our Meeting of Council in Abu Dhabi in November 2021.
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Dear WONCA Council Members, Dear colleagues, First of all, I would like to extend my best wishes for a safe and healthy 2021. May it be a year in which we can all grow and evolve, despite the current adverse circumstances. In this new year, we all face an unexpected reality caused by a global pandemic and the outbreak of COVID-19. To respond to this new normal, we have been edged to seek new and creative ways to overcome uncertainty and continue carrying out our mission, embracing technological innovations as an essential part of this new era. Now, technology is blurring boundaries between the digital and the physical world, with teleworking, videoconferences, and online meetings as the newest tools to conduct crucial work, move forward and stay connected.
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WONCA NEWS
WONCA is adapting activities and processes to this new approach, but for some of our crucial endeavours, such as Council meetings, these means of communication are not contemplated in the current Bylaws, as regulations were drafted when information technology was not yet essential.
To ensure transparency and guarantee accessibility to all, WONCA will launch a special platform with all the information, resources and materials in May for you to log-in, discover and vote! Explanatory Q&A sessions will be organised in Spring before the Extraordinary General Meeting.
For this reason, we call an Extraordinary General Meeting from 11 to 16 May 2021, to amend our bylaws and allow sessions to be conducted digitally, promoting equitable and accessible online participation.
We appreciate your collaboration in advance and will keep you informed about this decisive process.
You will receive the proposal with all details about the amendments of the Bylaws before 10 February 2021.
Sincerely, Dr Donald Li, WONCA President
For further information, please contact egm2021@wonca.net.
INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF HEALTH AND CARE WORKERS Since November 2020, the World Health Organization informed that 2021 would be designated the Year of Health and Care Workers (YHCW). During this announcement, the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged to increase investments in health and care workers. photo credit: World Health Organization
Health and care workers have been on the frontlines of the pandemic, but are often under-protected and over-exposed (…) Protecting the people who protect us is the right and smart thing to do. Now it is time to show our love and appreciation for health workers by making sure workers are vaccinated. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus WHO Director-General
photo credit: WHO
On February 2021, the WHO officially launched the Year of the Health and Care Workers campaign, under the slogan Protect. Invest. Together.
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According to information on the organization's official website, the one a year-long campaign is a token of appreciation and gratitude to all health workers, " for their unwavering dedication in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. "
The Year of Health and Care Workers also aims to highlight the urgent need to invest and support our health and care workforces to ensure quality health conditions, employment, economic opportunities and equity. Find the complete information about the Year of Health and Care Workers 2021 here.
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WONCA NEWS
WONCA AND WHO WONCA participated in the 148th session of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization, with three statements that addressed important items of the agenda such as Global Action on Patient Safety, Public Health Emergencies: Preparedness and Response, Social Determinants of Health, and Mental Health Preparedness and Response for the COVID-19 Pandemic.
148TH WHO EXECUTIVE SESSION Dr Martínez-Bianchi intervened with two statements in which she highlighted the central role of family doctors in the provision and coordination of primary health care activities, including the ones related to mental health. She also reaffirmed WONCA's commitment to the emergency response in collaboration with the WHO, through the work of WONCA regional organisations.
Family doctors and their PHC teams are central to health emergency risk management, preparedness, and communication locally & nationally. We urge member states to involve Family doctors in each community’s planning of the pandemic response, and in the design of primary health care strategies to approach the present and future crisis and pandemics. Dr Viviana Martínez-Bianchi photo credit: Dr Viviana Martínez-Bianchi
As part of Pillar 1 of the agenda related to the benefits of Universal Health Coverage, WONCA in collaboration with the Working Party on Quality & Safety, launched a statement to welcome the Global Patient Safety Action Plan, and urged to invest in strong and safe primary care, in support of the health workforce and health information systems, as the best efficient initiatives to ensure patient safety, promote high standards of care and achieve safe universal health coverage. As part of Pillar 2: One billion more people better protected from health emergencies, WONCA also submitted the statement on the social determinants of health.
After the fruitful participation of WONCA in the WHO Executive Board, we extend our strong appreciation to our Working Party on Quality & Safety, the Special Interest Group on Emergency Medicine, the Special Interest Group on Health Equity and our Working Party on Mental Health, for their crucial contribution to the drafts of statements made at the Executive Board, and to primary health care and family doctors.
During the session of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization, WONCA was present through Dr Viviana Martínez-Bianchi, Executive member and WHO liaison and Dr Harris Lygidakis, WONCA CEO, who spoke on behalf of our organization.
Download WONCA statement on Public Health Emergencies
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Download WONCA statement on Patient Safety Download WONCA statement on Mental Health Preparedness
Download WONCA statement on Social Determinants on Health
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WONCA NEWS
WORKING PARTY NEWS EDUCATION
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION DAY: "To accomplish things, we must not only act, but also dream; A WORLD VIEW by: Prof Val Wass This important day, as we celebrate Education internationally, offers a crucial opportunity to reflect together, globally, on a future beyond the trials and tribulations of this dreadful, heart breaking pandemic. The WONCA Working Party on Education’s (WWPE’s) Regional Executive, comprised of lead medical educationalists from each global region, has done just that. Their recent paper on “Reimaging medical education for primary care in the times of Covid-19: a world view” is available here. So, what did we discover? How do we “recover and revitalise medical education post Covid-19”? To recover, we need to dream Educationalists, involved in both undergraduate and postgraduate training, have witnessed the astonishing rapidity with which teaching has moved from face to face contact to online delivery. There has been an unprecedented escalation of technology which is here to stay. So easy to just “act” on this and implement change. But we must pause first and “dream.” What might the future hold? Without doubt, education will move forward. But then so will health care delivery. Workforce training must mirror the needs of future health care workers. These will alter as health care teams become increasingly interprofessional and technology embraces artificial intelligence. We must reflect carefully on the skills trainees must have. Inevitably handling risk, uncertainty and resilience will be crucial, as this pandemic has already highlighted.
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not only plan, but also believe." (Anatole France)
To revitalise, we need to believe Our world view revealed many ways education delivery had successfully adapted. This appears to be overshadowed, however, by important, less visible, tensions. Students are struggling with personal Covid-related fears and losses, uncertainties engendered by curriculum change and lack of face to face contact. Educators too are exhausted and worried by the unmitigating, seemingly relentless reactivity required to keep abreast change. Inequities are emerging across all continents, regardless of relative wealth, over access to the technologies needed for online learning; thus, widening the gap between rich and poor. Hidden issues are emerging which we believe are important and crucial to planning. In our move to revitalise we must first research and understand how Covid-19 has impacted on our personal lives and on colleagues and students. We believe social accountability becomes of paramount importance. Educational institutions must partner with local stakeholders and address the needs of their health care systems. The safety and well-being of educators and learners is vital as we move to more distant learning. Equity of access for all learners and teachers becomes crucial. Before we make plans based on current practice, these are issues to explore and prioritise.
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WONCA NEWS
We, at WWPE, imagine a new era for medical education which draws on global connection and shared resources. We must not be caught on the crest of the Covid-19 wave and leave behind the mantras of past teaching. To revitalise we must first dig deeper to understand the full impact of the pandemic on us as all. Let’s strive to build on this International Day a strong global community of education practice and create a workforce able to enact, for the future, the successful delivery of Universal Health Care.
Val Wass , WWPE chair on behalf of regional representatives: Marie Andrades (South Asia), Carmen Elena Cabezas-Escobar (Iberoamericana-CIMF), Joy Mugambi (Africa), Nagwa Hegazy Nashat (East Mediterranean), Victor Ng (North America), Robin Ramsay (Europe), Chandramani Thuraisingham (Asia Pacific).
MENTAL HEALTH
A TESTIMONY OF WONCA’S ADVOCACY PROGRAMME IN PRIMARY MENTAL HEALTH In our previous WONCA News edition, Professor Christopher Dowrick, chair of the WONCA Working Party on Mental Health wrote about advocacy efforts through a virtual educational programme to equip 12 motivated family doctors who wish to advance the integration of behavioural health care into routine primary care practice. The following is the reflection and testimony of one of the participants. Enrolling in the WONCA Primary Mental Health Advocacy Programme I applied for this program with great enthusiasm since primary mental health care is an international priority, and there is a huge gap with the reality in my context. The program is unique in terms of its distance delivery and adult learning method, in which we must conduct a real-time project. The project design stimulated my leading skills and the capacity to organise a team. It also allowed networking with people from my locality and implementing the teaching materials in real life. We started the program in two batches due to timezones issues. My teammates are doctors from Africa, Spain, and Srilanka. It is very encouraging to know fellow doctors from different countries and backgrounds, yet with the same vision. The collegiality is invaluable and one of the best parts of this programme, preserved even after the formal program ended.
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We learned from the success stories and barriers shared by others. Undoubtedly, the timing and context of the pandemic are challenging, however, I find mentors, faculties, and participants to be very supportive and encouraging me to flourish throughout the program. Another admirable feature is the mid-program focus-group discussion, led by an experienced psychologist in order to evaluate our experience. Our feedback was contemplated in a very rapid manner. This process also serves as a positive example of our advocacy and professional learning. I feel better equipped in advocacy for mental health in primary care. Overall the programme is highly recommended, and I would definitely suggest this to my colleagues. Darien, Indonesia
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WONCA NEWS
RURAL PRACTICE
17TH WONCA WORLD RURAL HEALTH CONFERENCE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE! WONCA Working Party on Rural Practice shares some exciting news! The 17th WONCA World Rural Health Conference original lecture recordings and webinar series are now available for viewing and download here!
Join this Saturday 13 February 2021, at 10:00 UTC/GMT. You can register for the 17th WRHC Rural Wonca/Network: TUFH series here. The login is WONCARural.
You can also join the Rural Café sessions, a chat to bring young doctors together and interact with this community!
WONCA REGIONS WONCA CIMF
FAMILY MEDICINE IS ESSENTIAL FOR AN ADEQUATE RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC The Ibero-American Confederation of Family Medicine WONCA issued a statement on behalf of the multiple national associations of Family Medicine that constitute WONCA CIMF, about the current situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement, published in January 2021, details the efforts carried out on COVID-19 care and prevention in the countries of the region since the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak.
In this statement, WONCA-CIMF also called health authorities, managers, decision-makers, and politicians of IberoAmerican countries to prioritize and support primary care services effectively, and reaffirms its commitment to l continue working with dedication in the countries of the region. Read the full statement here Lea aquí la declaración completa
WONCA-CIMF stated its commitment to people's health and the “will to contribute to the development of accessible health systems, appropriate to the population needs in any context, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic.
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WONCA NEWS
FEATURED STORIES TRUTH We live in uncertain times and that is more evident today than it has been for some time. Part of our insecurity revolves around “Truth” and what it is. In an age when the media and in particular social media dominate our lives, how can we be certain what truth really is and whether what we are being told is true.
GUEST FEATURE BY JOHN WYNN-JONES: TRUTH Dr John Wynn-Jones is well known in WONCA circles and immediate past chair of the WONCA Working Party on Rural Practice. During the COVID-19 crisis, he has been writing a 'Rural Miscellany' email with poems and resource ideas to help and divert us in this difficult time. In this first item of 2021, we publish "Truth" - written by John this month.
In healthcare, the gold standard has always been the peer reviewed scientific literature, led by critical thinking and rigorous scientific discipline but during this pandemic, so much of the cited material has been released early before peer review. In addition, two major journals had to withdraw two papers that had obvious flaws, leading to a loss of confidence in the science cannon in general. Most scientific information available to the public at large comes from a multitude of news platforms, competing with each other, where interpretation is more geared to boosting reader volume than reporting accurate facts. We have become openly sceptical about information coming from our governments, political leaders and major NGOs, leading to social turmoil, open hostility to disease and public health measures, public unrest and a plethora of conspiracy theories. The promise of herd immunity provided as a result of national vaccination programmes is being put a rick by those who do not believe in vaccination and believe that vaccine will harm them or change their DNA. In the UK, people have been caught taking pictures of empty corridors in hospitals in order to prove that there is no pandemic. The tragic daily figures of deaths seem to have no impact but further prove that it’s all a government conspiracy I have collected together poems on the theme of truth, starting with a 600-year-old poem by the English poet, writer and diplomat, Geoffrey Chaucer. To poets then, truth was related more to the nature of one’s faith and spiritual life whereas in recent times, the pursuit of truth has clearly taken much more secular course. Enjoy! Dr John Wynn-Jones
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WONCA NEWS
Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) Geoffrey Chaucer was the outstanding English poet before Shakespeare. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He is seen as crucial in legitimising the literary use of Middle English when the dominant literary languages in England were still French and Latin. His “Canterbury Tales” ranks as one of the greatest poetic works in the English language. He also contributed importantly in the second half of the 14th century to the management of public affairs as courtier, diplomat, member of parliament and civil servant but it is his the writing of poetry—for which he is remembered. In his diplomatic career, he was trusted and aided by three successive kings— Edward III, Richard II, and Henry IV. He was the first writer to be buried in what has since come to be called Poets' Corner, in Westminster Abbey. Chaucer also gained fame as a philosopher and astronomer, composing the scientific ”A Treatise on the Astrolabe” for his 10year-old son Lewis. Among Chaucer's many other works are “The Book of The Duchess”, “The House of Fame”, “The Legend of Good Women”, and “Troilus and Criseyde”. The poem "Truth" is 600 years old and is also sometimes called "Balade de Bon Conseil" (Ballad of Good Counsel). In this, Chaucer explores what "truth" is ethically. The narrator of the poem states that we should not seek out the rewards of life, because our true home is in heaven and we are only pilgrims while alive. We are sent here to spread the word about God, live a simple life, not beyond our means, and be kind to others. This poem is based on the Bible Gospel: John 8:32 which states, "the truth shall set you free". The poem is in Middle English.
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Truth
Fle fro the pres, and dwelle with sothefastnesse, Suffise thin owen thing, thei it be smal; For hord hath hate, and clymbyng tykelnesse, Prees hath envye, and wele blent overal. Savour no more thanne the byhove schal; Reule weel thiself, that other folk canst reede; And trouthe schal delyvere, it is no drede.
Tempest the nought al croked to redresse, In trust of hire that tourneth as a bal. Myche wele stant in litel besynesse; Bywar therfore to spurne ayeyns an al; Stryve not as doth the crokke with the wal. Daunte thiself, that dauntest otheres dede; And trouthe shal delyvere, it is no drede.
That the is sent, receyve in buxumnesse; The wrestlyng for the worlde axeth a fal. Here is non home, here nys but wyldernesse. Forth, pylgryme, forth! forth, beste, out of thi stal! Know thi contré! loke up! thonk God of al! Hold the heye weye, and lat thi gost the lede; And trouthe shal delyvere, it is no drede.
Therfore, thou Vache, leve thine olde wrechednesse; Unto the world leve now to be thral. Crie hym mercy, that of hys hie godnesse Made the of nought, and in espec{.i}al Draw unto hym, and pray in general For the, and eke for other, hevenelyche mede; And trouthe schal delyvere, it is no drede.
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WONCA NEWS
John Keats 1795-1821 John Keats was an English Romantic poet. He was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, despite his works having been in publication for only four years before his death from tuberculosis at the age of 25. He trained as an apothecary at Guys Hospital in London but never practiced as his short life was taken up entirely by his poetry. "Ode on a Grecian Urn” is a complex, mysterious poem. The speaker looks at a Grecian urn, which is decorated with images of rustic life in ancient Greece. He is fascinated by the images and the fact that they are frozen in time. The speaker's response shifts through different moods, and ultimately the urn provokes questions more than it provides answers. The poem's ending has been and remains the subject of varied interpretation. The urn seems to tell the speaker that ‘Beauty is truth and truth beauty’ and they are one and the same. Keats wrote this poem in a great burst of creativity that also produced his other famous odes such as “Ode to a Nightingale.” Although it was not well received at the time it has become one of his most celebrated. Ode on a Grecian Urn
Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness, Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time, Sylvan historian, who canst thus express A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme: What leaf-fring’d legend haunts about thy shape Of deities or mortals, or of both, In Tempe or the dales of Arcady? What men or gods are these? What maidens loth? What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape? What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?
Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on; Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d, Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
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Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare; Bold lover, never, never canst thou kiss, Though winning near the goal—yet, do not grieve; She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss, For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!
Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu; And, happy melodist, unwearied, For ever piping songs for ever new; More happy love! more happy, happy love! For ever warm and still to be enjoy’d, For ever panting, and for ever young; All breathing human passion far above, That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy’d, A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.
Who are these coming to the sacrifice? To what green altar, O mysterious priest, Lead’st thou that heifer lowing at the skies, And all her silken flanks with garlands drest? What little town by river or sea shore, Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel, Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn? And, little town, thy streets for evermore Will silent be; and not a soul to tell Why thou art desolate, can e’er return.
O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede Of marble men and maidens overwrought, With forest branches and the trodden weed; Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought As doth eternity: Cold pastoral! When old age shall this generation waste, Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st, “Beauty is truth, truth beauty”—that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
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WONCA NEWS
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Little known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts into a prominent family with strong ties to its community. I have included her poetry so many times already, that I hardly need to say anything more about her. I include two short poems, typical of her style and format. Truth is a constant theme in her poetry. In the first poem, “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant” Dickinson says that we should tell the truth – the whole truth – but tell it indirectly, in a roundabout way. The truth is too bright and aluring for us to be able to cope with straight away. We can be overwhelmed by it. She likens it in the second verse to the way that lightning and thunderstorms are explained to children in kinder terms, so as not to frighten them. She says that the truth, if shown too directly and has the power to blind us. In the second poem “Truth—is As Old As God” Dickinson pairs Truth, not with Beauty, but with God. Tell all the Truth but tell it slant Tell all the Truth but tell it slant – Success in Circuit lies Too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth’s superb surprise As Lightning to the Children eased With explanation kind The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind –
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Truth—is As Old As God
Truth—is as old as God— His Twin identity And will endure as long as He A Co-Eternity—
And perish on the Day Himself is borne away From Mansion of the Universe A lifeless Deity. Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist. He was born in India, which inspired much of his work. Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book, Kim, and many short stories, including "The Man Who Would Be King". He is one of the best-known of the late Victorian poets and story-tellers. Although he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1907, his political views, which grew more toxic as he aged, have long made him critically unpopular. In the New Yorker, Charles McGrath remarked “Kipling has been variously labelled a colonialist, a jingoist, a racist, an anti-Semite, a misogynist, a right-wing imperialist warmonger; and—though some scholars have argued that his views were more complicated than he is given credit for—to some degree he really was all those things. That he was also a prodigiously gifted writer who created works of inarguable greatness hardly matters anymore, at least not in many classrooms, where Kipling remains politically toxic.” However, Kipling’s works for children, above all his novel The Jungle Book, first published in 1894, remain part of popular cultural through the many film versions made and remade since the 1960s.
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Kipling was born in Bombay (Mumbai), India, in 1865 and he spent the first years of his life in India, remembering it in later years as almost a paradise. “My first impression,” he wrote in his posthumously published autobiography “Something of Myself for My Friends Known and Unknown”, “is of daybreak, light and colour and golden and purple fruits at the level of my shoulder.” In 1871, however, his parents sent him and his sister Beatrice to England, partly to avoid health problems, but also so that the children could begin their schooling. Since his parents could not afford to send him to one of the major English universities, in 1882 Kipling left for India to rejoin his family and to begin a career as a journalist. For five years he held the post of assistant editor of the Civil and Military Gazette at Lahore. During those years he also published the stories that became Plain Tales from the Hills, works based on British lives in the resort town of Simla, and Departmental Ditties, his first major collection of poems. He later moved south in India until 1889, when he left India to return to England, determined to pursue his future as a writer. In the poem, “A Legend of Truth”, Kipling tells us about how “Truth” shrank from the world, letting her sister, “Fiction”, go out into the world instead. This plan works well – until war breaks out… I can’t think of a poem more suited to the world of “Fake News” that we now find ourselves in. Kipling was initially a great supporter of the 1st World War to the point that he bullied his only son to join up, despite the fact that he had been declared medically unfit. His son was killed and Kipling never really recovered. I wonder whether some of the last verse refers to his changing views on the war. A Legend of Truth
Once on a time, the ancient legends tell, Truth, rising from the bottom of her well, Looked on the world, but, hearing how it lied, Returned to her seclusion horrified.
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There she abode, so conscious of her worth, Not even Pilate's Question called her forth, Nor Galileo, kneeling to deny The Laws that hold our Planet 'neath the sky. Meantime, her kindlier sister, whom men call Fiction, did all her work and more than all, With so much zeal, devotion, tact, and care,
That no one noticed Truth was otherwhere. Then came a War when, bombed and gassed and mined, Truth rose once more, perforce, to meet mankind, And through the dust and glare and wreck of things, Beheld a phantom on unbalanced wings, Reeling and groping, dazed, dishevelled, dumb, But semaphoring direr deeds to come.
Truth hailed and bade her stand; the quavering shade Clung to her knees and babbled, "Sister, aid! I am--I was--thy Deputy, and men Besought me for my useful tongue or pen To gloss their gentle deeds, and I complied, And they, and thy demands, were satisfied. But this--" she pointed o'er the blistered plain, Where men as Gods and devils wrought amain-"This is beyond me! Take thy work again."
Tablets and pen transferred, she fled afar, And Truth assumed the record of the War... She saw, she heard, she read, she tried to tell Facts beyond precedent and parallel-Unfit to hint or breathe, much less to write, But happening every minute, day and night. She called for proof. It came. The dossiers grew. She marked them, first, "Return. This can't be true." Then, underneath the cold official word: "This is not really half of what occurred."
She faced herself at last, the story runs, And telegraphed her sister: "Come at once. Facts out of hand. Unable overtake Without your aid. Come back for Truth's own sake! Co-equal rank and powers if you agree. They need us both, but you far more than me!"
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WONCA NEWS
WONCA CONFERENCES VIRTUAL WONCA EUROPE 2021 EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION The WONCA Europe 2021 Conference, originally planned to take place in Amsterdam, is now coming to you, virtually!
WONCA Europe 2021 will enable us to continue exchanging knowledge and advancing science, despite the circumstances.
We are pleased to invite you to the Virtual WONCA Europe 2021 Conference, hosted by the Dutch College of General Practitioners, which will take place between 6-10 July 2021, online.
In recognition of the continuing pressures on clinical services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have also decided to extend the WONCA Europe 2021 abstract submission deadline until 15 February 2021. Mark your calendar now and join the WONCA Europe community online!
We are still facing the challenges stemmed from the global pandemic, including many uncertainties regarding travelling and gatherings worldwide. We are adapting to these challenges and preparing for the WONCA Europe 2021 Conference accordingly.
WONCA CIMF - 7º CONGRESO IBEROAMERICANO On February 4, the 7th Ibero-American Congress of Family Medicine was officially announced during a digital session led by Prof Jacqueline Ponzo, President of WONCA IberoamericanaCIMF. The congress will be held on August 18 to 21, 2021, in Vitoria, Espírito Santo, Brazil. The event will be held in a hybrid way (face-to-face and online), enabling greater participation due to possible mobility restrictions concerning the COVID-19 pandemic for some Latin America countries.
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The event program will integrate the members' suggestions of the SBMFC and CIMF, following guidelines previously defined by the organizing committee, aligned with this year's theme Health and Sustainability: From the Environment to Health Systems.
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WONCA NEWS
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES PHCRC VIRTUAL SESSION 2: PRIMARY HEALTH CARE ORGANISATION AND MODELS OF CARE The Primary Health Care Research Consortium (PHCRC) is a research network with its secretariat at the George Institute for Global Health, India. The consortium promotes evidence generation, knowledge exchange and capacity building through south-south cooperation to reduce the research to policy gap in primary health care overall for efficient policymaking in low- and middle-income countries. Continuing its webinar series Scaling New Frontiers in Primary Health Care Through Research and Partnership PHCRC is proud to announce Virtual Session 2: Primary Health Care Organisation and Models of Care scheduled for 17 February 2021 from 11:30 AM to 01:00 PM IST. This is an opportunity to listen and interact with an interesting line-up of discussants who have in-depth knowledge of primary health care in developing countries.
Felicity Goodyear Smith: Chair of the WONCA Working Party on Research, University of Auckland, Academic Head of Department & Goodfellow Postgraduate Chair of General Practice & Primary Health Care in the Faculty of Medical & Health Science at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Robert Marten: Scientist, Alliance for Health Policy and Health Systems Research. Moderator - Bob Mash: Chair, Primary Care and Family Medicine Network (Primafamed), SubSaharan Africa.
ETUDE: OPPORTUNITY FOR PHD STUDENTS The Network “ETUDE” searches for 15 PhD students to study Functional Disorders across Europe. ETUDE is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovation Training Network (ITN), funded by the European Commission, Horizon 2020 Program.
ETUDE stands for “Encompassing Training in Functional Disorders across Europe”. This programme aims to identify underlying mechanisms, improve diagnosis and treatment, and reduce the stigma of patients with functional disorders. Application Deadline: 28/02/2021.
The Network will provide training to 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) in their 11 institutions spread over six countries (Netherlands, Germany, UK, Denmark, Poland, and Italy).
JANUARY/FEBRUARY • 2021
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WONCA NEWS
EACH: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMMUNICATION IN HEALTHCARE PART 2 EACH: International Association for Communication in Healthcare is delighted to invite you to participate in the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare 2020 Part 2: Online from 15 - 16 April 2021. This online conference offers the opportunity to participate in the second part of the 2020 ICCH programme, bringing together the community of healthcare researchers, teachers, practitioners and policy makers from around the globe.
In addition to a variety of engaging oral presentations, the conference includes interactive workshops, roundtable discussions and networking sessions on many topics such as clinician-patient interaction, shared decision making, health equity & health disparities, communication technology, and many more.
THE THIRD VERSION OF THE WONCA INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION FOR PRIMARY CARE IS NOW AVAILABLE! The ICPC is the most widely used international classification to systematically capture and organise clinical information, reflecting everyday practise in primary healthcare.
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With the ICPC3, primary healthcare professionals have an easy-to-use tool to cover all parts of the clinical documentation process.
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