IAMSE Registration Update

Dear colleagues in Medical Education,

I like to remind you of the 13th Annual IAMSE Conference on Medical Education, next summer in Leiden, The Netherlands. Registration is open and abstracts for posters and E-demos can be submitted through the web site. Don’t forget to join this unique meeting at one of the oldest and most famous Medical Schools in Europe. The first 100 participants for the meeting will receive as a gift, the year book of Leiden University. So register soon!

I would like to especially draw your attention to the Faculty Development Courses. This year again we have an excellent set of courses available, such as a special training on the Human Patient Simulator facilities at the Leiden Medical Center. Take a look and make a choice!
For latest details, see the conference website www.iamseconference.org
Looking forward to seeing you in Leiden!

Peter G.M. de Jong, 2009 IAMSE Program Chair

Registration Now Open!

Image by jkhewett via FlickrWe are pleased to announce that registration and abstract submission are now available for the 13th Annual International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE) Conference to be held in Leiden, The Netherlands from June 29 - July 3, 2009. This event, co-hosted by the Leiden University Medical Center and presented in conjunction with Slice of Life, the Group for Research in Pathology Education and the Team-Based Learning Collaborative will explore issues in the teaching and learning of sciences fundamental to practice in all health professions. The IAMSE Annual Association Meeting provides medical science educators a place to meet colleagues from around the world and to receive an intense faculty development experience.

The number of participants will be limited to 400, so please visit the conference website and register early. The deadline for early registration is April 1, 2009. The first 100 participants for the meeting will receive as a gift, the year book of Leiden University.

We hope you will also consider submitting an abstract for presentation as a poster or electronic demonstration. Posters and E-demos will be grouped by common special themes and will be presented in our popular poster discussion session format, in which all interested attendees, including poster authors, meet to discuss common themes and key points of the posters. The deadline for abstract submission is January 15, 2009.

Both the registration form and abstract submission form can be found online at www.iamseconference.org

Looking forward to seeing you in Leiden!

Make your Hotel Reservations Today!

The direct link to all of the hotels we will be using during the 2009 IAMSE meeting is now open!

Included on the hotel reservation page is a map of the local area. While some hotels are within walking distance, some will require transportation. A five (5) minute taxi ride at most! Shuttle services will also be available.

Reserve your Room Now!

Hotel Listing & Websites:

The Golden Tulip
The Tulip Inn
Holiday Inn Leiden
Hotel Haagsche Schouw - Van der Valk
Hotel de Doelen

NOTE! Please do not contact the hotels directly, use the Hotel Link provided to make reservations.


Reserve your Room Now!

Area Hotels ....

For the 2009 IAMSE meeting we will be using a wide variety of local hotels. The Holiday Inn ... a familiar site ... will require a 5 minute taxi ride from the Train Station. This hotel has everything you would want from an indoor swimming pool and playground to a very nice hotel restaurant and bar. This would be the first recommendation for families with small children! Holiday Inn web site - http://www.holiday-inn-leiden.nl/

The Golden Tulip and Golden Tulip Inn are both across the street from the Train Station and easy to find! Both of these hotels offer great comfort while attending the conference. The Golden Tulip web site - http://www.goldentulipleidencentre.nl

In the coming days watch the IAMSE Conference website for reservation information and rates!

A Place for Answers ....

When you arrive at the train station in Leiden, there is a great location to find assistance. It's the LUMC Visitor's Center located within the station! Here you will find staff that can answer your questions about LUMC, Leiden, where to eat, how to find the taxi, etc. etc.

When you arrive for the IAMSE meeting you will also be greeted by medical students eager to help you find your way.

Getting to Leiden ....

For many of us we will arrive in the Netherlands at Schiphol Airport. If time allows, you may want to stay there for a while as the shopping is great! If not, you will have two options to travel to Leiden - Train or Taxi.

Taxi .. well that is easy, we've all done that before!

Train ... well that can be a bit more fun! Located throughout the airport are many train schedules where you can determine the next available train to Leiden Central Station. Most likely to be found on platform 5 or 6. Once you know your train time and platform, you must purchase a ticket. This can be done from any of the automated machines located throughout the airport. Be prepared with a handful of Euro coins ... If you don't want to use the machines, there are ticket counters available where you can speak to a live person who will guide you through the process. And YES the entire process can be conducted in English regardless of by automated machine or ticket counter.

Once aboard your train ... approx 15 minutes later you will arrive in Leiden!

Location for the Conference

Typically the IAMSE meetings have been held in hotels in major cities. The 2009 meeting will be much different! This year we will be meeting in the Medical Education Building at LUMC. This beautiful facility offers a 400 seat auditorium and many high tech classroom setups for our various sessions.

As you are looking at the building you see a rather strange "golden" structure - that is the auditorium! This building is just as beautiful in the inside as you see from the outside!

Now the REAL Work Begins!

Now with the Salt Lake meeting behind us the real work can begin for the 2009 meeting in Leiden. Over the past months the committee has identified many great workshops, focus sessions and keynote presentations. Now the committee will turn its efforts into confirming and finalizing those details.

As we finalize the details, watch the conference site as the program grows. Over the next few weeks we will be posting information regarding our 3 keynote presentations, the international symposium and the many great pre-conference workshops and faculty development courses.

At the end of this month many of the program committee members will be attending the AMEE meeting in Prague and will take advantage of the face to face time to continue planning!

Stay tuned !

Committee Meeting in Salt Lake City!

Next week during the 12th Annual Meeting of IAMSE in Salt Lake City, the 2009 Program Committee and the 2009 Review Committee will meet to discuss the plans thus far for the 13th Annual Meeting in Leiden.

If you would like to join the discussion, please contact Julie for specifics as to the location.

See you all in Salt Lake in just a few short days ...

Progress to date ...

For the past six (6) months the 2009 Program Committee has been busy planning for the Leiden Meeting. Our discussions thus far have centered around the selection of the Plenary, Keynote and Symposium speakers. Planning has also commenced for the pre-conference workshops and faculty development workshops.

While this may be our first meeting in Europe, meeting attendees will find many aspects of the conference to be very familiar. Follow the discussions and developments at http://iamse2009.wikispaces.com