Emporiatrics has been the 'magazine' of the Faculty of Travel Medicine since the Autumn of 2010 when Sandra Grieve and I set it up as a general newsletter. The publication continued to be produced every 6 months with Sandra undertaking this task as sole editor from Autumn 2013 - until she decided to step down last year. Sufficient thanks could never be fully expressed for her dedication. The time and toil of such work cannot be underestimated, taken on by individuals who receive no pay for such, just created with a passion for the subject and a desire to spread news and information to the travel medicine community. To see these previous publications see here.
In financially restricted times the publication needed to change in focus and direction, so it was decided to put it into an online platform which was mobile friendly - that is the way the world is moving.
The Faculty of Travel Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow comprises healthcare professionals from a medical, nursing and pharmacy background of differing grades - from those very senior (with formal qualifications, some up to Masters level or have taken Membership exams to be admitted to Fellow, Member and Associate level giving them post nominals) to those extremely new to practice. The FTM mission is to lead the way in helping to raise standards of practice and achieve greater uniformity in provision of services in order to protect the health of the traveller. Bringing members in at the Affiliate level is intended to support the largest group of travel health practitioners in UK practice - support and enthuse them to hopefully take further studies and become experts themselves.
Providing support to such a diverse group is challenging, but it is hoped that those more senior would benefit from a subscription in the membership fee to Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease (TMAID) which is the official journal of the Faculty of Travel Medicine and that these individuals get involved to support the work of the FTM - and many do!
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Those with an interest in travel medicine, but not trained in the subject can join the FTM as Affiliates for £30 per annum. This entitles them to reduced subscriptions to educational events, access to the journal TMAID and Emporiatrics which is now being produced three times a year. However it is intended that the provision of Emporiatrics is primarily orientated to this group of Affiliates - which comprise mostly nurses and pharmacists who are the main providers of travel consultations.
The electronic magazine includes the latest news of FTM activity, a travel health update, FAQs, articles on individual practitioners' passions, hints or tips. For those who want greater academia, there is a section about TMAID. The benefit of an online resource is that it can take a user to all sorts of resources in just a click, the variety is great with direct weblinks, videos, downloadable files and a podcast.
Emporiatrics was put together entirely by travel health professional individuals who gave of their time freely, because they felt keen to contribute to the educational arena at this more introductory level and hopefully make a difference ....... to saying nothing of giving colleagues additional support in this challenging field of practice.
If you would like to have a look at this resource click HERE and work your way though it.
