Ακολουθεί το πλήρες κείμενο της αναφοράς από τη δράση του JDN κατά τη διάρκεια της πρόσφατα διεξαχθείσας στην Ταιπέι/Ταιβάν 67ης Γενικής Συνέλευσης του Παγκόσμιου Ιατρικού Συλλόγου. Στην πολυπληθή 35μελή αποστολή στην Ταϊπέι συμμετείχαν εκ μέρους των Ελλήνων Νέων Ιατρών, οι κ.κ. Κωνσταντίνος Ροδίτης, Πρόεδρος και Κωνσταντίνος Λούης, Αντιπρόεδρος και Ταμίας του Δ.Σ. του JDN-Hellas.
JDN Update from the 2016 WMA GA
Brief prepared by the 2016-2017JDN management team
JDN ASIA-PACIFIC MEETING
The Junior Doctors Network held a one-day meeting on October 16th attended by
approximately 30 young physicians from the Asia-Pacific Region. Topics discussed included
post-graduate medical education, work hours, and junior doctors’ wellbeing across the region.
Specific conversations touched on ideas such as the sharing of best practices around
transitions of care, the evolving role of task shifting in the various countries represented, and the
negotiation of junior doctors contracts.
JDN MEETING
General proceedings
The Junior Doctors Network held its annual two-day meeting on October 17-18th. During this
meeting, nearly 50 participants from 14 countries gathered and discussed the ongoing work and
future directions of the organization. Reports were received from active working groups working
on antimicrobial resistance and on climate change and its associated effects on health. A new
working group was formed which has been tasked with exploring the ethical issues around the
non-psychiatric care of patients in psychiatric institutions. Additionally, the work of the strategic
planning working group was presented, proposing a draft of a revised mission, vision, and
strategic priorities for the organization.
Beyond the working group presentations, participants also had the opportunity to exchange
news and best practices from their respective countries. The junior doctors of South Korea were
selected as JDN Champions for 2016, taking the lead from the junior doctors of Peru. These
presentations were complemented by a session with Sir Michael Marmot and Dr Ardis Hoven,
accompanied by Dr Wu from the Taiwanese Medical Association who has generously hosted
our meetings.
Finally, the candidates for the 2016-2017 presented their candidature in the morning of the
second day and shortly thereafter the elections were conducted. The new management team
will be led by Dr. Caline Mattar, elected as JDN Chair.
Discussion on end of life issues
The afternoon of the second day of meetings was devoted to a panel discussion on “End-of-life
dilemmas” chaired by Dr. Louis Francescutti and featuring Dr. Erik van Wijlick (Netherlands), Dr.
Fernando Rivas (Spain), and Dr. Tom McLaughlin (Canada). The session was designed to
engage the participating junior doctors in a vigorous dialogue about tackling end-of-life care and
delving into ethical and value discussions around assisted death. Consideration was given to
current medical practices on end-of-life decisions in various countries like Spain, the
Netherlands and Canada. The ethical and legal challenges of physician-assisted death were
also explored. Throughout the session junior doctors exchanged differing points of view and
were given the tools to engage in such discussions locally after having been exposed to a wide
breadth of opinions from around the world. A fascinating discussion on the underlying value
systems which support these opinions concluded the workshop. This session was also attended
by several WMA council and associate members.
Junior Doctors Network Strategic Planning
The JDN Strategic Planning working group was created in early 2016 and tasked with revisiting
the mission and vision statements of the JDN. Composed of 20 JDN members on 6 different
continents, the group based much of its work off of data obtained through the 2015 JDN
Membership Survey. A one page document has been prepared outlining a new mission and
vision for the organization, and exploring its overarching strategic priorities.
Dr. Paxton Bach, chair of the working group, delivered a presentation to those in attendance
unveiling this document designed to define the core objectives of our network. A discussion
period ensued, allowing members to provide feedback on the draft. The overall consensus was
a positive one, and the document has now been distributed to all JDN members via the mailing
list to allow for further comments and suggestions. Once feedback has been compiled, the
working group hopes to finalize its draft within the next few months, allowing the process of
adoption and implementation to begin.
Working group on the Elections process:
Given the fact that our current election procedures were designed at the inception of the
network, at a time where there were three positions to be filled, very few candidates and few
voting members, a new procedure to organize the elections process was long overdue. Under
the leadership of Dr Lujain Al-Qodmani, a working group was started several months ago and
brought a proposal for regulating the elections through strict deadlines and voting rights
verification, modeling after the election procedures of WMA. This proposal was presented to the
group of members present and will be taken back to the general membership for feedback. It
will be implemented at our next round of elections in 2017.
AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Policy engagement
The WMA policy statement on Ethical Considerations in Global Medical Electives was adopted
at the WMA GA in Taipei, with the JDN being a strong supporter since its first conception 3
years ago.
The Junior Doctors' Network has also contributed two new policy proposals for the WMA to
consider: one on the ethical handling of smallpox virus stockpiles and the other representing an
update of the New Delhi Resolution on Climate Change. Both of those resolutions were
accepted at the Associate Members' Meeting and forwarded to Council by the General
Assembly. The JDN is looking forward to engaging with NMAs during the circulation and
commenting process of these policies.
Environmental caucus
Members of the Junior Doctors Network participated enthusiastically in the meeting of the
environmental caucus and provided an update from activities at COP21 and planned activities
at COP22. Furthermore, they expressed the continued interest in continuing to engage with the
environmental caucus, namely through the means of a mailing list that would be setup to allow
communications to be maintained between in-person meetings.
OTHER JDN CONTRIBUTIONS TO WMA WORK:
The JDN has continued its efforts to support the work of the WMA by authoring various articles
published in the World Medical Journal on global issues in medicine and medical ethics. The
most recent addition was an article on the health of asylum seekers in Europe, which was
complemented by the WMA resolution on Refugees and Migrants adopted at the GA in Taipei.
The JDN working group on antimicrobial resistance has submitted a WMJ article entitled “One
Health and Antimicrobial Resistance”, summarizing the current literature on the topic and
highlighting its rising importance as a major health issue globally. This is particularly timely
coming on the eve of the second annual One Health Conference, held in collaboration with the
Japanese Medical Association, the World Veterinary Medical Association, and the Japanese
Veterinary Medicine Association. Antimicrobial resistance will play a prominent role at this
conference and has also recently been included on the agenda at the UN General Assembly in
New York, underscoring its rising importance.
JDN LEADERSHIP 2016-2017
The following officers were elected for the new Management Team:
Caline Mattar (Lebanon) Chair
Paxton Bach (Canada) Deputy Chair
Konstantinos Roditis (Greece) Secretary
Yassen Tcholakov (Canada) Socio-Medical Affairs Officer
Mariam Parwaiz (New Zealand) Education Director
Chukwuma C. Oraegbunam (Nigeria) Medical Ethics Officer
Chiaki Mishima (Japan) Membership Director
Daniel Gbujie (Nigeria) Publications Director
Mardelangel Zapata (Peru) Communications Director
Ahmet Murt (Turkey) Immediate Past Chair
Elizabeth Wiley (USA) Immediate Past Deputy Chair
The Junior Doctors Network is looking forward to continuing to provide a forum for young
physicians to participate in discussions, to engage with national Junior Doctor representatives,
and to contribute to the work of the World Medical Association. As always we are open to any
comments and suggestions on our activities as we continue to evolve. For further information
please contact chair.jdn@wma.net.